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Danita Dodson at Union Avenue Books

First Fridays Poetry Night

 August 1 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

AGT member, Danita Dodson, will appear with two other poets, David Cazden, and Joe Seale,  at the bookstore in downtown Knoxville to read from their poetry and discuss the literary art.

Danita is a poet, educator, and literary scholar. Between Gone and Everlasting (2024) is her third book of poetry. Her debut collection is Trailing the Azimuth (2021), followed by her second collection, The Medicine Woods (2022). Dodson’s poems are anchored in the landscape and people of East Tennessee and have appeared in Salvation South, Amethyst Review, and elsewhere. At the Poetry Society of Tennessee’s annual festival in April 2024, her poem “Bits and Pieces” was awarded the first-place Best of Fest prize.

Stop by to be inspired by this special discussion of poetry.

 

Guest Speaker J. Laurie Byrne Video

Laurie presented her historical fiction book, Beyond The Trees. She spent years researching her family history which she reveals in the stories within. Relatives migrated to America through the years, beginning as early as 1620 on the Mayflower. She told us about the violent history and struggles to survive in the new nation.

Sean Mitchell, Silver Falchion Award Finalist

Congratulations to AGT member Sean Mitchell, who has just been named a finalist for The Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award in the category of Best Short Story Collection/Anthology, for his book Six Lane Highway. The awards are given each year to recognize and honor the best books of the previous year (novels, novellas, collections and anthologies, and non-fiction).

The 2025 Finalists are a diverse collection of the Top Silver Falchion manuscripts of 2025, as determined by our judges, representing the best books published in 2024. t

The winners in each category and the top 3 winners overall will be announced at the Killer Nashville Awards Dinner on August 23, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee. Best of luck to Sean.

Latest Release by the Chota Writers Circle

In “Summer Winds,” by John Forcum, a family sits down to dinner on a quiet summer evening, when suddenly the father excitedly orders everyone to seek shelter in the crawlspace. The family is saved when a tornado rips through the area, but how did the father sense it was coming when it wasn’t predicted?
In “The Heat of Wrath” by Bill Barbour, Bobby sits in a funeral home, waiting to pay his respects to Johnny, his boyhood friend, who died too young from cancer. Bobby reflects on an incident involving Johnny and his father years ago that shocked the town. The truth he’s about to reveal is even more shocking.
In “One Summer Night” by Cheryl Peyton, the author’s brother works late at his art studio in Chicago on a night in July 1991. When he stops on his way home to buy a quart of ice cream, he is approached by an armed man and ordered to lie face down on the floor by the back seat. A wild ride follows, with the outcome uncertain up to the last moment.

These, and nine other intriguing and entertaining stories, are in this anthology written by the Chota Writers Circle that includes ten members of the Authors Guild of Tennessee.

New Release by Kaye George

Someone is stalking Darla.

She has a lot on her plate already. Dealing with a breakup. Her best friend shutting Darla out of her life. A handicapped mother. Her career as a hospital nurse. She doesn’t need slashed tires, threatening notes, or, least of all, a brick through her window.

She suspects her tormentor could either be her ex or her own father, who attacked and crippled her mother years ago. But she’s just not sure, and there’s no one but her dog to turn to.
Soon, she’s forced to rely on her own wits to protect her and her mother as the frightening threats become more and more frequent.

And are progressively more dangerous.

New Release by Cheryl Peyton

This is the 9th book in the Alex Trotter mystery series.

Alex has misgivings about escorting eight members of a family on a so-called “reunion” cruise down the Rhone River from Lyon to Arles in the late fall. Older sister Audrey’s gift of the trip to younger sister Phyllis and her husband Darren disguises the fact that Audrey cheated Phyllis out of their mother’s multi-million dollar estate, claiming that she was entitled to the fortune for allowing their mother to live with her and her husband Wayne for the last three years of her life.

Paying their own way are two cousins and their spouses, who have not spent much time with the two sisters since they were kids, spending summers in their grandparents’ cottage on the lake. By coincidence, on the cruise, they meet up with Lara, a friend at the lake, whose brother, Danny, drowned the last summer they were all together. In reminiscing about their vacations together, questions reemerge about the drowning, centering on Audrey, who appears to know more about it than she’ll admit.

A shocking drowning death on the cruise gives rise to many more questions Arlie and Alex will have to answer.

Authors Guild of Tennessee Presents

Prizes to Winners of LCHS 2024-2025 Writing Contest

 

AGT president Cheryl Peyton and Writing Contest Co-ordinator Dr. Jerry Morton presented awards to the first and

second place winners at the Lenoir City High School Awards programs on Monday, May 5 at 11:00 a.m. for the Underclassmen, and on Tuesday, May 6 at 6:00 p.m. for the Seniors.  First Place winners received an engraved plaque and a monetary gift. Second Place winners received a Certificate of Achievement.

Underclassmen winners: 

1st pl., 1st period, Abby Holm for “The Teacup Cruiser”

2nd pl., 1st period, Vanessa Singletary for “Apocalypse on Zephyr”

1st pl., 5th period, Vinncent Taylor for “A Desperate Grasp”

2nd pl. 5th period, Xander Brock for “Plague”

Senior winners:

1st pl., 2nd period, Maxx Brown for “Appreciation”

2nd pl., 2nd period, Natali Ortega for “Eternal Summer”

1st pl., 4th period, Isabelle Mayes for “Superstitions — Here Comes the Tide”

2nd pl., 4th period, Ruby Bridges for “Dead Together Forever”

We congratulate all the winners and wish them much success in the future.

Creative Writing Contest

Lenoir City High School

2nd Semester 2023-24

In the second semester of the 2023-4 school year, Angela Crabtree, teacher of the junior/senior writing classes at Lenoir City High School, selected poetry as the literary form for the Creative Writing Contest sponsored by the Authors Guild of Tennessee.

The first- and second-place winners in Ms. Crabtree’s two classes are linked under this notice. Again, the students were not assigned particular subjects but were encouraged to write from their personal experiences and viewpoints. The poems are honest and personal and sometimes reflect harsh realities in each student’s life. They are all well-written and create word pictures of place and time.

The Authors Guild of Tennessee is proud to publish these outstanding literary accomplishments on our website with parental consent for students who are minors.

All That Remains – Emily Tsujihara D.E.A.T.H. – Karlee Cook
Writer’s Block – Isabella O’Connor Ephemera – Kasie Tsujihara
I Come From – Bethany McKelvey Up the Staircase – Ashley-Nguyen

Monthly Meetings

AGT Monthly Meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month

From: 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

At: Faith Lutheran Church, 225 Jamestown Blvd, Farragut, Tennessee

Check our News & Events section the week prior to get more information on our topics and guest speaker.