Noted Appalachian authors will present public readings as part of Radford University’s 33rd annual Highland Summer Conference, the longest-known credit-based creative writing workshop in the Appalachian region.The HSC begins Monday, June 7, and continues through Friday, June 18. Readings are at 7:30 p.m. each Tuesday and Thursday of the conference on the fourth floor of McConnell Library.

The HSC celebrates and polishes the creative and expository writing skills of people of all ages and careers, focusing primarily on the culture of the Appalachian region

Fiction writer Pamela Duncan, who will teach the first week of classes, will present a reading on Tuesday, June 8. Duncan is the author of the novels Moon Women, Plant Life, and The Big Beautiful. Fiction writer and journalist Dot Jackson, author of the novel Refuge, will be a guest reader on Thursday, June 10.

George Ella Lyons will read on Tuesday, June 15. She will be reading from her memoir Don’t You Remember. RU alumnus and poet Charles Swanson ‘05 will give a guest reading Thursday, June 17. Swanson is the author of two poetry collections, After the Garden: Selected Responses to the Psalms and Farm Life and Legend.

Admission to the readings is free. To learn more, e-mail Theresa Burris at tburriss@radford.edu or call the Appalachian Regional Studies Center at 540.831.5366.