Foundations in Family, a literary festival held at Darton State College on April 16, is a conference for writers, readers, students, educators, and the general public to listen and share their stories with the community. Using the theme of family, the festival will feature writers from all backgrounds and abilities.

We encourage presentations from high school students, college students, faculty and staff from all educational institutions, community members, serious writers, casual writers, and all groups in between!

Proposals will be accepted through March 25, 2016. You will be notified by email of your acceptance no later than March 30, 2016. The conference is free and open to the public, but registration will be required and is limited to the first 150 participants. Additionally, if you choose to attend for lunch, advance purchase of a $20 meal ticket is required. Presenters may choose to lunch on their own if preferred.

We accept proposals for the following:

• 20-minute lecture presentations

• 30-minute interactive writing workshops

• One-hour roundtable discussions

• Poster presentations (to last one hour)

Submissions for lecture presentations can be poetry, prose, fiction, non-fiction, literary analysis or criticism, journalistic writing, etc. Presentations will be limited to 15 minutes with 5 minutes for Q&A. Proposals for interactive writing workshops for all types of writing processes are encouraged, as are one-hour roundtable sessions hosted by a panel of four to five presenters. Poster presentations on literary criticism, theory, or scholarship are highly encouraged.

Presentations should focus on the theme of family, though it is completely open to interpretation. Some examples include the following:

• Creation or destruction of the family

• Creation or destruction of identity through or by family

• Creation or destruction of society through or by family

• Personal family experiences

• Family as a literary theme

• The symbolic or metaphorical family

• Family law

• Passed-down family stories

• Interactions with patriarchal or matriarchal figures

• Cultures and mores from different families

For more information, call 229-317-6554.

This project is supported by the Georgia Humanities through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly.