Alabama Writers Forum

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THE ALABAMA WRITERS' FORUM promotes and facilitates the practice of literary arts through its services to writers and the general public. With individual and corporate associates statewide, the Forum represents the diverse voices of today's writing talent. The Forum is a partnership program of the Alabama State Council on the Arts and is located at 410 North Hull Street in Old Alabama Town in Montgomery, Alabama.

The Forum was founded in appreciation of Alabama's strong literary heritage with a commitment to its continuation. Its community-based programs reflect that commitment and support established, novice, and student writers.

Young writers, their teachers, and schools are recognized through the Literary Arts Awards, an annual contest for Alabama high school students grades 9-12. Partnering with Alabama's juvenile justice community, the Forum manages "Writing Our Stories: An Anti-Violence Creative Writing Program" on three Department of Youth Services campuses. The Forum also collaborates with other organizations for adult prison arts projects. Keeping communities aware of Alabama's rich contemporary literary talent, the Alabama Voices series brings prominent Alabama writers to rural, urban, and school communities for mini-residencies of various lengths.

The Forum serves as Alabama's point of information for literary arts activities in close conjunction with the Alabama State Council on the Arts' literature program. First Draft, a quarterly journal published by the Forum, provides an in-depth look at the state's contemporary literary scene. The Alabama Literary Resources Directory is a compendium of information useful to both writers and those seeking to work with writers. A database of members and other information is also maintained at the Forum office and is being integrated into the Web site as part of the "Resources" feature.

Since it was founded in 1992 by writers, publishers, and educators, the Forum has formed partnerships to nurture and foster the literary arts.

Recent partners include: Aid to Inmate Mothers (AIM), Association of College English Teachers of Alabama (ACETA), Alabama Alliance for Arts Education (AAAE), Alabama Department of Corrections, Alabama Department of Youth Services (DYS), the Alabama Public Library Service and more than 20 public libraries, Alabama Shakespeare Festival (ASF), Alabama Southern Community College and the Alabama Writers Symposium, Auburn University Center for the Arts and Humanities (AU CAH), University of Alabama Program in Creative Writing, Writers Festival of the University of North Alabama, and "Writing Today"/Birmingham Southern College Office of Special Events. Interstate and national alliances include Tulane University, the William James Association, and the American Corrections Association.

Funding for the Alabama Writers' Forum comes from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, individual and corporate members, and other corporate sponsors.

Nov. 18, 2010Birmingham mayor William Bell has declared Saturday, November 20,Fannie Flagg Day. He will present the proclamation onstage at the Virginia Samford Theatre, where Fannie will entertain with stories of her career and a reading from her new book, I Still Dream About You. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. event are $35, including a signed, first edition of the book, and may be ordered online. Fannie is also hosting receptions prior to the show to benefit the theatre for $100 and $250. Details are on the theatre's Web site. The Virginia Samford Theatre is located in Birminghams Caldwell Park, 1116 26th Street South. (Photo of Fannie Flagg courtesy of Random House)
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