Indiana University East will partner with the Starr-Gennett Foundation to host a Community Writing Marathon during the annual Walk of Fame weekend. The event will take place from 11a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, September 8, in the Gorge. It is open to participants of all ages; however, participants younger than 16 should be accompanied by an adult.

The event is meant to draw members of the community together for good company and an engaging cultural event to walk, talk, and write at various locations during the Walk of Fame event. Individuals will find the project to be an opportunity for an afternoon of non-stop writing and personal enrichment with a community of writers.

This inaugural Community Writing Marathon is part of a yearlong series of writing events designed and facilitated by representatives from IU East, Ivy Tech Community College, Morrisson-Reeves Library, the Wayne County Foundation, the Palladium-Item, Work One, and the Starr-Gennett Foundation.

The series will consist of two community writing marathons and a writing workshop in the fall (the second writing marathon is tentatively scheduled to take place on October 14 at IU East and the writing workshop to take place on November 10), and three workshops focused on producing impactful writing for public audiences using such genres as blogs, social media, and email in the spring.  The project is connected with both Positive Place and IU East’s “One Book, Many Voices” project.

Katherine Frank, Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at IU East and member of the project committee, said the Community Writing Project is designed to appeal to aspiring writers of all ages and abilities.

“The fall events are meant to inspire people to brainstorm, create, communicate, and share their stories, while the spring events are designed to help people think about ways of polishing their writing in order to create the most powerful messages for public audiences,” Frank said. “The main goal of the entire series is to create opportunities for people to write, communicate, and share their ideas in meaningful and productive ways.”

The Community Writing Marathon on September 8 will begin and end at the logo building (pavilion) at the Walk of Fame celebration.  Participants will be given a map of the event, general instructions, and an initial writing prompt to help them get started.  At the end of the afternoon, writers will gather together at the logo building to share and celebrate their work.  The group read-around nurtures the sense of a community of writers.

All participants will be given the opportunity to submit their writing to be considered for publication in the Community Writing Project’s electronic anthology to be produced following the conclusion of the yearlong series.

Participants must confirm a place at the Community Writing Marathon by Wednesday, September 5, by emailing michking@iue.edu or calling (765) 973-8219.