The Piedmont Publishing Symposium

The Piedmont Publishing Symposium is organized by Clemson University Press, Hub City Press, University of North Georgia Press, and University of South Carolina Press. This event will be held at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, May 20-21, 2026. During the two days of programming, we will offer multiple sessions appealing to different constituencies: academic writers, non-academic writers, publishing professionals, and students and recent graduates who want to know more about publishing.

Read a participant’s write-up of her experience at the 2025 Piedmont Publishing Symposium here.

Registration is now open! Purchase Tickets

Tentative Schedule:

Day 1

Session 1 [Students] Publishing Programs: Are they worth it?

Dawn Durante (UNC Press)

Maliea Ruby (University of Tennessee Press)

Kate McMullen (Hub City Press)

Amanda Rosa (Hub City Press)

Session 2 [Publishers] Accessibility in digital publications

Ana Bichanich (USC Press)

Michelle Wallen (UNC Press)

Corey Parsons (UNG Press)

Break

Session 3 [Authors] [Publishers] Copyright and Intellectual Property in Publishing

Drew Griffin (Clemson University Press)

Elizabeth Adams (UGA Press)

John Morgenstern (Emory University)

Jayne Stevens (Layman Group)

SPONSORED BY THE LAYMAN GROUP

Session 4 [Authors] Southern Literature

SPONSORED BY THE USC PROVOST’S OFFICE

Break

Keynote:

Anne Trubeck: Publishing as a Creative Act

Break

Session 5 [Authors] Student-led publishing: Atheneum Press as a case study

Alli Crandall (Atheneum Press, Coastal Carolina University)

Students from Atheneum Press, Coastal Carolina University

SPONSORED BY ATHENEUM PRESS

Session 6 [Publishers] Printing

Craig Ragsdale (Martin Printing in Easley, SC)

Reception at Hub City Bookshop

Day 2

Session 7 [Authors] Self-publishing

Gloria Aragon

Kelly Durham

Dakota McElhinny

Session 8 [Publishers] Lessons from starting a small press

Annette Flavel (Lucky Rabbit)

John Burbage (Evening Post Press)

Lib Ramos (Good Printed Things)

Break

Session 9 [Publishers] The business of publishing

Michael McGandy (USC Press)

Meg Reid (Hub City Press)

Kourtnay King (Layman Publishing)

Session 10 [Authors] Author-driven marketing

Mary Martha Green