Registration is now open for the 35th Highland Summer Conference at Radford University. This year's creative writing workshop will feature authors Karen McElmurray and Joseph Bathanti as instructors. Registration will remain open until all spaces are filled.

McElmurray and Bathanti will teach the first and second weeks, respectively, and give public readings. Guest speakers Thorpe Moeckel and Anne Shelby also will give readings.

Classes both weeks will be Monday through Friday from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Evening readings will be at 7:30 p.m. in McConnell Library.

This year's dates and speakers are:

• June 5. Karen McElmurray, author of "The Motel of the Stars," "Surrendered Child: A Birth Mother's Journey" and "Strange Birds in the Tree of Heaven." She is an assistant professor of creative writing at Georgia College and State University.
   
• June 7. Thorpe Moeckel, author of poetry collections "Venison," "Making a Map of the River" and "Odd Botany." He is a former Kenan Visiting Writer at UNC-Chapel Hill and teaches in the writing program at Hollins University.
   
• June 12. Joseph Bathanti, a widely published author whose works include "Coventry," "East Liberty," "They Changed the State: The Legacy of North Carolina's Visiting Artists, 1971-1995" and "The High Heart." He is a professor of creative writing at Appalachian State University.
   
• June 14. Anne Shelby, author of "Can a Democrat Get into Heaven? Politics, Religion and Other Things You Ain’t Supposed to Talk About" and "Appalachian Studies." She is a frequent columnist for Kentucky newspapers.

Established in 1978, the Highland Summer Conference is one of the longest-running credit-based creative writing workshops in the Southeast. The annual course is an opportunity for people of all ages and careers to polish their creative and expository writing skills with works focusing primarily on the culture of the Appalachian region.

For registration information, including fees and credit hours, email conference coordinators Ruth Derrick at rbderrick@radford.edu or Theresa Burriss at tburriss@radford.edu, or call the Appalachian Regional and Rural Studies Center at (540) 831-5366.