Celtic Cat Publishing

02/06/2024

Celtic Cat writer Laura Still has a poem in the summer issue of the Knoxville Writers' Guild Re/View. The online zine is free if you follow the link below.

The Summer issue of Re|View, the literary magazine of the Knoxville Writers Guild. Relax and enjoy the prose and poetry by our members.

09/07/2023

Laura is sharing a Knox County ghost story with our friends at Howling Hills Publishing.

Laura Still’s “Lost Valley of Hardin” will appear in “23 Tales: Appalachian Ghost Stories, Legends, and Other Mysteries.” The anthology will be released in September.

A native East Tennessean, Laura is a published poet, playwright, and local history author. She created Knoxville Walking Tours in 2012 and works full-time as a storyteller and walking history guide. She has researched and written 15 tours, including three ghost walks. She partners with the Knoxville History Project and proceeds from her tours support it and other history-oriented Knoxville nonprofits.

Co-owner of Celtic Cat Publishing since 2016, she has written four books: Guardians (2009), Acts of the Apostles, Vol. 1, (2010), A Haunted History of Knoxville (2014), and A Fair Shake: The Leaders of the Fight for Women’s Rights in Knoxville (2021).

22/02/2023

Despite what it says in the program, we are not speaking at the Rose Glen Literary Festival this year. We love the festival and are happy to be asked, but had to decline due to a schedule conflict.

06/01/2023

Celtic Cat's Laura Still will be presenting two workshops for the TMW Conference, both next Friday, March 31, 2023. She was be leading a Storytelling workshop at 9:00 am and participating in publishing panel at 1:00 pm, with Beto Cu***ng of Iris Press. Come join us!

TENNESSEE MOUNTAIN WRITERS
Presents the 34th ANNUAL CONFERENCE
MARCH 30-APRIL1, 2023 at the DOUBLE TREE HOTEL, OAK RIDGE TN

A limited number of Scholarships are available based on need and interest in writing. The deadline for requesting a scholarship is January 15, 2023. For more information, please contact us at [email protected]

The deadline for the Joyce A. McDonald Writing Competition is February 1, 2023. Categories include Fiction, Children’s Literature, Humor, Nonfiction, and Poetry. Entries must be submitted via email only. Send to [email protected], with payment made electronically via PayPal. See tmw.org/contests for submission checklist.

The theme of this year's conference is Mountain Lines. In addition to the Writing Contests, the conference will include Workshops, Networking, Publishers, Book Signings, Bookstore, Vendors and Manuscript Evaluations.

Deadline for Manuscript Evaluation Entries is March 1, 2023.

Workshop Leaders include Linda Parsons-Banquet Speaker and Poetry; Pamela Duncan-Fiction and General Session; Evelyn Coleman-Young People’s Literature; Georgann Eubanks-Nonfiction.
Specialty Sessions include Beto Cu***ng/Laura Still-Working with Small Press Publishers; Georgann Eubanks-Nature Writing; Jennie Ivey-Unearth Your Memories with Simple Prompts; Valeria Roberson-Playwriting; Laura Still-Storytelling.

Early Conference Registration Rate ends March 16, 2023.
For complete information on all of this and to register, go to our website, tmwi.org

07/06/2022

Happy Birthday to poet Nikki Giovanni, who lives in western Virginia, where she's a professor at Virginia Tech, but makes it back to her hometown every year or tw0. Her poem, "Knoxville, Tennessee," first published in a politically radical 1968 collection called Black Feeling, Black Talk, is, in contrast, nostalgic about life with her close family in the 1940s and '50s. It was later reinterpreted, without any change in the words, as an illustrated children's book. It's worth rereading this time of year, because it opens, "I always like summer / best / you can eat fresh corn / from daddy's garden ...." and goes on to mention several of the things that make life worth the trouble, fresh okra, barbecue, ice cream, gospel music, the mountains, and going barefoot. You can learn more about Nikki on her website: https://www.nikki-giovanni.com/

06/06/2022

Fountain City has lost its finest historian. If anyone else could have written "Fountain City: People Who Made a Difference" there surely would have been a chapter on Jim.

Share memories & support the family

03/04/2022

One of my favorite poems, in honor of national poetry month.

The first sentence is one long nostalgic exhalation, its faint rhythms hidden in the line-breaks that lead us from cold and darkness to light and heat.

08/09/2021

We are happy to announce the release of a book by Celtic Cat's Laura Still and Jack Neely of the Knoxville History Project! A Fair Shake: The Leaders of the Fight for Women's Rights in Knoxville is available through knoxvillehistoryproject.org and also from Laura through Knoxville Walking Tours, at knoxtour.com.

21/07/2021

We are forgoing this week's to wish a Happy Birthday to Knoxville's Cormac McCarthy! Pick up a copy of your favorite McCarthy novel today!

29/06/2021

Congratulations and thanks for all your great work!

Congratulations to Dr. Ted Olson on receiving the East Tennessee Historical Society’s (ETHS) Ramsey Award for Lifetime Achievement. Named for ETHS founder Dr. J.G.M. Ramsey, the Knoxville-based society’s most prestigious honor is reserved for one individual annually who, over the course of a lifetime, has made outstanding contributions to the understanding and preservation of East Tennessee history.

Dr. Olson has produced four albums for Great Smoky Mountains Association and received seven Grammy nominations for his work as a music historian. He is currently a co-host of "Sepia Tones: Exploring Black Appalachian Music," a mini-series on GSMA's "Smoky Mountain Air" podcast. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1026877/8421298

14/06/2021

Join Laura Still for a series of literary strolls, sponsored by the Knox County Library.

This summer, join your Library and Laura Still of Knoxville Walking Tours for a Saturday morning stroll through the streets of downtown, learning about Knoxville authors and artists.

Tours last approximately 90 minutes and begin in front of Lawson McGhee Library. Tours are free, but advanced registration is required. register now at https://kcpl.wufoo.com/forms/p1a795ff0nsbjca/

June 26: Knoxville's Black Writer's and Artists | Literary Walking Tours

July 17: Literary Heritage | Literary Walking Tours

August 21: Reading, Writing, and the Struggle for the Vote | Literary Walking Tours

08/06/2021

Happy Birthday to Knoxville's own Nikki Giovanni, who lives in western Virginia, but makes it back to her hometown every year or two.

This internationally renowned poet is honored by a historical marker on Hall of Fame Dr. (formerly Mulvaney St.) opposite Cal Johnson Recreational Center. Born in Knoxville, but growing up in Cincinnati, Giovanni spent her summers here at her Grandmother’s house. Learn more about Nikki and her work on her website:
https://nikki-giovanni.com/