Call for Proposals Now Open. Submit your proposal by April 30.

Conference Theme:

Writing Home: Where the Power of Place Meets the Page 

Description

Writing and rhetoric graduate students, instructors, and scholars in the Appalachian region are invited to attend the 6th Annual Corridors: Blue Ridge Writing & Rhetoric Conference on Saturday, September 19, 2026, at Radford University in Virginia. This year’s theme, “Writing Home: Where the Power of Place Meets the Page,” invites us to explore how the concept of home shapes our identities, pedagogies, research, and creative work. 

Traditionally, the phrase “writing home” suggested sending a letter back to where we felt we belonged. Today, the phrase resonates differently. Many of us are asking what home even means, how we write from and toward it, how our students encounter that question in the classroom, and what it means to call a place your “home” in the first place.

For those who teach writing, the idea of home often emerges in assignments about identity, place, language, or community—to name a few. For others, home is a location of longing, memory, conflict, return, or simply a feeling. In the Appalachian region especially, scholars and writers have long wrestled with what it means to belong to a place that is both deeply loved and often misunderstood. 

Therefore, this conference invites conversations about how the concept of home appears across our work, including place-based and community-engaged pedagogies, service-learning partnerships, interpretive or public writing projects, explorations of belonging and displacement, or creative representations of the places that have shaped (or unshaped) us. 

Timeline

• Call for Proposals Released: February 15, 2026

• Conference Proposals Due: April 30, 2026

• Notifications Sent: May 25, 2026

• Confirmation of Presenters Due: June 15, 2026

• Registration Opens: July 1, 2026

• Draft Program Available: July 1, 2026

• Final Program Available: August 1, 2026

• Registration Closes: September 12, 2026

Ms. Asbury's Biography:

April J. Asbury teaches writing and literature at Radford University. She co-directs the Highland Summer Conference, a one-week writing workshop that brings Radford students and community members together with guest writers from the Appalachian region. She earned her M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Spalding University and her M.A. from Hollins University. Her poetry and fiction appear in Artemis Journal, Still: The Journal, Gyroscope Review, and The Anthology of Appalachian Writers. Woman with Crows, her first poetry collection, is available on apriljasbury.com. 

Conference Details

• 6th Annual Corridors: Blue Ridge Writing & Rhetoric Conference

• One-day, in-person, Appalachian regional conference nestled in the breath-taking Blue Ridge Mountains in southwest Virginia on the beautiful Radford University campus

• FREE for presenters and attendees (registration available July 1-September 12)

• Conference runs from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with breakfast nibbles provided, lunch on your own, and a dinner gathering of your choice from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

• FREE parking on the Radford University campus

Conference Schedule At-a-Glance
Location: Hemphill Hall

8:00-8:30 Check In, Breakfast Nibbles 1st Floor Atrium

8:30-8:45 Welcome Room 1016

9:00-10:15 Session A Rooms 3008, 3012, 3016, 3020

10:30-11:45 Session B Rooms 3008, 3012, 3016, 3020

11:45-1:00 Lunch On Your Own On- and Off-Campus Locations

1:00-2:00 Keynote Address Room 1016

2:15-3:30 Session C Rooms 3008, 3012, 3016, 3020

3:45-5:00 Session D Rooms 3008, 3012, 3016, 3020

5:30-7:30 Dinner A Gathering of Your Choice

Lunch (on your own) Options

Other events are happening on campus the day of the conference, so on- and off-campus eating establishments are expected to be busy. Please plan accordingly.

On-Campus Hemphill Hall (walk)

• Starbucks (third floor)

On-Campus Dalton Hall (walk)
Visit Dining Services webpage for hours of operation and menu

• Dalton Kitchen

• Wendy’s

• Tartan Pizza Co.

• Bowl Life

• 1910 Café

On-Campus "The Bonnie" Hurlburt Student Center (walk)
Visit Dining Services webpage for hours of operation and menu

• Chick-Fil-A

• Hissho Sushi

• Student Choice (Food Your Way)

• Honeycomb Commons

Across the Street from Campus (walk)

• BT’s Restaurant, 218 Tyler Avenue

• Subway, 310 Tyler Avenue

• Benny Nicola's (Home of the Virginia Slice), 1018 Clement Street

• Jimmy John's, 1020 Clement Street

Downtown Radford (walk or drive; free downtown parking available)

• Amando’s Italian Kitchen, 1154 East Main Street

• Arabica Cafe & Bakery, 1158 East Main Street

• Nagoya Sushi, 1144 East Main Street

• Golden Bowl Asian Grill, 1802 East Main Street

• Domino's Pizza, 1700 East Main Street

Short Distance from Campus (drive; free parking available)
East End Radford

• Macado’s, 510 East Main Street

• Highlander Pizza, 700 East Main Street

Up Tyler Avenue Toward 1-81 

• Thai This Express (Next to the Marathon Gas Station), 1401 Tyler Avenue

• Lin's House (By Food Lion), 1200 Tyler Avenue

• Papa Johns (By Food Lion), 1200 Tyler Avenue

• Food Lion, 1200 Tyler Avenue

• Food City, 1701 Tyler Avenue

West End Radford 

• Brick House Pizza, 311 West Main Street

• Radford  Coffee Company, 333 West Main Street

• Sonic, 113 West Main Street

• Tha' Dawg House, 600 West Main Street

• El Charro Mexican Grill, 713 West  Main Street

• Latino's Taste Restaurant, 1126 West Main Street

Across the Bridge 

• Chipotle Mexican Grill, 7406 Lee Highway

• McDonald's, 7484 Lee Highway

• Cook Out, 7400 Lee Highway

• Long John Silver's, 7420 Lee Highway

• Hank's Drive-In, 7431 Lee Highway

• Little Caesar's Pizza, 7414 Lee Highway

• Bojangles, 7455 Lee Highway

• Hardee's, 7353 Lee Highway

• Kroger, 7480 Lee Highway

• Sal's Jr Pizza and Italian Restaurant (By Walmart), 7401 Peppers Ferry Boulevard

• Walmart, 7373 Peppers Ferry Boulevard

Dinner Gathering Options in Radford

Select an option when you register for the conference. A faculty member or graduate student will host each gathering. You pay for your own dinner. 

• Sharkey’s Wing & Rib Joint (Downtown Radford), 1202 East Main Street

• Bee & Butter Restaurant & Rooftop Bar (Across the Street from Campus at the Highlander Hotel), 604 Tyler Avenue, Sixth Floor

• Sal’s Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria (West End Radford), 709 West Main Street

• Rocas Mexican Grill (Across the Bridge), 7523 Lee Highway

• The River Company Restaurant and Brewery (Across the Bridge), 6633 Viscoe Road

Lodging Options

Other events are happening on campus the day of the conference, so hotels close to campus are expected to be busy. Please make your lodging reservations early.

In Radford (minutes to RU campus)

• Highlander Hotel (Across the Street from Campus), 604 Tyler Avenue

• La Quinta Inn by Wyndham, 1450 Tyler Avenue

• Comfort Inn & Suites, 2331 Tyler Avenue

• Tru by Hilton, 2300 Tyler Avenue

• Nessel Rod on the New B&B, 7535 Lee Highway 

In Christiansburg (20-minute drive to RU campus)

• Holiday Inn

• Holiday Inn Express

• Hampton Inn

• Quality Inn

• Wingate by Wyndham

• Homewood Suites by Hilton

• Fairfield Inn by Marriott

• Oaks Victorian Inn B&B 

In Dublin (20-minute drive to RU campus)

• Holiday Inn Express

• Wingate by Wyndham

• Quality Inn

• Hampton Inn

• Rockwood Manor B&B 

Directions to Radford University

Flying

• Fly to Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport (which is about 36 miles from Radford). Car rentals are available at the airport. From the airport, take Interstate 581-North to Interstate 81-South. From Interstate 81-South, take Exit 109 onto Route 177/Tyler Avenue into Radford. 

Driving South on I-81

• From Interstate 81-South, take Exit 109 onto Route 177/Tyler Avenue into Radford. 

Driving North on I-81

• From Interstate 81-North, take Exit 105 onto West Main Street into Radford.

From Dublin or Christiansburg

• Take State Route 11 (also known as Lee Highway) into Radford. 

Hemphill Hall Entrance and Nearby Parking

• Because Hemphill Hall is normally closed on Saturdays, conference attendees will need to enter Hemphill Hall on the East Main Street side. When you enter Hemphill Hall from East Main Street, you will be on the first floor where you can check-in and get a bite to eat. 

• Recommended parking lots for easy access to Hemphill Hall, East Main Street side, are Lot GG, Lot C, and Lot B. Disabled parking is available in all three lots. Lot F is also nearby, but you will need to go down the outdoor stairs (between Muse Hall and Hemphill Hall) to get to the East Main Street entrance. See the campus parking map for assistance.

• Parking on campus is free on Saturdays; however, students tend to park on campus near their dormitories. Also, other events are happening on campus the day of the conference, so parking may be tricky. Please allow plenty of time to get to campus and find parking. Even so, there should be parking near Hemphill Hall in the lots indicated above. If not, other locations are available. See the campus parking map for assistance.

Notes of Interest

• Starbucks is located in Hemphill Hall on the third floor. It opens on Saturdays at 9 a.m. There is also a Starbucks on Lee Highway (State Route 11) across the bridge and next to Food City on Tyler Avenue. You can also find fresh-brewed coffee at the Radford Coffee Company on West Main Street.

• Bisset Park and Wildwood Park are short drives from campus. (Their respective entrances are nearly across the street from each other on East Main Street.) They both have paved walking trails. The Bisset Park walking trail follows the mighty (on occasion) New River. The Wildwood Park walking trail is in a beautiful wooded area where you may be able to see birds and (hopefully harmless) critters native to this area. 

Conference Committee

• Laura Vernon, Professor of English, Professional Writing Program

• Michele Ren, Professor of English, First-Year Writing Program, Women's & Gender Studies Program

• Marti Wagnon, Assistant Professor of English, Professional Writing Program