Native American writers from the Southeast are invited to participate in the first-ever Southeast Indian Writers Gathering, to be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16, and Friday, Sept. 17, at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee.

The free workshop includes group discussions and one-on-one sessions for Native authors. Registration is not required. The general public is invited to a free reading and book signing to be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at the museum.

The event is intended to bring together writers from the original Southeastern tribes to share and discuss their work, said Robert Conley, Sequoyah Distinguished Professor of Cherokee Studies at Western Carolina University. Conley, an Oklahoma Cherokee and the author of more than 80 works of fiction and nonfiction, organized the event.

828.227.2306, 918.708.5476 or rconley@wcu.edu; 828.497.3481, ext. 306 or bduncan@cherokeemuseum.org.