The Knoxville Writers’ Guild will be hosting their third Annual Adult Spelling Bee at Scruffy City Hall on September 6th at 7:00 pm.

Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend the open event. David Drews, the Knoxville Writers’ Guild publicist and member, as well as UT alum encourages students, professors, and any adult members of the community to come and support the local arts through the event.

“It is very important to every city to support the arts, and writers are artists whether they write literary fiction, historical novels, sci-fi, or they are journalists,” Drews said.

“[Artists] are contributing to the cultural life of Knoxville, and [writing] is a tough business…so when you have a community of artists and craftsman like writers, you can join and help each other; it makes it that much better to practice your profession, and it also increases your opportunities for success,” Drews said.

The Guild meets once a month at Central United Methodist Church, where they bring in authors and literary agents from different areas to share their knowledge with the Guild members.

“They can come together and learn from each other; that is the most important thing,” Drews said.

Drews said he personally enjoys being a part of the Guild because he can read others works, receive criticisms about his own writing, and grow a network of writers in the fiction genre.

“[We hope to] present entertainment, but also the fascination with this language of ours that is so eclectic and so rich as writers,”Pamela Schoenewaldt, Vice President of the Guild said.

Schoenewaldt hopes that the event can reach out to all people of different audiences in the community.

The Guild also hosts Saturday morning workshops that provide the opportunity for writers to learn about copyrights, self publishing, utilizing historical events in writing, and many other topics taught by experts.

Schoenewaldt said that being able to see other writers throughout her life grew her confidence in writing other elements and genres in literature, and that the Guild can do the same for its members.

“There are lots and lots of people who write, or want to write in this community, and we offer group for writers of all genres in all stages…we just want folks to express themselves… it provides a tremendous platform for people,” Schoenewaldt said.

The competition will host 25 spellers, and the entry fee is $12. Those interested can register on the guild’s website. Those 18 and over are welcome to join in on the competition to win cash prizes and door prizes donated by local businesses and artists in Knoxville.

Those looking to just watch the competitions are welcome to come; a $2 donation is suggested to help fund the guild and its activities, which includes writing workshops and other events for the East Tennessee area.

“I am a proud volunteer, and I would love to see some University of Tennessee [students] at the spelling bee…it would be wonderful,” Drews said.