Inspiration Behind the Writers Conference Teaching is a career that is filled with as many heartaches as it has rewards. And while a teacher may hope to reach each student, it is not always clear if she is successful.
Teachers say that any recognition by students makes it all worthwhile.
Former students of Harriette Austin pay tribute to their favorite educator each year. Austin has inspired her students for almost three decades to dream to become writers and to follow the dream. Austin, a longtime writing instructor for the Community Programs at The University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education, is honored annually with a writers conference which carries her name. In its eight-year history, the Harriette Austin Writers Conference has gained a national reputation as one of the top writers conferences in the country, and has attracted some of the most desireable names in the publishing industry. Organized by some of Austin's former students, the annual Harriette Austin Writers Conference is directed to new and practicing writers of fiction and nonfiction works.