With the support of Williams's estate, the Sewanee Writers' Conference was founded in 1990 by poet Wyatt Prunty. In 2019, Leah Stewart — a longtime former SWC staff member, author of six novels, and then-chair of the English Department at the University of Cincinnati — came on as the new director, helming her first conference in 2021.

The conference has evolved significantly under Stewart's leadership. Starting that first summer, she added nonfiction workshops to the conference's slate of fiction, poetry, and playwriting, along with an extensive list of special topics classes and increased opportunities for participants to meet with editors, agents, and theater professionals.

Stewart also brought a commitment to diversity, inclusion, egalitarianism, and sustainability that now defines the SWC ethos.

Additionally, the conference has established partnerships with Cave Canem, CantoMundo, Indigenous Nations Poets, Kundiman, RAWI, and The Sol Project to offer fellowships as our thriving literary community continues to grow.

The conference is immensely proud of the community of writers who have joined us on mountain from all over the world to teach and to learn — and perhaps even more proud of the way that community stays connected long after they've returned home.