In three years, 18 authors with local ties have been honored for their success by Statesboro: The Write Place.

Yet the event is just as much about nurturing aspiring writers. After all, a leading partner in the event is the Georgia Southern University Department of Writing and Linguistics, home of the only freestanding writing department in Georgia.

In that spirit, two free writers workshops will be held at the Statesboro Regional Library on Saturday. At 8:30 a.m., Grammy-winning songwriter Tony Arata leads "The Art of the Songwriting Process."

It's all about "making the most of the elements of songwriting that are in your control," said Arata, who has penned hits for Garth Brooks, Bonnie Raitt, Randy Travis and other Nashville legends.

At 10 a.m., Damon Lee Fowler shares the secret ingredients of a delicious cookbook. It's a collection of stories as well as recipes, as shown in Fowler's six acclaimed cookbooks, including his latest, "The Savannah Cookbook." Reservations are required for the workshops and can be made by calling the library or visiting their website.

A statewide writing competition for high school students is another way The Write Place discovers and promotes budding authors. Maya Van Wagenen, the local 10th-grader who is one of the featured professional writers this year, won two of the three student categories in 2012. Faculty from the GSU Department of Writing and Linguistics judge hundreds of submitted works to determine fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction winners.

The candidates for The Write Place 2033 celebration may already be in the works, too, thanks to the children's story hour at the Statesboro Regional Library, where little ones will be face-to-face with local authors. At 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Russ Lanier will present his children's book "Caterpillar Cowboy." At 9:45 a.m. Thursday, author Verdery Kennedy and illustrator Sylvia Zellner will share their "Potato Bug Race."

The Write Place festival is a partnership of the Georgia Southern University of Department for Writing and Linguistics, Statesboro Magazine, the Averitt Center for the Arts, Friends of the Statesboro Library, Ogeechee Technical College and the Statesboro Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"We partnered to promote Statesboro as the Write Place — a place where writers and authors gather," said Jenny Foss of Statesboro Magazine. "We imagine Statesboro to be the birthplace of future Southern authors, too, and these programs help make it a reality."