Author
Creative Writing program hosts poets Didi Jackson and Patrick Paridee Samuel
Dec. 4, 2025—Vanderbilt’s Creative Writing Program hosted a salon on November 13 with assistant professor Didi Jackson and fellow poet Patrick Sharidee Samuel. They discussed their recent collections, My Infinity and And Another Thing. Following the salon, graduate and undergraduate students participated in a book-making workshop and produced their own work. For upcoming events, visit the...
Vanderbilt Reading Series welcomes novelist Rita Bullwinkel – December 4
Dec. 3, 2025—Thursday, December 4 Book-signing, 6:30 PM Reading, 7:00 PM Vanderbilt Special Collections Library 1101 19th Ave South Nashville, TN 37212 Rita Bullwinkel is the author of the novels Headshot (2024) and Belly Up (2018). Headshot was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Los Angeles Times Book Prize, Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and Gordon Burn Prize. It...
Alum Donika Kelly fronts Poets & Writers Magazine
Nov. 17, 2025—Poet Donika Kelly, who received her PhD in English from Vanderbilt, is featured in the November/December 2025 issue of Poets & Writers Magazine, following the publication of her third volume of poetry, The Natural Order of Things, from Graywolf Press. “In a time when escapist fantasies dominate the fiction charts, The Natural Order of Things is...
Marie-Helene Bertino joins Gertrude C. & Harold S. Vanderbilt Reading Series
Nov. 14, 2025—Novelist and short story writer Marie-Helene Bertino joined the Gertrude C. & Harold S. Vanderbilt Reading Series on November 6 with her novel Beautyland, an American Book Award winner and National Book Critics Circle finalist, which follows Adina Giorno, born with unusual perception to a single mother in Philadelphia. The arrival of a fax machine enables her...
2025 Creative Writing newsletter now available
Nov. 13, 2025—The newsletter can be viewed by clicking here. PDF Version
Poet and anthropologist Nomi Stone features as H. S. Vanderbilt speaker – November 14
Nov. 3, 2025—Friday, November 14th 12:30 – 2:30 PM Kissam C216 Lunch will be provided, and a selection of Nomi Stone’s book will be available for attendees. Nomi Stone is an award-winning poet and anthropologist. She is the author of two full-length poetry collections, Stranger’s Notebook (TriQuarterly 2008) and Kill Class (Tupelo 2019), which was a finalist...
Amy Quan Barry joins Gertrude C. & Harold S. Vanderbilt Reading Series
Oct. 31, 2025—Novelist and poet Amy Quan Barry joined the Gertrude C. & Harold S. Vanderbilt Reading Series on October 16 with her new novel The Unveiling, which chronicles the struggles of Striker, a Black film scout, who, along with a group of wealthy white tourists, becomes stranded on a remote island in the Antarctic Peninsula during a...
New Yorker publishes MFA alum Nathan Blum
Oct. 28, 2025— A story by Creative Writing alum Nathan Blum (’25) appears in the November 3 issue of The New Yorker. “Outcomes” follows two college students who meet and form a connection. “I think I could set out to write about pretty much anything, and it would end up being in...
Fiction reading with Marie-Helene Bertino – Thursday, November 6
Oct. 28, 2025—Thursday, November 6 Book-signing: 6:30 PM Reading: 7:00 PM Special Collections Library 1101 19th Ave South, Nashville, TN 37212 At the moment when Voyager 1 is launched into space carrying its famous golden record, a baby of unusual perception is born to a single mother in Philadelphia. Adina Giorno is tiny and jaundiced, but...
Taylor Swift scholar to join Vanderbilt Reading Series – Thursday, October 30
Oct. 24, 2025—Harvard Professor Stephanie Burt will discuss the poetical & musical genius of Taylor Swift on Thursday, October 30 in the Special Collections Library at 7pm. The book signing will begin shortly before the reading at 6:30. Click to read the full press release [pdf]. Stephanie Burt is a poet, literary critic, and professor with nine...