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The Gertrude C. & Harold S. Vanderbilt Reading Series 2026-27 kicks off on September 10 with U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey
Aug. 27, 2026—Former U.S. Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize-winner Natasha Trethewey will kick off the 2026-2027 Gertrude C. & Harold S. Vanderbilt Reading Series on September 10. The evening will begin with a literary salon at 6:30 PM, followed by a public reading 7:00 and a book-signing at 8:00. Thursday, September 10 Vanderbilt Special Collections Library, 1101 19th...
PhD alum Sarah Childress appointed to Nashville Mayor’s Office of Entertainment
Aug. 7, 2026—Sarah Childress, a PhD from the Vanderbilt Department of English, has been appointed by the Mayor Freddie O’Connell to be Executive Director of the Nashville Office of Entertainment. She will begin her new role at the end of August.The office is tasked with promoting the local creative industry and supporting its workers and businesses. Sarah...
Adam Ross joins Vanderbilt English as writer in residence
Aug. 4, 2026—Vanderbilt University’s Department of English and Creative Writing Program is delighted to welcome novelist and short story writer Adam Ross as a writer in residence for the Fall 2026 semester. He is the author of Playworld, a coming-of-age novel which follows 14-year-old Griffin Hurt in 1980s Manhattan. It was named one of the best books...
Professor Akshya Saxena on the power of English
Jun. 22, 2026—Associate Professor Akshya Saxena was recently featured on Vanderbilt’s Quantum Potential podcast. In its bonus episode, “Language and Its Political and Social Power,” Professor Saxena discusses how English operates in multilingual societies like India—not just as a language, but as a force shaping democracy, identity and access. Listen to the episode here. MORE NEWS
Didi Jackson’s Tennessee Book Award to be celebrated
May. 1, 2026—Humanities Tennessee will celebrate Didi Jackson, the recipient of the 2025 Tennessee Book Award for Poetry. The reading and reception will take place Saturday, May 2, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM at Parnassus Books in Nashville. Didi Jackson is an assistant professor of English and the author of the poetry collections My Infinity and Moon...
Merrill Moore creative writing awards announced
Apr. 23, 2026—The Department of English and Creative Writing Program congratulate the recipients of the 2026 Merrill Moore Prizes for outstanding work in their respective genres. The awards go to graduating seniors based on “literary promise and the psychological or practical usefulness of the award.” Merrill Moore Prize for Fiction: Katerina Grace Krizner (Tallahassee, Florida) Merrill Moore...
Amanda Little’s student-led journalism project highlighted by Nashville Banner
Apr. 21, 2026—The Nashville SUNN is a high school student-led journalism project founded by Writer in Residence Amanda Little. It was recently highlighted by the Nashville Banner, which wrote, “Nashville’s teenagers are bringing back print news.” The Nashville SUNN is a training ground for students to learn about journalistic practices and ethics. These students pitch, report, fact-check...
Major Jackson’s poems we should know by heart
Apr. 20, 2026—In a recent feature for the New York Times Style Magazine, Director of Creative Writing Major Jackson and fellow poet Frederick Seidel name six poems we should all know by heart. The list includes works by 20th-century poets Lucille Clifton, Galway Kinnell, Philip Larkin, and Rainer Maria Rilke and classics by Milton and Shakespeare. The interactive...
Second-year MFA student Lana Reeves announces book deal
Apr. 6, 2026—Penguin Random House will publish second-year MFA student Lana Reeves‘ debut poetry collection KAMA’ĀINA in 2027. Lana hails from O’ahu, Hawai’i and received her BA with honors from Harvard University, where her thesis, under the direction from former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, was certified summa cum laude. Learn more about Lana and her work...