spotlight
Allison Schachter Receives Fenia and Yaakov Leviant Memorial Prize in Yiddish Studies from the MLA
Dec. 12, 2024—Congratulations to Dr. Allison Schachter, Winkelried Family Chair in Jewish Studies, whose book Women Writing Jewish Modernity, 1919-1939 was awarded the Fenia and Yaakov Leviant Memorial Prize in Yiddish Studies from the MLA. The committee’s citation of Allison’s book wrote the following: Women Writing Jewish Modernity, 1919–1939 is a groundbreaking work of scholarship that...
Vanderbilt Literary Prize Winner Stephanie Niu Releases Book Cover of Forthcoming Poetry Collection, ‘I Would Define The Sun’
Dec. 9, 2024—Vanderbilt Literary Prize Winner Stephanie Niu has released the official book cover for her forthcoming poetry collection, I Would Define The Sun. The collection will be released on February 15, 2025. Stephanie Niu’s I Would Define the Sun, awarded the 2024 Vanderbilt University Literary Prize, is a collection of poems that declare the impossibility of...
December 5 – Gregory Pardlo – Poetry Reading – Buttrick Hall 101 @ 7 PM
Dec. 4, 2024—♦ December 5: Gregory Pardlo, Poetry, Buttrick Hall 101 Gregory Pardlo is the author of the poetry collections Spectral Evidence and Digest, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. His other books include Totem, winner of the American Poetry Review/ Honickman Prize, and Air Traffic, a memoir in essays....
Nov. 18, 4:10 PM – Humanities Expertise and Careers: Paula M. Krebs
Sep. 30, 2024— Monday, November 18: Humanities Expertise & Careers Paula M. Krebs Divinity School G29, 4:10 PM Paula M. Krebs is executive director of the Modern Language Association, the largest disciplinary association in the humanities with 20,000 members from 100 countries. Her role includes national advocacy work for language, literature, writing, and culture research...
2nd-Year MFA student Sydney Mayes awarded Only Poems prize for “Poet of the Year”
Sep. 19, 2024—Sydney Mayes has been named the 2024 “Poet of the Year” by literary magazine Only Poems. The prize is for $3000. Congratulations, Sydney! Sydney Mayes is a second-year poetry MFA candidate from Denver, Colorado. She holds a BA in English and Creative Writing from the University of Iowa. Winner of the 2021 Iowa Chapbook Prize, her...
MFA Alum Rita Bullwinkel (’16) Celebrates Success of Latest Novel ‘Headshot’
Sep. 6, 2024—Congratulations to Vanderbilt MFA Rita Bullwinkel (’16), whose novel is receiving national attention and acclaim. An unexpected tragedy at a community pool. A family’s unrelenting expectation of victory. The desire to gain or lose control; to make time speed up or stop; to be frighteningly, undeniably good at something. Each of the eight teenage girl...
2024-2025 Gertrude and Harold Vanderbilt Reading Series
Sep. 6, 2024— 2024-2025 Gertrude and Harold Vanderbilt Reading Series The Vanderbilt Department of English and Creative Writing Program is pleased to announce the Gertrude and Harold Vanderbilt Reading Series 2024-2025. Click here for the official press release with more details about this year’s series. All readings begin at 7:00 pm on Thursdays. Fall 2024 ♦...
2024 Merrill Moore Prizewinners Announced
Apr. 29, 2024—Congratulations to the winners of the 2024 Merrill Moore Prize
2024 Academy of American Poets Prize Winner and Honorable Mentions Announced
Apr. 17, 2024—2024 Academy of American Poets Prize Contest Winner and Honorable Mentions Congratulations to this year’s winner of the 2024 Academy of American Poets Prize Contest, Sydney Mayes, and to the students receiving honorable mentions for their work, Carson Colenbaugh and Ajla Dizdarevic. Winner: Sydney Mayes, GS, MFA, for “the walker system” Honorable Mentions: Ajla Dizdarevic,...
MFA Alum Claire Jiménez’s Novel Wins 2024 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
Apr. 17, 2024—Vanderbilt MFA Alum Claire Jiménez’s novel What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez (Grand Central) has been selected as the winner of the 2024 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. This year’s finalists included Jamel Brinkley’s Witness, Henry Hoke’s Open Throat, Alice McDermott’s Absolution, and Colin Winnette’s Users. The judges—Xochitl Gonzalez, Alan Michael Parker, and Lynn Steger Strong—considered 445 eligible novels and short...