Monday, November 16, 2015

Wilmington, NC (Nov. 10, 2015) -- Writers’ Week, UNCW’s annual celebration of the art and craft of writing, will take place Nov. 16-20, bringing acclaimed authors, poets and editors from across the nation to campus to share their knowledge with students, faculty, staff and anyone with an interest in literature, writing and the publishing process.

Hosted by the award-winning Department of Creative Writing, the week-long event features activities, workshops, panels, readings and more. Sessions will focus on different genres, including fiction, nonfiction and poetry, and will cover several aspects of the craft – plot, characterization, language and form. Book agents and editors will discuss their professions and will hold a Q&A with the audience, and faculty members will read from their own work. Writers will receive tips on how to turn a book into a television show, and Master of Fine Arts in creative writing alumni will participate in a career panel to share insights from their own experiences beyond the university.

“This is our best series of public presentations, with readings from internationally celebrated writers,” said Michael White, creative writing department chair. “People will have a chance to sample the state of literature today, and will learn how to support and develop their own writing aspirations.”

Award-winning Jill McCorkle, Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner Edward P. Jones and distinguished poet Sarah Messer will be among the many esteemed writers attending. All events are free and open to the public.

McCorkle is the author of six novels and four story collections. Her work appears in numerous periodicals and four of her short stories have been selected for the Best American Short Stories series. Five of McCorkle’s books have been named New York Times notable books. She has received the New England Booksellers Award, the John Dos Passos Prize for Excellence in Literature and the North Carolina Award for Literature.  She will give the Buckner Reading at 7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 19 in King Hall, room 101.

Jones has written three novels: The Known World, Lost in the City and All Aunt Hagar’s Children. He has received the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award, a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the MacArthur Fellowship, among many other distinguished nominations and awards. He will read his work at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17 in Morton Hall, room 100.

Messer is the author of Red House and the book of poetry Bandit Letters. Her work has appeared in the Paris Review, the Kenyon Review and Gulf Coast, among others. After receiving her B.A. at Middlebury College and her M.F.A. at the University of Michigan, Messer was an associate professor at UNCW in the creative writing department. She will share her work at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 18 in the CIS Building, room 1008.

Other presenters:

James Campbell has written stories for Outside, National Geographic, Backpacker and Audubon. His first book, The Final Frontiersman, was chosen by the Midwest Booksellers Association, Outdoor Writers of America, Amazon’s editors and the Book of the Month Club as one of 2004’s top titles.

Tayari Jones is the author of three novels, including Silver Sparrow. She serves on the M.F.A. faculty at Rutgers.

Ilya Kaminsky is the author of Dancing in Odessa and co-editor of Ecco Anthology of International Poetry. His work has been honored with the American Academy of Arts and Letters Metcalf Award, the Whiting Writers Award, the Lannan Fellowship and other distinctions.

Matthew Neill Null is a recipient of the Mary McCarthy Prize and the Michener-Copernicus Society of America Award. His fiction appears in American Short Fiction, Ecotone, the Oxford American, the PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories and The Best American Mystery Stories. Honey From the Lion is his first novel.

Jennifer Sahn is executive editor of Pacific Standard. She previously served as editor of Orion, during which time the magazine was twice a winner of the Utne Independent Press Award for General Excellence and twice a finalist for a National Magazine Award.

Peter Steinberg has represented numerous New York Times bestsellers and his clients have been nominated for and awarded Edgars, the Pulitzer Prize, the Story Prize, the Paris Review Discovery Prize, PEN/Faulkner Awards and National Book Awards. He currently works with Foundry.

Rory Sparks is a printmaker and book artist living and working in Portland. She is the founding director of Em Space Book Arts Center, where artists have access to space and rare equipment for their book art practice.

Jason Frye is a travel, culinary and culture writer with an M.F.A. in creative writing from UNCW. His stories and photography appear in publications including Our State, Southern Living, Salt, AAA Go!, Thrillist, Virgin Atlantic Airlines and Forbes. He is the author of Moon North Carolina, Moon North Carolina Coast Including the Outer Banks and Moon Blue Ridge Parkway Roadtrip.

Lauren Frye has worked as a publicist for Bald Head Island, managing editor for their lifestyle magazine, Haven, and is currently part of the team at Gillies and Zaiser, a travel PR firm. She graduated from UNCW in 2004 with an M.F.A. in creative writing.

Ryanne Probst graduated from UNCW in 2014 with her B.F.A. in creative writing and a certificate in publishing. She works as a publicist for Berkley/NAL, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Meg Reid is an editor and nonfiction writer. Her essays have appeared in Chautauqua, Matter Journal, DIAGRAM, the Oxford American, Fringe and The Rumpus. She is the editor of Carolina Writers at Home, a photo and essay collection focused on writers’ houses. She is the deputy director of Hub City Press in Spartanburg, SC.

Carson Vaughan is a freelance writer whose work appears in the publications including The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, National Geographic, Smithsonian, Travel+Leisure and Salon. He is the founding editor of The Dailyer Nebraskan, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s first and only satirical news source, and the former nonfiction editor of Ecotone.

Additional information about Writers’ Week and a detailed schedule of events are available online.

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The University of North Carolina Wilmington, the state’s coastal university, is consistently recognized at a national level for academic excellence and affordability. UNCW is dedicated to learning through the integration of teaching and mentoring with research and service. A public institution with over 14,000 students, the university is widely acknowledged for its superb faculty and staff and a powerful academic experience that stimulates creative inquiry, critical thinking, thoughtful expression and responsible citizenship. UNCW offers an array of high-quality programs at the baccalaureate and master’s levels, and doctoral programs in marine biology and educational leadership. The university is dedicated to offering a community rich in diversity and inclusion, global perspectives, and enriching the quality of life through scholarly community engagement in such areas as health, education, the economy, the environment, marine and coastal issues, and the arts.

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