The creative writing program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will celebrate its students and alumni and bring published novelists and poets to campus during Creative Writing Month in October.
Timothy Schaffert, program coordinator and associate professor, said Creative Writing Month activities were first organized in 2016 to help accelerate the momentum in the program and find new ways to include undergraduates. The authors attending will give public lectures and work with students.
Among the highlights this year is a poetry slam by Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib, author of “The Crown Ain’t Worth Much,” at 7 p.m. Oct. 26 in the Nebraska Union Auditorium.
A complete schedule can be found here. Events open to the public are:
11 a.m. Oct. 5, Andrews Hall Bailey Library: “Poetry in Print: The Poetry Book and the Publishing Process,” a discussion led by Crystal Gibbons, Adrian Koesters and Michelle Menting, alumnae of Nebraska’s creative writing doctorate program. They will offer advice and insights on the process of bringing poetry to publication.
5 p.m. Oct. 9, Great Plains Art Museum: Bradford Morrow, novelist and Guggenheim fellow, will give a reading from his novel, “The Prague Sonata.”
3:30 p.m. Oct. 10, Heritage Room, Nebraska Union: Panel with agents and editors Noah Ballard, Monika Woods, Jane von Mehren and Morgan Jenkins
5 p.m. Oct. 10, Great Plains Art Museum: Alumni Readings with Nick White and Devin Murphy. Murphy is the author of “The Boat Runner,” and White is the author of “How to Survive a Summer.”
Noon Oct. 11, Andrews Hall Bailey Library: Reading and discussion with Morgan Jerkins. Jerkins will read from her upcoming debut essay collection, “This Will Be My Undoing.” She’ll also talk about the writing, editing and publishing process.
2 p.m. Oct. 12, Andrews Hall Bailey Library: “What Editors Want,” a craft talk with Lynne Barrett. Barrett is a fiction writer, essayist and editor. She is also the author of “What Editors Want: A Must Read for Writers Submitting to Literary Magazines.”
3:30 p.m. Oct. 12, Andrews Hall Bailey Library: SJ Sindu, a Husker alum, will discuss her new work, the novel, “Marriage of a Thousand Lies.”
6 p.m. Oct. 12, Andrews Hall Bailey Library: A reading by Lynne Barrett, author of “The Secret of Women,” “The Land of Go” and most recently, “Magpies.”
6 p.m. Oct. 18, Andrews Hall Bailey Library: A reading by poet Twyla Hansen from her new book, “RockTreeBird.” Hansen is the first woman to serve as Nebraska State Poet.
5:15 p.m. Oct. 23, Barrymore’s, 124 N. 13th St.: No Name Reading Series. No Name features the best in poetry and prose from graduate student writers in the department of English.
7 p.m. Oct. 26, Nebraska Union Auditorium: Poetry Slam featuring Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib, author of “The Crown Ain’t Worth Much.”
7 p.m. Oct. 30, Andrews Hall Bailey Library: Nasty Women Poets: A reading by contributors to the anthology, featuring Grace Bauer, Twyla Hansen, Christine Stewart Nunez, Kimberly Tedrow, Hope Wabuke, Stacey Waite and Laura Madeline Wiseman.
3:30 p.m. Nov. 2, Andrews Hall Bailey Library: Matthew Jockers, co-author of “The Bestseller Code: Anatomy of the Blockbuster Novel,” will kick off National Novel Writing Month with a discussion exploring the relationship between creativity and analytics, including examining trends in “The New York Times” bestseller list.
