Dig into the craft of writing YA novels with this author panel featuring Elizabeth Lim, Rowana Miller, and Alexandra Villasante, with Nova Ren Suma. To register: writing.upenn.edu/wh/calendar/...
YA Authors in Conversation
W 3/18, 6:00 pm
Kelly Writers House, 3805 Locust Walk
Co-sponsored by PennCW
Panel discussion and reception with 6 science journalists from The Economist, Scientific American, Vox, The Transmitter, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and WHYY on March 16, at 6:30pm at the BRB Auditorium.
Catered dinner reception to follow. RSVP: tinyurl.com/preview/25nd...
A Celebration of the Life and Work of Alice Notley. Readings and reflections by Anselm Berrigan, Edmund Berrigan, Julia Bloch, erica kaufman, Michelle Lu, Pattie McCarthy, and Shoshana Olidort. Hosted by Laynie Browne. 3/17,
5:30PM, Kelly Writers House. To register: tinyurl.com/273xlt2l
Senior Lecturer Lorene Cary is helping amplify Philadelphia youth voices as they seek to get their peers to the polls:
It was a pleasure to host Inna Krasnoper, Eugene Ostashevsky, and Kevin M.F. Platt last week at Kelly Writers House. If you weren't able to join in person, check out the live stream of Translingualisms: Dislocating Poetry at the link below.
www.youtube.com/live/0I1_7qT...
Do you believe what you hear? Join us next week at Kelly Writers House for an in-depth conversation about the notion of truth in audio storytelling, featuring Yowei Shaw, Maori Holmes, and Matt Katz. Hosted by our very own Nate Chinen! Register to attend at writing.upenn.edu/wh/calendar/...
Congratulations to Anna Badkhen, whose forthcoming essay collection has earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly: "Badkhen’s narrative achieves the difficult task of emanating authority and moral force without lecturing. The result is a quietly moving tribute to survivors of global upheaval. "
The 2026 Creative Writing prize portal is officially open!
The Creative Writing Prizes recognize excellence in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, journalistic writing and podcasting, scriptwriting and reviews.
Submission are due Friday, February 20, at 12pm, noon.
Join the LARB Book Club in reading Professor Sebastian Castillo's "Fresh, Green Life" this summer!
Thinking about MFA programs? Excellent (and searchable) database from our friends at Poets & Writers, including full and low residency and online options. www.pw.org/mfa
We're so proud of Cosmic Writers’ founder and executive director, Penn Alum Rowana Miller, who has been selected as a 2025 @aspenideas Festival Fellow! Congrats, Rowana!
Faculty member Syd Zolf has won an Independent Creative Production Grant from the The Sachs Program for Arts Innovation, which they'll use to complete their sixth book of poetry, Neutrøis, a project exploring notions of “third,” nonbinary gender. Congratulations to Syd! sachsarts.org/grant-awards...
The Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing in collaboration with the Kelly Writers House has been awarded an inaugural Draw Down the Lightning grant to offer publicly accessible programming exploring the relationship between creativity and telling the truth.
Jeez, it was a tough year for our judges...so much great work. Find out who won here: creative.writing.upenn.edu/index.php/ho...
Abbey Mei Otis wins Beltran Award for Innovative Teaching:
Congratulations to Creative Writing instructor Abbey Mei Otis, the winner of the 2025-2026 Beltran Award, presented to a faculty member who teaches writing in the extracurricular context of the Kelly Writers House.
Check out the beautiful cover art for the Italian translation of Artist-in-Residence Anna Badkhen's Bright Unbearable Reality! Cronache di un mondo in movimento is out now from Gramma Feltrinelli, translated from the original by Gioia Gerzoni. Cover art by Diana Ejaita.
Tomorrow (April 22)!
Check out the beautiful cover art for the Italian translation of Artist-in-Residence Anna Badkhen's Bright Unbearable Reality! Cronache di un mondo in movimento is out now from Gramma Feltrinelli, translated from the original by Gioia Gerzoni. Cover art by Diana Ejaita.
Check out Taije Silverman's translation of Giovanni Pascoli's 'Il Transito' selected by Carol Rumens as The Guardian's "Poem of the Week"!
Syd Zolf recently joined Julie Carr on the podcast Return the Key. Their conversation explores writing, grief and loss, intergenerational trauma, the notion of the unanswerable question as a foundational Jewish practice, and the idea of witnessing from the position of the “no one.” Listen below:
Windward Review creative journal (Texas A&M University) invites submissions to Vol. 23: Conversations and catalyzing connections. Especially interested the epistolary and ekphrastic.
Deadline is March 17, 2025, by noon CST.
tinyurl.com/fv3t98u2
What an amazing night it was! The people have the power!
Creative Writing minor Connor Nakamura is featured in Penn Today! Check out this great article on Connor's senior thesis research on the life, work, and legacy of Bayard Rustin:
March 6, 2025, a 4pm-6pm table reading of Coming Out! A Documentary Play About Gay and Lesbian Life and Liberation by gay historian Ned Katz. RSVP to rbracho@sas.upenn.edu
Congratulations to my friend and neighbor Brooke O'Harra, whose forthcoming book on directing, "Who is in the Room", is a must-read for anyone interested in theater.
www.routledge.com/Who-Is-In-th...
2025 Penn Creative Writing Prizes now open for submissions! Multiple genres! Cash prizes up to $500! Open to ALL currently enrolled Penn students! Deadline is 12 pm noon March 7. creative.writing.upenn.edu/honors-award...
Please join English and Creative Writing on March 4th for our annual Majors & More Dinner! RSVP at www.college.upenn.edu/node/1336
The Majors & More program offers a relaxed opportunity to share a meal with faculty, staff and current students while exploring majors, minors and course offerings.
