The English Department’s Visiting Writers Series has provided exceptional literary arts programming that is free and open to the public. Every year, our series aims to connect students, faculty, staff, and the greater Asheville community with established authors to hear their work, and the stories behind their work. Our visiting writers have engaged with students in the classroom, over meals, and during informal presentations. Recent visiting writers include Claudia Rankine, Jericho Brown, Wally Lamb, David Ebershoff, and C.J. Hauser.
Our series is funded in large part by patrons of the series. Please consider supporting this series by making a tax-deductible contribution.
To be kept informed of upcoming events, please subscribe to our mailing list.
Spring 2023
An Evening with Poet Laureate Ada Limón
Monday, March 20 at 7:00 PM in Highsmith Union’s Blue Ridge Room
Ada Limón is the author of six books of poetry, including The Carrying, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry. Her book Bright Dead Things was nominated for the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award. Her work has been supported most recently by a Guggenheim Fellowship. She grew up in Sonoma, California and now lives in Lexington, Kentucky where she writes, teaches remotely, and hosts the critically acclaimed poetry podcast, The Slowdown. Her new book of poetry, The Hurting Kind, is out now from Milkweed Editions. She is the 24th Poet Laureate of The United States.
Registration for this event is now closed.
An Evening with Fiction Writer, Jamel Brinkley
Thursday, April 6 at 7:00 PM in Sherrill Center’s Mountain View Room
Jamel Brinkley is the author of A Lucky Man: Stories, a finalist for the National Book Award, the Story Prize, the John Leonard Prize, the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize, and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award; and winner of a PEN Oakland Award and the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. His writing has appeared in A Public Space, The Paris Review, Ploughshares, Gulf Coast, The Threepenny Review, Glimmer Train, American Short Fiction, The Believer, and Tin House, and has been anthologized twice in The Best American Short Stories.
Registration is required for this event. Please register at this link.
Additional Creative Writing Events:
Tuesday, January 31 at 3:30 PM in Sherrill Center’s Mountain View Room
Peter Turchi will discuss his latest book, (Don’t) Stop Me if You’ve Heard This Before, a work that combines personal narrative with close readings of a wide range of stories to reveal how writers create meaningful fiction.
Wednesday, February 15 at 6:00 PM at Malaprop’s Bookstore and online
Launch of Jennifer McGaha’s Bushwhacking. This hybrid event will be in conversation with Bev MacDowell. Click this link to be redirected to the Malaprop’s event page.
Sunday, February 19 at 3:00 PM at the Asheville Visitor’s Center
Launch of Lori Horvitz’s Collect Call to My Mother: Essays on Love, Grief, and Getting a Good Night’s Sleep.
Monday, March 27 at 7:00 PM in Sherrill Center’s Mountain View Room
A Reading with Jennifer McGaha and Lori Horvitz.
Sunday, April 23 at 3:00 PM in Karpen Hall’s Laurel Forum
Senior Seminar in Creative Writing students will give readings of their works.
Accessibility
Find accessibility information for campus buildings at maps.unca.edu. For accessibility questions or to request event accommodations, please contact reservation@unca.edu or 828.250.3832.
Visitor Parking
Visitors may park in faculty/staff and non-resident lots from 5:00 p.m. until 7:30 a.m., Monday through Friday, and on weekends, holidays, and campus breaks. Visitors are not permitted to park in resident student lots at any time.