FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Katy Yocom
Master of Fine Arts in Writing
Spalding University
502-873-4400
Spalding’s Festival of Contemporary Writing Showcases Artists from Kentucky and
Nationwide
LOUISVILLE, KY (October 7, 2015)—Spalding University’s Festival of Contemporary Writing, the
state’s largest fall-spring reading series, takes place November 15-20, featuring readings by
faculty and alumni of Spalding University’s low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing
program.
Festival events will be held at the Brown Hotel (335 W. Broadway) and Spalding’s Egan
Leadership Center (901 S. Fourth St.), as noted. Plenty of free parking is available for the
campus readings. All readings and events are free, ticketless, and open to the public.
5:15-6:30 p.m. Sunday, November 15. MFA faculty reading. (Egan Leadership Center, 901 S.
Fourth St.)
 Roy Hoffman (creative nonfiction, fiction), Alabama Afternoons: Profiles and
Conversations; Come Landfall
 Debra Kang Dean (poetry), Fugitive Blues
 Sam Zalutsky (screenwriting), How to Make It to the Promised Land
 Nancy McCabe (creative nonfiction), From Little Houses to Little Women: Revisiting a
Literary Childhood
 Shane McCrae (poetry), The Animal Too Big to Kill: Poems
 Rachel Harper (fiction), Brass Ankle Blues
 Eric Schmiedl (playwriting), The Kardiac Kid
10:00-11:00 a.m. Tuesday, November 17. Reading by MFA Alumni. (Egan Leadership Center,
901 S. Fourth St.)
 Karin Goodwin (’13), writing for children & young adults
 Michael Premo (’14), fiction
 CoCo Harris (’06), creative nonfiction
 Genissa Bornong Leder (’13), writing for children & young adults
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Matt Berman (’13), creative nonfiction
Beth Weber (’12), fiction
Eric Cravey (’11), creative nonfiction
Julie Stewart (’10), fiction
5:15-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 18. MFA faculty reading. (Egan Leadership Center, 901
S. Fourth St.)
 Dianne Aprile (creative nonfiction), Making a Heart for God: A Week Inside a Catholic
Monastery
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Charlie Schulman (playwriting, screenwriting), The Goldstein Variations
Maureen Morehead (poetry), Late August Blues: The Daylily Poems
Ron Schildknecht (screenwriting), The Legend of the Pope Lick Monster
Neela Vaswani (fiction, creative nonfiction), You Have Given Me a Country
Silas House (fiction), Eli the Good
Helena Kriel (screenwriting), Tsotsi
5:30-6:45 p.m. Thursday, November 19. Celebration of Recently Published Books by Faculty.
Book signing to follow. Books provided by Carmichael’s Bookstore. (Brown Hotel, 335 W.
Broadway, 16th floor, Gallery Ballroom)
 Robin Lippincott (fiction, creative nonfiction), Blue Territory: A Meditation on the Life and
Art of Joan Mitchell
 Lesléa Newman (writing for children & young adults), Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed
 Susan Campbell Bartoletti (writing for children & young adults), Terrible Typhoid Mary
 Kathleen Driskell (poetry), Next Door to the Dead
5:30-6:45 p.m. Friday, November 20. MFA faculty reading. (Brown Hotel, 335 W. Broadway,
16th floor, Gallery Ballroom)
 Cathy Medwick (creative nonfiction), Teresa of Avila: The Progress of a Soul
 Kirby Gann (fiction), Ghosting
 Larry Brenner (playwriting, screenwriting), Bethlehem
 Beth Bauman (writing for children & young adults), Jersey Angel
 Jeanie Thompson (poetry), The Seasons Bear Us
 Sena Jeter Naslund (fiction), The Fountain of St. James Court; or, Portrait of the Artist as
an Old Woman
The reading schedule may change without notice. Check the website for updated
information: spalding.edu/mfa. For more information, call 502-873-4400 or 800-896-8941, ext.
4400, or email mfa@spalding.edu.
Spalding’s four-semester, low-residency MFA in Writing Program combines superb
instruction with unparalleled flexibility. The program offers concentrations in fiction, poetry,
creative nonfiction, writing for children and young adults, screenwriting, and playwriting.
Students begin the semester in the spring, summer, or fall with a 10-day residency in Louisville
or abroad, then return home for an independent study with a faculty mentor for the rest of the
semester. Students may customize the location, season, and pace of their studies. See
spalding.edu/mfa for more information.