This year, UNCW’s Department of Creative Writing will be exploring what makes creative expression uniquely human in an increasingly digital world. Writers' Week Sent(i)ence will center the distinctly human experiences that inspire people to write and celebrate storytellers and the words they painstakingly craft.

Through readings, workshops, craft talks, panels, and generative sessions, we’ll spotlight storytellers and their words as the lifeblood of humanity. Though the theme makes reference to “sentience” as the opposite of artificial intelligence, you won’t find an emphasis on A.I. in the week’s events; expect instead, an emphasis on individuality, personal experience, and the perspectives that make each writer’s voice unique, and writers themselves, irreplaceable.

What parts of ourselves do we leave on the page when we write? By inviting participation in such conversations, we hope to offer an expanded sense of the human experience behind the sentence and the passion and emotion that make the gift of language ours alone.

Mark your calendars for the start date: Monday, November 9, 2026. All Writers’ Week events are free and open to the public, though some offsite events may require registration. Check out the menu items above for the full schedule of events, featured speaker profiles, registration links, and more details. Still have questions? Reach out to our event planning team at flemingk@uncw.edu.