Community Calendar

Join the Creative Writing Department at UNCW Nov. 3 to Nov. 7 for a special symposium of writers and publishing professionals during Writers’ Week 2025. Each fall, the department hosts a week of readings, workshops, and craft talks in poetry and prose, featuring some of the most prominent writers and literary professionals in the country. Events are free and open to the public; no tickets required. Our theme this year is “Multiverse,” an exploration of the infinite ways to create meaning with language, from writing across multiple genres, to genre-bending, to experimental forms, and beyond.

The week’s keynote speaker is Carmen Maria Machado, author of the award-winning short story collection Her Body and Other Parties, which was a National Book Award finalist; LA Times bestselling memoir In the Dream House; and the graphic novel The Low, Low Woods.  Also visiting is prolific author of four novels and numerous genre-defying nonfiction books, Geoff Dyer, whom the New Yorker described as “One of our greatest living critics, not of the arts but of life itself, and one of our most original writers.” Literary agent Kate McKean, author of Write Through It, deemed a must-have for all aspiring authors, and a host of other publishing professionals, will also be coming to campus to lead sessions.

Events will be held in Lumina Theater in the Fisher Student Center. Visit our website for further information, including the Zoom link required for Friday’s virtual alumni reading. A full schedule of events can be found at writersweek2025.sched.com.

Join the Creative Writing Department at UNCW Nov. 3 to Nov. 7 for a special symposium of writers and publishing professionals during Writers’ Week 2025. Each fall, the department hosts a week of readings, workshops, and craft talks in poetry and prose, featuring some of the most prominent writers and literary professionals in the country. Events are free and open to the public; no tickets required. Our theme this year is “Multiverse,” an exploration of the infinite ways to create meaning with language, from writing across multiple genres, to genre-bending, to experimental forms, and beyond.

The week’s keynote speaker is Carmen Maria Machado, author of the award-winning short story collection Her Body and Other Parties, which was a National Book Award finalist; LA Times bestselling memoir In the Dream House; and the graphic novel The Low, Low Woods.  Also visiting is prolific author of four novels and numerous genre-defying nonfiction books, Geoff Dyer, whom the New Yorker described as “One of our greatest living critics, not of the arts but of life itself, and one of our most original writers.” Literary agent Kate McKean, author of Write Through It, deemed a must-have for all aspiring authors, and a host of other publishing professionals, will also be coming to campus to lead sessions.

Events will be held in Lumina Theater in the Fisher Student Center. Visit our website for further information, including the Zoom link required for Friday’s virtual alumni reading. A full schedule of events can be found at writersweek2025.sched.com.

Join the Creative Writing Department at UNCW Nov. 3 to Nov. 7 for a special symposium of writers and publishing professionals during Writers’ Week 2025. Each fall, the department hosts a week of readings, workshops, and craft talks in poetry and prose, featuring some of the most prominent writers and literary professionals in the country. Events are free and open to the public; no tickets required. Our theme this year is “Multiverse,” an exploration of the infinite ways to create meaning with language, from writing across multiple genres, to genre-bending, to experimental forms, and beyond.

The week’s keynote speaker is Carmen Maria Machado, author of the award-winning short story collection Her Body and Other Parties, which was a National Book Award finalist; LA Times bestselling memoir In the Dream House; and the graphic novel The Low, Low Woods.  Also visiting is prolific author of four novels and numerous genre-defying nonfiction books, Geoff Dyer, whom the New Yorker described as “One of our greatest living critics, not of the arts but of life itself, and one of our most original writers.” Literary agent Kate McKean, author of Write Through It, deemed a must-have for all aspiring authors, and a host of other publishing professionals, will also be coming to campus to lead sessions.

Events will be held in Lumina Theater in the Fisher Student Center. Visit our website for further information, including the Zoom link required for Friday’s virtual alumni reading. A full schedule of events can be found at writersweek2025.sched.com.

Join the Creative Writing Department at UNCW Nov. 3 to Nov. 7 for a special symposium of writers and publishing professionals during Writers’ Week 2025. Each fall, the department hosts a week of readings, workshops, and craft talks in poetry and prose, featuring some of the most prominent writers and literary professionals in the country. Events are free and open to the public; no tickets required. Our theme this year is “Multiverse,” an exploration of the infinite ways to create meaning with language, from writing across multiple genres, to genre-bending, to experimental forms, and beyond.

The week’s keynote speaker is Carmen Maria Machado, author of the award-winning short story collection Her Body and Other Parties, which was a National Book Award finalist; LA Times bestselling memoir In the Dream House; and the graphic novel The Low, Low Woods.  Also visiting is prolific author of four novels and numerous genre-defying nonfiction books, Geoff Dyer, whom the New Yorker described as “One of our greatest living critics, not of the arts but of life itself, and one of our most original writers.” Literary agent Kate McKean, author of Write Through It, deemed a must-have for all aspiring authors, and a host of other publishing professionals, will also be coming to campus to lead sessions.

Events will be held in Lumina Theater in the Fisher Student Center. Visit our website for further information, including the Zoom link required for Friday’s virtual alumni reading. A full schedule of events can be found at writersweek2025.sched.com.

As part of the Buckner Lecture Series, National Book Award finalist Carmen Maria Machado will be the keynote speaker for the Fall 2025 Writers’ Week Symposium, sponsored by the Department of Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Machado’s short story collection, Her Body and Other Parties, was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction in 2017 and was named the Best Book of the Decade by Rolling Stone and LitHub. Machado will read at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, in Lumina Theater and will be available to sign books afterward.

Writers’ Week 2025: Multiverse, Nov. 3-7, will explore the boundless possibilities of words—from genre-bending; to experimental forms; to the ways one genre might inform another in the practice of craft; to the countless iterations produced during the process of drafting. In other words, we are holding space for the infinite ways writers and artists make language happen.

Carmen Maria Machado is the author of the short story collection Her Body and Other Parties, memoir In the Dream House, and graphic series The Low, Low Woods. Machado is also the winner of multiple prizes, including Bard Fiction Prize, the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction, the Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Nonfiction, the Brooklyn Public Library Literature Prize, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Prize. She has an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

The Buckner Keynote Reading is also sponsored by Mohin-Scholz LGBTQIA Resource Center and UNCW’s Office of the Arts.

Other participating writers and publishing professionals include author of four novels and numerous genre-defying nonfiction books, Geoff Dyer, whom the New Yorker described as “One of our greatest living critics, not of the arts but of life itself, and one of our most original writers.” Literary agent Kate McKean, author of Write Through It, deemed a must-have for all aspiring authors, and a host of other publishing professionals, will also be coming to campus to lead sessions. For a full schedule, visit writersweek2025.sched.com. All events are free and open to the public.

Join the Creative Writing Department at UNCW Nov. 3 to Nov. 7 for a special symposium of writers and publishing professionals during Writers’ Week 2025. Each fall, the department hosts a week of readings, workshops, and craft talks in poetry and prose, featuring some of the most prominent writers and literary professionals in the country. Events are free and open to the public; no tickets required. Our theme this year is “Multiverse,” an exploration of the infinite ways to create meaning with language, from writing across multiple genres, to genre-bending, to experimental forms, and beyond.

The week’s keynote speaker is Carmen Maria Machado, author of the award-winning short story collection Her Body and Other Parties, which was a National Book Award finalist; LA Times bestselling memoir In the Dream House; and the graphic novel The Low, Low Woods.  Also visiting is prolific author of four novels and numerous genre-defying nonfiction books, Geoff Dyer, whom the New Yorker described as “One of our greatest living critics, not of the arts but of life itself, and one of our most original writers.” Literary agent Kate McKean, author of Write Through It, deemed a must-have for all aspiring authors, and a host of other publishing professionals, will also be coming to campus to lead sessions.

Events will be held in Lumina Theater in the Fisher Student Center. Visit our website for further information, including the Zoom link required for Friday’s virtual alumni reading. A full schedule of events can be found at writersweek2025.sched.com.

UNCW’s book imprint, Lookout, will launch A Love Tap, a debut poetry collection by award-winning poet Bernardo Wade. Introduced by bestselling author Ross Gay, A Love Tap reckons with complexities of racial identity, masculinity, recovery, and spirituality, revealing a poet who has found himself in the language. John Murillo calls it “the book I didn’t know I was waiting for” and Wade “the poet I didn’t know I needed.”

The event will feature a reading and book signing hosted by Pomegranate Books and will include hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. It also serves as the final event and wrap party for the Department of Creative Writing’s annual Writers’ Week. This event is free and open to the public.

"Come and be a part of a special night celebrating our local poets! It's an evening dedicated to connection, showcasing the profound love for the art of poetry and spoken word within our community. Our wonderful hostess, Carrie Assata, will curate a smooth and intimate vibe, setting the stage for an unforgettable experience. Meanwhile, Dj MisStory will be on the ones and twos, spinning tunes to create a fantastic atmosphere for the evening. Join us for a night filled with creativity, expression, and the beautiful resonance of local voices. Let's celebrate the richness of our community's poetic spirit together!"

"Come and be a part of a special night celebrating our local poets! It's an evening dedicated to connection, showcasing the profound love for the art of poetry and spoken word within our community. Our wonderful hostess, Carrie Assata, will curate a smooth and intimate vibe, setting the stage for an unforgettable experience. Meanwhile, Dj MisStory will be on the ones and twos, spinning tunes to create a fantastic atmosphere for the evening. Join us for a night filled with creativity, expression, and the beautiful resonance of local voices. Let's celebrate the richness of our community's poetic spirit together!"

"Come and be a part of a special night celebrating our local poets! It's an evening dedicated to connection, showcasing the profound love for the art of poetry and spoken word within our community. Our wonderful hostess, Carrie Assata, will curate a smooth and intimate vibe, setting the stage for an unforgettable experience. Meanwhile, Dj MisStory will be on the ones and twos, spinning tunes to create a fantastic atmosphere for the evening. Join us for a night filled with creativity, expression, and the beautiful resonance of local voices. Let's celebrate the richness of our community's poetic spirit together!"