Writers Speak Wednesdays Return with Novelist Paul Harding and More

Stony Brook University’s 2018 fall Writers Speak Wednesdays series has just begun, and this run promises to be particularly exciting. The series, comprised of author talks and readings at the Southampton campus, is free and open to all, and it includes an extra special event this week.

On October 3, the college opens its doors to any and all prospective MFA in Creative Writing and Literature candidates. The open house and informational session begin at 5:30 p.m. when program director Lou Ann Walker and other faculty members will discuss the MFA workshops in fiction, memoir, creative nonfiction, poetry and others, all taught by Stony Brook’s distinguished writers. Following the presentations and Q&A, prospective students and the general public are welcome to attend the Writers Speak reception at 6:30 p.m. to meet and swap stories with current MFA candidates, before MFA faculty perform readings at 7 p.m.

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Paul Harding will join other accomplished writers of the Stony Brook faculty—including Cornelius Eady, Amy Hempel, Julie Sheehan, Susan Scarf Merrell, Roger Rosenblatt and others—in reading selections from their works on October 3. Before coming to Stony Brook, Harding previously taught writing at Harvard University and the University of Iowa.

The current Writers Speak Wednesdays series began with a reading by master of emotion, poet Jericho Brown, on September 26. Brown’s poetry collection, The New Testament, was named one of the year’s best by the Library Journal, and several of his poems have appeared in top publications such as The Nation, The New Yorker and The New Republic.

All reading in the series begin at 7 p.m. following receptions at 6:30 p.m., and each concludes with a Q&A and book signing. Until renovations in the Radio Lounge are complete, the open house and all readings will be held in Duke Lecture Hall on the first floor of Chancellors Hall.

The fall series continues with readings by MFA in Creative Writing alumni on October 24, Jonathan Santlofer on November 7, Alison Fairbrother and Alexandra Scholldorf on November 28 and lastly, Lloyd Schwartz on December 5.

All prospective students interested in attending the open house are asked to email rsvp_mfa@stonybrook.edu. No RSVP is required to attend Writers Speak readings. All are welcomed to listen, learn and explore the gorgeous campus, located at 239 Montauk Highway, Southampton. For more information, call 631-632-5030 or visit stonybrook.edu/southampton.