Hosted by the Wilkes University English Department, the Allan Hamilton Dickson Spring Writers Series features a variety of authors, poets, directors and other accomplished writers annually. Guest speakers read selections from their works and answer questions at each event.
Guest speaker Idra Novey, a novelist, poet and translator, will open the series on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Her most recent novel, Take What You Need, was a New York Times Notable Book of 2023, a finalist for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize, Yiyun Li’s Author Pick at The Guardian and a Barnes & Noble Fiction Pick. It was longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, and named a Best Book of the Year byThe New Yorker, L.A. Times, Boston Globe, NPR, and Today. Her new book of poems, Soon and Wholly, was a 2024 Poetry Foundation Staff Pick and named one of Electric Literature’s Best Poetry Books of 2024.
The second guest artist is Helena D. Lewis, an award-winning actress, poet and playwright. Lewis will appear on Tuesday, March 18. Her one-person show “Call Me Crazy: Diary of A Mad Social Worker,” featuring 25 characters and chronicling her work in the social service field, won the AUDELCO 2014 Best Solo-Performance Award, Best Short at the Downtown Urban Theater Festival in New York and was Festival Pick at the inaugural DC Black Theater Festival. Lewis has performed at numerous universities and colleges across the country and has been featured in the award-winning series Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry.
The final guest artist, novelist George Saunders, will read on Tuesday, April 15. Saunders is the author of twelve books, including the novel Lincoln in the Bardo, winner of the 2017 Man Booker Prize. His short story collection, Tenth of December, was a finalist for the National Book Award and won the inaugural Folio Prize and the Story Prize. He received MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships and the PEN/Malamud Prize for excellence in the short story. Saunders is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Registration is required for Saunders.
All events are free and open to the public. For more information and registration details, visit wilkes.edu/dickson.
