Visiting Scholars and Writers

Connect with the writers you study when they visit campus and join your class

Scholars and Writers

Earl Swift - Environmental Journalism. February 24, 4.30 pm, Hotchkiss Recital Hall, Gibson Center for the Arts
- Journalist Earl Swift, New York Times best-selling author of Chesapeake Requiem, discusses his in-depth reporting on the watermen of Tangier Island and the impact of climate change
Community Journalism Panel. March 8, 10 am (Virtual)
- Washington College graduates Katie Tabeling (Delaware Business Times) and Emma Way (Axios Charlotte) join John-John Williams IV (Baltimore Sun) to discuss the ins and outs of local, community-based journalism
Erika Hayasaki - Science Journalism. March 22, 4.30 pm.
- Erika Hayasaki, author of The Death Class: A True Story About Life and Associate Professor of Literary Journalism at UC Irvine, instructs students on the craft of making story out of science.
Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah - Narrative Journalism. May 3, 4.30 pm (Virtual). The Harwood Lecture on American Journalism, co-sponsored with the Literary House.
- Narrative journalist Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Magazine Award for her GQ profile “A Most American Terrorist: The Making of Dylann Roof,” discusses her work as a prominent feature and profile writer

September 9, 2021: "Queen of Masks: My Search for the Secret Life of Pamela Colman Smith" by Dr. Elizabeth O'Connor
- Celebration and discussion of Dr. O'Connor's new book, Pamela Colman Smith: Artist, Feminist & Mystic.
- 4 pm: Miller Library Terrace
- 5.30 pm: Dinner with Sophie Kerr Scholarship recipients, Miller Library Terrace
October 6, 2021: "Jim Crow Media Networks" by 2021 Sophie Kerr Scholar in Residence Dr. Eurie Dahn
- Associate Professor of English, The College of St. Rose
- Author of Jim Crow Networks: African American Periodical Cultures and Co-Director of The Digital Colored American Magazine
- Virtual Public Event at 5 pm
- Dr. Dahn will also be meeting with students and faculty in the English department's Junior Seminar and Dr. Knight's Book History course.
November 17, 2021: Prof. Sufiya Abdur-Rahman
- Reading from her new memoir, Heir to the Crescent Moon, winner of the Iowa Prize for Literary Nonfiction.
- Virtual Public event at 5 pm.
- Book-signing and celebration (in-person) before the reading on the Literary House deck at 4 pm.
- Co-sponsored with the Rose O'Neill Literary House and the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience.

A sampling of the many scholars and writers who have visited with our students at Washignton College just in the last few years:

2020-2021
- Sarah Manguso, Melissa Febos, Hanif Abdurraqib, Elaine Weiss, Casey Cep, Scott Newstok, Phil Brady, Tim Seibles, Rick Barot, Lily Hoang, Kathryn Nuernberger
2019-2020
- Rebecca Makkai, Jason Fagone, Aimee Nezhukumatathil
2018-2019
- Ericka Sánchez, Lucy Corin, Edward P. Jones, Lidia Yuknavitch, Rion Amilcar Scott, Gene Demby
2017-2018
- Maureen Corrigan, Craig Steven Wilder, Lia Purpura, Terence Hayes, Natalie Diaz, Kim Zarins, Phil Sickler
2016-2017
- Jericho Brown, Denise Duhamel, Cathy Linh Che, Timothy Donnelly, Phyllis Rackin
And going farther back in time
- Maggie Nelson, Andrew Delbanco, Nick Flynn, Claudia Rankine, Mark Doty, Tim O'Brien, Colum McCann, Toni Morrison, Allen Ginsburg, Katherine Anne Porter....
- Intrigued? See this comprehensive listing of Sophie Kerr Scholars and Writer who have come to Washington College through the years.