May 21, 2026 By Beth Bauman, faculty, writing for children and young adults If you’re a YA writer, you already know you need to read a wide variety of literature, including YA, of course, and general fiction with teen protagonists. But I’d argue it can be just as helpful to study good TV and movies about teens. If you’re struggling, say, to move a character through a narrative, visual literature (TV and movies) is really good at externalizing the internal landscape of a c

Aaron Fagan Atom and Void: Poems Princeton University Press / 2025 / 55 pp / $17.95 Reviewed by Melissa Shepherd / May 2026 Aaron Fagan’s Atom and Void proves the paradox of freedom in constraint. Within the confines of their tidy boxes, the book’s fifty-five one-stanza sonnets range through existential ideas and loop together without section breaks in an ongoing interrogation of knowledge and perception. As its title suggests, opposing forces shape Atom and Void, Fagan’s f

May 7, 2026 by Nancy McCabe, fiction and creative nonfiction faculty A few months ago, when I heard that a local production of The Wizard of Oz needed tap dancers, I decided to try out, since I’d enjoyed tap dancing and clogging in local demos and shows. But with one exception, I’d never participated in a play in my adult life before I was cast as an Ozian as well as the oldest jitterbug and the tallest munchkin. Around the same time, I was working with a Spalding stude

EXCITING NEWS & UPDATES FROM SPALDING'S NASLUND-MANN SCHOOL OF WRITING STUDENTS, ALUMNI, FACULTY & STAFF Students Laura Candler’s (P) poem “Gyrinophilus palleucus (Tennessee Cave Salamander)” is forthcoming in the spring issue of Gulf Coast. Molly McNamara Carter (W4CYA) just released a picture book that explores the humorous adventures of a clever desert animal with a surprise ending. Roadrunner Fran: A Desert Retelling of The Gingerbread Man, illustrated by Cleriston Ri

April 16, 2026 by Lynnell Edwards, poetry faculty, Associate Programs Director Like many of you, I have the happy problem of too many books I want to read piling up on my bedside table, the desk in my office, the floor of my study, the table next to the chair where I like to read in the afternoon . . . you get the picture. And this is despite my valiant attempt in August to make a dent in the piles with the Sealey Challenge ! However, National Poetry Month challenges m

by Kathleen Driskell, Chair I’m very pleased on behalf of our Naslund-Mann leadership team and faculty to announce three new mentors are joining our faculty and will be available to work with mentees during the Spring 2026 independent study. Look for their faculty videos, teaching philosophies, and spalding.edu email addresses in Canvas. Please join us in welcoming writers and teachers Willie Davis, Jennie Malboeuf, and Danni Quintos to our writing community! Willie Da

April, 9, 2026 By Lesléa Newman They say flattery will get you nowhere, but I beg to differ. In my case flattery did get me somewhere. And not just anywhere. It got me a book deal. I had previously published Welcoming Elijah: A Passover Tale with a Tail with Charlesbridge, a wonderful children’s book press. The book had done very well, winning both the National Jewish Book Award and the Association of Jewish Libraries Sydney Taylor Award, and had been picked up by the PJ

by Kathleen Driskell, Chair Louisville is finally thawing after a rough winter, by our Kentucky standards anyway, and we’re beginning to see dogwood trees and azaleas budding around campus. We’ve long been planning a wonderfully enriching residency for spring students who will be participating on Spalding’s campus, but the warm weather always has a way of kicking us into high gear. From May 23-30, we look forward to having students, faculty, and alumni back on campus for se

March 26, 2026 By Roy Hoffman, fiction and creative nonfiction faculty With art nearby when I write, I find myself inspired, as a word person, by the color, shape, and texture of the visual. When visiting museums I take out my pocket notebook and jot down images or, on the street, feel enlivened by a sculpture, mural, or architectural marvel. In addition to nature’s art just beyond my porch—magnolias, camellias, so much more—we have works made by friends, or those acquired