Naslund-Mann Announces Books and Scripts in Common for the Spring 2026 Residency on Campus and the Summer Virtual Residency

2 days ago
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Fiction is our cross-genre area.

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar is our residency book in common.

by Kathleen Driskell, Chair, Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing

As we leave the snow and bitter cold and turn to finalizing curriculum plans for our spring residency, May 23-30, and the virtual summer residency June 20-27, I’m delighted to announce that this spring's/summer's cross-genre area is Fiction and our book in common for both residencies is Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar. Martyr! is Akbar’s New York Times best-selling novel and was short-listed for the National Book Award. It was also named to the New York Times 10 Best Books of the year list. Time called Akbar’s novel “A Must-read Book of the Year.”

Penguin-Random House, publisher of the novel, says Martyr! is the story of a “newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, guided by the voices of artists, poets, and kings, [who] embarks on a remarkable search for a family secret that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum. Electrifying, funny, and wholly original, Martyr! heralds the arrival of an essential new voice in contemporary fiction.”Best-selling fiction writer Lauren Groff says Martyr! is the "best novel you’ll ever read about the joy of language, addiction, displacement, martyrdom, belonging, homesickness.”

I read Martyr! while on our Naslund-Mann trip to Vietnam and was as mesmerized by the landscape, characters, and plot of the novel as I was by the sights and sounds of Hanoi and Ho Chi Mihn City. As I was reading Martyr! I kept repeating to myself I’ve never read anything quite like this before. Months later, I still feel the same way. For those reasons and more, I’m very excited to share this book with our 2026 Spring Residency on Campus and Summer Virtual Residency students, and I look forward to our community discussions of Martyr!

At 6:00 p.m. Monday, May 25, our distinguished visiting writer Kaveh Akbar visits the Naslund-Mann residency to discuss his work with our literary community. His talk will be presented at The Brown Hotel. The public is cordially invited to attend this presentation, a partnership between Spalding University and the Louisville Free Public Library. A book signing will follow, with books provided by our partner Carmichael’s Bookstore.

The next morning, Tuesday, May 26, at 9:00 a.m., Akbar participates in a Q & A session open only to Naslund-Mann students, faculty, and alumni on Spalding’s campus.

Kaveh Akbar will also visit the virtual summer residency during the week of June 20-27 to discuss the novel and to answer questions from our writing community. More details on time and day will follow.

Akbar’s poems appear in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Paris Review, The Best American Poetry, and elsewhere. He is the author of two collections of poetry: Pilgrim Bell and Calling a Wolf a Wolf, in addition to a chapbook Portrait of the Alcoholic. He is also the editor of The Penguin Book of Spiritual Verse: 110 Poets on the Divine. Martyr! is his first novel. He lives in Iowa City.

Each student and faculty member reads Martyr! in advance of their residency to prepare for our book-in-common discussion and Akbar’s presentations to our community. Students should place Martyr! in the bibliographies of their Student Career Curriculum Vitae.

Required virtual pre-lecture, Sunday, April 12, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern:

Naslund-Mann faculty member Whitney Collins presents the virtual pre-lecture in writing for fiction to better prepare students to read our book in common, Martyr! She describes her talk "The Factual World of Fiction" in this way:

Let’s dive into all the facts about fiction so that we can become better readers, writers, and decoders of this provocative genre. In this lecture, we will start by looking at fiction’s early beginnings, from its first storytellers, myth makers, and novelists, before diving into the many genres and mediums of contemporary fiction. We will also discuss how fiction has a history of being politically provoking and, because of its imaginary nature, has long prompted interpretation and criticism. In addition, we will learn about fiction’s various components, the word counts of different forms, notable publications and prizes, as well as some of its more popular and controversial examples throughout time.

All residency students, whether attending the spring residency on campus or the summer virtual residency, are required to attend this talk. A link to the Zoom session will be posted in the Residency card on Canvas ahead of the lecture. Students who are unable to attend the lecture can watch a recording of it on Canvas shortly after it concludes.

After the virtual session, all students are required to submit a short lecture report much like the lecture reports they complete for residency. (The report link will be sent to students’ spalding.edu email addresses.)

The deadline for Spring residency on campus students to submit the lecture report is May 12.
The deadline for Summer virtual residency students to submit the lecture report is June 12.

Faculty/Guest Books and Scripts in Common for Spring and Summer 2026

In addition to reading our residency book in common, all students should read the faculty/guest book or script in common in their traditional workshop area at the spring or summer residency to prepare for the virtual discussion that will take place 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Eastern, Sunday, May 3. This session follows the virtual introductory workshop session for spring students; summer virtual students also attend the faculty book/script in common discussions on May 3, but their required introductory workshops take place on Sunday, May 31 from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern. For clarification on these sessions, all students should check the syllabi for their upcoming courses.

The faculty or guest books and scripts in common for this spring's residency are as follows:

Creative nonfiction. Karen Salyer McElmurray, I Could Name God in Twelve Ways: Essays

Fiction. Nathan Gower, The Act of Disappearing

Poetry. Katerina Stoykova, Between a Bird Cage and a Bird House: Poems

Writing for Children and Young Adults. Leah Henderson, The Magic in Changing Your Stars

SW: Larry Brenner, Growing Up Dead

PW: TBA

Students, I hope you enjoy reading and thinking about Martyr! as much as I have, as well as the faculty books and scripts in common in your residency area. We’re busily planning wonderfully enriching residencies for you, whether you attend in person in spring or virtually in summer. We’re looking forward to being with you soon!

Kathleen Driskell, Chair of Spalding University’s Naslund-Mann Graduate School of Writing and Professor of Creative Writing, is an award-winning poet and essayist. In 2025, Governor Andy Beshear appointed her Kentucky Poet Laureate 2025-26. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, River Teeth, Appalachian Review, Southern Review, Shenandoah, Rattle, and other magazines. She is the author of six poetry collections, most recently Goat-Footed Gods (Carnegie Mellon University Press), The Vine Temple (Carnegie Mellon), and Next Door to the Dead (University Press of Kentucky), winner of the Judy Gaines Young Book Award. Her poetry collection Seed Across Snow (Red Hen Press) was named a Poetry Foundation Bestseller. She served as Chair of the Board of Directors of AWP, the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, from 2019 to 2022.