Drexel Writing Festival
Spring 2025
In 2025, the Drexel Writing Festival will feature celebrated authors, contemporary poets, distinguished editors and leading academics who take us on a deep, reflective dive. This multi-day, in-person series offers something for everyone – we invite you to explore writing that connects us to and grounds us in shared human experiences. Join us for lively discussions and hands-on workshops across genres and topics.
Since 2011, the Drexel Writing Festival has explored rock music, ritual, play, hunger and empowerment. Guests represent esteemed authors and editors of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, news media and comic books. The event has also spotlighted Young Adult (YA) novels, screenwriting, music, food and essays. In addition, the festival hosts popular workshops for local high schools and presents readings from Drexel's Creative Writing MFA degree students.
Schedule of Events – 2025
Faculty Reading
Wednesday, April 23, 2–3:30pm
Location: Sky View Lounge (MacAlister Hall, Sixth Floor)
Faculty in the Department of English and Philosophy will share their creative writing. Snacks and beverages will be provided.
Patrick Morgan, The Power & Possibilities of Public Space
Friday, April 25, 2–3pm | Location: Sky View Lounge (MacAlister Hall, Sixth Floor)
Patrick Morgan is a distinguished resident fellow for civic design at the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation at Drexel University. He previously served as first deputy commissioner at Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, led the Knight Foundation’s grantmaking efforts in Philadelphia, and was chief of staff for Philadelphia’s deputy mayor for environmental and community resources. He has helped to develop innovative public initiatives to increase the urban tree canopy, promote an equitable food system, create new public parks and play spaces, as well as advance workforce development, digital literacy and community engagement.
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Butterflies, Landscapes and Human Dramas: Climate Science and Climate Imagination in Barbara Kingsolver's Flight Behavior—a discussion led by David Velinsky, PhD, and Tatyana Livshultz, PhD
Wednesday, April 30, 12:30–1:50pm | Location: Center for Interdisciplinary Studies (MacAlister Hall, Room 5051C)
David Velinsky, PhD, and Tatyana Livshultz, PhD, will discuss the science of monarch butterflies, shifting landscapes and the climate crisis in dialog with Barbara Kingsolver's climate novel, Flight Behavior.
David Velinsky, PhD, is a professor in Drexel’s Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science and Senior Scientist for the Patrick Center for Environmental Research at the Academy of Natural Sciences. Velinsky has been studying the movement and cycling of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in estuarine and freshwater environments in the mid-Atlantic region. His work focuses on aspects of water quality and wetland ecosystem services relative to climate impacts in the Delaware and Barnegat Bays. He is a member of the Advisory Committee on Climate Change; the Toxics Advisory Committee at the Delaware River Basin Commission; and the Science Advisory Board for the State of New Jersey.
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Tatyana Livshultz, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Biodiversity, Earth and Environmental Science at Drexel University and curator of Botany at the Academy of Natural Sciences. She studies plant diversity and evolution, specifically the evolution of plant traits that mediate interactions with insect pollinators and herbivores in the Apocynaceae, the milkweed family.
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Theater Talk with Playwright Reuben Wade
Thursday, May 1, 11am–12:20pm | Location: Center for Interdisciplinary Studies (MacAlister Hall, Room 5051C)
Reuben Wade, born in Texas, raised in New England, began writing fiction in 2006. His absurdist play Dissociation was performed at the Philly Fringe Festival in September 2023 and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (featuring 3,500 shows) in August 2024. Edinburgh audiences called the play “hilarious,” “thought-provoking” and “an incredibly beautiful search for self-empathy.”
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Reading and Discussion with Bestselling Author Jamie Brenner
Friday, May 2, 1–20pm | Location: Drafting Room (The Study at University City, Second Floor)
Jamie Brenner is the bestselling author of eight novels including the national bestsellers The Forever Summer and Blush. Her short story “Gold Party” is in development as a feature film. She grew up in suburban Philadelphia and studied literature at The George Washington University, then moved to New York City where she worked in book publishing before becoming a novelist. Her next novel is coming in 2025 from HarperCollins/Park Row Books.
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Poetry Reading and Discussion with Award-Winning Poet Daisy Fried
Tuesday, May 6, 12:30–1:50pm | Location: Center for Interdisciplinary Studies (MacAlister Hall, Room 5051C)
Daisy Fried, the recipient of Guggenheim, Hodder and Pew Fellowships, is the author of five books of poetry: My Destination (forthcoming from Flood Editions and Carcanet Press); The Year the City Emptied; Women’s Poetry: Poems and Advice; My Brother is Getting Arrested Again; and She Didn’t Mean to Do It. She is also a poetry critic for the New York Times and the Poetry Foundation, as well as a faculty member in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. She lives in Philadelphia.
Student Reading
Wednesday, May 14, 2–3:30pm | Location: Sky View Lounge (MacAlister Hall, Sixth Floor)
English majors and minors will share their creative writing. Snacks and beverages will be provided.
High School Workshops – From 9am to 2pm on April 25 and May 2, 2025
Everyone’s a writer – Yes, that means you!
Our popular High School Workshops offer high-intensity, interactive writing sessions that get participants thinking and creating in a variety of forms. Held on Drexel University’s campus, this day of writing workshops is a fantastic opportunity for students to put their creativity to the test and hone their skills in a variety of different literary genres. High school students will work closely with Drexel facilitators to begin crafting writing in fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry, all while gaining valuable feedback and guidance.
We can welcome a limited number of school groups of up to 20 students. While there is no minimum level of writing or English skills required, past groups have been comprised of junior or senior-level Honors and AP English and Literature classes. Clubs and organizations, such as student newspapers, literary groups, and drama clubs may also find these workshops worthwhile. Each team must have a group leader from their institution who can register the team here.
Space is limited – we encourage you to register early.
Questions? Please email Janine Guerra, jg3897@drexel.edu
Join our 2025 Waitlist