Kirk Distinguished Writer-in-Residence Program
Agnes Scott’s Kirk Writer-in-Residence Program is a signature of our distinctive creative writing program. Each fall,we host a distinguished writer on campus to teach a course to Agnes Scott students and give a public reading of their work. This unique opportunity allows Agnes Scott students the chance to learn and write with some of the most celebrated and interesting writers working today. Writers-in-Residence teach a course, visit other in-session classes, and give a public reading with book signing.
The English Department at Agnes Scott College is thrilled to welcome Aimee Nezhukhumatahil as Kirk Distinguished Writer-in-Residence in the fall of 2025.
Aimee Nezhukumatathil is the author of the book of food essays Bite By Bite: Nourishments and
Jamborees and the New York Times best-selling illustrated collection of nature essays, World of
Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks & Other Astonishments. She also wrote five previous poetry collections including Night Owl and Oceanic. Her most recent chapbook is Lace & Pyrite, a collaboration of epistolary garden poems with the poet Ross Gay. Honors include a poetry fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Pushcart Prize, a Mississippi Arts Council grant, NAAEE’s 2024 Pepe Marcos-Iga Award for Innovation in Environmental Education, and being named a Guggenheim Fellow in poetry. She is poetry editor for Sierra magazine, the story-telling arm of The Sierra Club. She is professor of English and Creative Writing in the University of Mississippi’s MFA program.
The Kirk Writer-in-Residence Program is made possible by the James T. and Ella Rather Kirk Fund, which was established by alumna, artist, writer, and trustee Mary Wallace Kirk, in honor of her parents. The Kirk Fund supports and enriches academic programs in history, music, literature, art, and philosophy.
Previous Kirk Writers-in-Residence:
- October 2014: Pam Houston taught “Turning the Physical World into Story.”
- October 2015: Monique Truong taught “Writing Plenty, Writing Hunger.”
- October 2016: Richard Blanco taught “Tasting Life Twice: Writing Your Universal Story.”
- Fall semester 2017: Melissa Fay Greene, “Short-Form Literary Journalism.”
- Fall semester 2018: Melissa Fay Greene, “Short-Form Literary Journalism.”
- Spring semester 2019: Melissa Fay Greene, “Long-Form Literary Journalism.”
- October 2019: William Boyle taught “Reading and Writing Noir.”
- November 2019: Aracelis Girmay taught “On Poetry.”
- November 2020: Christine Schutt, "How Does a Story Mean?"
- October 2021: Aminatta Forna, "Creative Nonfiction Workshop"
- October 2022: Roger Reeves, "Poetry Workshop"
- October 2023: Angie Cruz, "Fiction Workshop"
- October 2024: Lauren Gunderson, "The End: Playwriting and Dramatic Structure for the Modern Writer"