Keynotes | Commencements

Chris Abani

NYT Bestselling Novelist
Nigerian-born Poet
PEN Freedom to Write
FYE Novel: Graceland

Diane Ackerman

NYT Bestselling Author
Naturalist, Essayist, Poet
FYE: Zookeeper's Wife
FYE: The Human Age

Eula Biss

Nonfiction Writer
Essayist & Critic
NBCCA Winner
FYE: On Immunity

Richard Blanco

Inaugural Poet Laureate
Cuban-American Writer
Gay Rights Advocate
FYE Memoir: Los Cocuyos

Amy Bloom

NYT Bestselling Novelist
Short Story Writer
Novels: Lucky Us • Away
National Magazine Award

Augusten Burroughs

NYT Bestselling Memoirist
Running with Scissors
Lust & Wonder

Bryan Doerries

Social Impact Theater
Graphic: The Odyssey of...
Translator of Ancient Greek
FYE: The Theater of War

Mark Doty

Distinguished Poet
National Book Award
NYT Bestselling Memoirist
Dog Years: A Memoir

Andre Dubus III

#1 NYT Bestselling Novelist
House of Sand and Fog
Poverty & Violence Issues
FYE Memoir: Townie
Josh Fox

Josh Fox

Director of Gasland Films
How to Let Go & Love
LennonOno Peace Award
Experimental Theater

Natalie Goldberg

Bestselling Author & Poet
Writing Down The Bones
Buddhist Themes
Visual Artist

Sara Gruen

NYT Bestselling Novelist
Water for Elephants
Animal Rights Advocate
Keynote Speaker

Juan Felipe Herrera

US Poet Laureate (2015-17)
Mexican American Writer
Performer & Activist
Children's & YA Books

Okey Ndibe

Nigerian American Author
Novels, Memoir, Essays
Commentator & Humorist
Issues of Immigration

Katha Pollitt

Poet, Essayist, Writer
NBCC Award for Poetry
Columnist for The Nation
PRO: Abortion Rights

Claudia Rankine

Poet & Playwright
NYT Nonfiction Bestseller
NBCCA & Forward Prize
FYE: Citizen

George Saunders

NYT Bestselling Writer
Man Booker Prize Winner
MacArthur "Genius" Award
FYE: Tenth of December

Tracy K. Smith

US Poet Laureate (2017-19)
Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet
Memoir: Ordinary Light
Nat'l Book Award Finalist

Natasha Trethewey

Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet
United States Poet Laureate (2012-2014)
FYE: Native Guard