Lenoir-Rhyne MFA launches Writers’ Salon with acclaimed guest authors

In spring 2026, Lenoir-Rhyne’s MFA in Creative Writing program will open a new kind of literary space with its inaugural Writers’ Salon. The Salon has been designed as a shared space for curiosity, reflection and connection where emerging and established writers can learn through conversation.

The Writers' Salon, meeting on Zoom, will host six writers during the spring semester on a series of Monday evenings. Sessions are open to MFA students, alumni, undergraduates and members of the general public.

“We see the Writers’ Salon as a way to deepen Lenoir-Rhyne’s role in the arts community of western North Carolina — creating space not just to hear writers speak, but to think and work alongside them,” said Dale Bailey, Ph.D., English professor and MFA program coordinator. “By bringing reading and writing into conversation, the program encourages knowledge, empathy and a more engaged understanding of the world.”

Rooted in the tradition of literary salons, the series emphasizes dialogue over performance. Rather than formal readings, each session is structured as an interactive conversation, inviting participants to engage directly with the guest writer about craft, process and the realities of a writing life.

The interactive format reflects the MFA program’s focus on workshop, mentorship and reflective practice. By encouraging questions and discussion, the salon mirrors the exploratory spirit that defines creative writing and provides students with meaningful access to voices shaping contemporary literature.

“We have invited a slate of individuals whose lives thrum with ideas and creativity,” said  Laura Hope-Gill, associate professor of writing. “Coursework cultivates craft and stirs ideas, and these salons will add the dimension of living the creative life.. Our students and community will gain guidance and insight into how highly creative thought-leaders maintain inspiration for the good of their readership and the world.”

The spring season features writers working across genres, including fiction, poetry, essays and cross-genre work. Together, the lineup offers participants a wide lens on contemporary literary practice and the varied paths writers take to develop and sustain their work.

Jan. 26, 4 p.m. — Alastair McIntosh is a Scottish writer, human ecologist and activist whose work explores the relationship between the natural environment, social justice and spirituality. He is best known for "Soil and Soul: People Versus Corporate Power" and "Hell and High Water: Climate Change, Hope and the Human Condition." McIntosh is a visiting professor of human ecology at the University of Strathclyde and has played a leading role in Scottish land reform and community-based environmental activism.

Feb. 9, 6 p.m. — Mildred Kiconco Barya is a Ugandan poet, fiction writer and essayist whose work reflects a global life lived across Africa, Europe and the United States. Her poetry collections include "Men Love Chocolates but They Don’t Say" and "The Price of Memory: After the Tsunami." Her writing has earned the Pan African Literary Forum Prize for Africana Fiction and the Linda Flowers Literary Award. She teaches creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and serves on the advisory board of African Writers Trust.

Feb. 23, 6 p.m. — Nathan Ballingrud is an American writer of horror and dark fantasy fiction whose work blends the uncanny with the deeply human. He is the author of "Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell" and "The Strange." His novella "The Visible Filth" was adapted into the feature film "Wounds," and his story collection "North American Lake Monsters" was adapted as the Hulu series "Monsterland." Ballingrud has won two Shirley Jackson Awards and has been a finalist for the World Fantasy Award, the British Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award.

March 16, 6 p.m. — Michael Knight is an American fiction writer whose work spans novels, short stories and novellas. He is the author of "The Typist" — named a Best Book of the Year by The Huffington Post and The Kansas City Star and featured on Oprah’s Summer Reading List — and "Eveningland," winner of the Truman Capote Prize for Short Fiction. Knight’s work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review and Ploughshares, and he teaches creative writing at the University of Tennessee.

March 30, 6 p.m. — Cornelius Eady is a poet and playwright whose work explores music, family and the lived experiences of African American life. He is the author of "The Gathering of My Name," a Pulitzer Prize finalist, and "Brutal Imagination," a National Book Award finalist later adapted into an award-winning off-Broadway play. Eady is a professor at the University of Tennessee and a co-founder of the Cave Canem Foundation, a nationally recognized organization supporting the artistic and professional growth of African American poets.

April 13, 6 p.m. — Kelly Link is an American writer whose work blends fantasy, horror and literary fiction. She is the author of the novel "The Book of Love" and the story collections "Get in Trouble" and "Stranger Things Happen." A Pulitzer finalist and recipient of a Hugo Award, three Nebula Awards, a World Fantasy Award and a MacArthur Fellowship, Link is the co-founder of Small Beer Press, co-editor of the literary magazine Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet and co-owner of the independent bookstore Book Moon in Easthampton, Massachusetts.

For additional details and Zoom access, visit calendar.lr.edu.