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Programs

The Center for Literary and Creative Arts brings together students, faculty, and the St. Louis community through literature, writing, and the arts.

Colson Whitehead signs a copy of a book for a SLU student.

Award programming includes craft talks and a Q&A with the celebrated author.

Literary Award and Public Events

The St. Louis Literary Award is still the center of everything we do. Each year, we bring a writer to campus for the award ceremony, a craft talk and time with students. But it doesn’t stop with the visit.

In the weeks around it, we set up presentations, book discussions, panels and smaller events — on campus and with community partners — that give people more ways to engage with the work.

Campus Read

Each year, we choose a book by the award recipient and invite the university to read it together. Faculty bring it into their courses. Students show up to discussions and events. Community members join in where it makes sense.

Alongside that, we run a Campus Read Speaker Series, conversations with scholars, writers, and artists who approach the book from different angles and open it up in new ways. What you end up with is a shared starting point — something people can return to, whether in a classroom, at an event or in their own work.

Youth Literary Initiative

A new program connecting high school classrooms with SLU through reading, discussion and creative response.