St. Louis Literary Award Events
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In 2019, Colson Whitehead appeared on the cover of TIME magazine above the headline "America's Storyteller." This talk will investigate that title by situating The Underground Railroad in the context of Whitehead's storied career as a novelist, including his experiments with literary genre, his forays into America's troubled past, and his contributions to contemporary narratives of slavery. This presentation will be given by Alexander Manshel, an associate professor of English at McGill University whose research focuses on contemporary American fiction and the literary institutions that shape how and what we read.
When: Thursday, February 20, 2025, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: Lower level classroom at Pius Memorial Library, 3650 Lindell Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 63108
Reading The Underground Railroad is a powerful, compelling experience that grows in transformative power when explored in community. Martha Allen and Lisa Fischer invite participants to come to a richer collective understanding of Whitehead’s text by investigating it as a group with access to different cultures, identities, languages, experiences, and perspectives. The group will practice strategies for exploring the text, including naming our membership in privileged and marginalized identity groups, analyzing moments of resonance with the text from different perspectives, and interrogating our emotional responses. We encourage participants to join us in speaking with, listening to, and learning from both the text and one another as we journey through Whitehead's novel together.
When: Tuesday, March 4, 2025, 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Where: Lower level classroom at Pius Memorial Library, 3650 Lindell Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 63108
Is it really true that people “didn’t know slavery was wrong back then”? Did the Catholic Church teach against slaveholding, or for it? In this presentation, Fr. Chris Kellerman, SJ, will explain the basics of the Catholic Church’s historical involvement with slaveholding and the Atlantic slave trade, drawing lessons from this history for contemporary society. Rev. Chris Kellerman, SJ, is Secretary of Justice and Ecology for the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States in Washington, D.C., where he oversees the federal advocacy and government relations office of the Jesuits of the United States.
When: Thursday, March 6, 2025, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: Lower level classroom at Pius Memorial Library, 3650 Lindell Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 63108
The Undergraduate Writing Award honors undergraduate literary achievement at Saint Louis University in three genres: short fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. It is presented annually to the Department of English graduate student who exhibits the greatest scholarly potential.
Submissions Accepted: November 7, 2024 - March 21, 2025
For more details see Undergraduate Writing Award.
The “Inspired By” Arts Showcase is a student-based competition open to high school and college students to create a work of visual, literary, performance, or musical art that connects with a theme from the Campus Read book. Participants create a work of art that thematically connects to a work of our current award recipient; Colson Whitehead. This year’s showcase is co-sponsored by the St. Louis County Libraries.
Submissions Accepted: February 3, 2025 - March 21, 2025
For more details see "Inspired By" Arts Showcase.
Open to high school students enrolled in Saint Louis University’s 1818 Dual Enrollment program in several states, the Saint Louis University Undergraduate Writing Award 1818 High School Edition honors grades 9-12 literary achievement in three genres: short fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction.
Submissions Accepted: February 3, 2025 - March 21, 2025
For more details see Saint Louis University Undergraduate Writing Award: 1818 High School Edition.
American Studies associate professor Flannery Burke and English professor Brian Yothers will explore how The Underground Railroad can be taught in diverse environments—from classrooms to libraries, families, and beyond—highlighting how the context shapes the teaching and learning experience. Dr. Yothers will focus on the pedagogical approaches to 19th century literature on slavery and freedom. Dr. Burke will examine the ways different settings influence how readers engage with the novel. Additionally, the discussion will center on how The Underground Railroad's themes impact readers depending on the environment, offering unique insights into the novel's broader impact.
When: Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Where: Lower level classroom at Pius Memorial Library, 3650 Lindell Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 63108
Colson Whitehead's acclaimed novel The Underground Railroad has now been translated into 40 languages. The process of translation, especially of works of historical fiction, is rife with linguistic and artistic considerations necessary to preserve a text's literary style, accuracy, and emotional impact. This session provides an opportunity for Bilingual Billikens to discuss the art of translation of the French and Spanish editions of this year's campus read. Break-out groups will be led by faculty from the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. Participants should pre-register for this event in order to receive a Spanish or French version of the novel: https://forms.office.com/r/jhGGYMEQJP
When: Tuesday, March 25, 2025, 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Where: Lower level classroom at Pius Memorial Library, 3650 Lindell Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 63108
The future is what we make of it, and so too is the past and our collective memory of it, as we evolve both generationally and dual centuried. Within this conversation, I will show how - for over a decade and a half of my career - that I've developed an array of globally innovative courses, showing the evolution of history/herstory in and over real time to further embolden creative engagement by fusing “old history” with fun accessible content both digital and nondigital. Equally valuable in this particular presentation will be pushing within and beyond the generational challenges of what an archive is on and offline as well as how to decipher the sole code of a long past with cursive. The overall goal today’s talk will be to share how I have been offering deep empowerment on a range of ever pertinent historical/herstorical themes while simultaneously getting students ‘Hands On The Past’ so that a well of smart knowledge can be poured in as the archival future arrives. This presentation will be given by Sowande Mustakeem who is an Associate Professor of History and African and African-American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis.
When: Thursday, March 27, 2025, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: Lower level classroom at Pius Memorial Library, 3650 Lindell Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 63108
Join Dr. Fran Pestello and Ted Ibur for an engaging discussion of the 2025 St. Louis Literary Award recipient, Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad. Pestello and Ibur will explore themes of gender, resilience, and how cultural and social institutions shape Cora's journey. The discussion focuses on the novel's parallels to contemporary challenges and its unique insights into resistance, determination, and ultimately— survival. "Resistance, Resilience, and Representation: Gender and Institutions in The Underground Railroad" provides the SLU community with an opportunity to explore one of the most thought-provoking works of modern literature.
When: Wednesday, April 2, 2025, 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Where: Lower level classroom at Pius Memorial Library, 3650 Lindell Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 63108
History and its social and political significance within society have been a topic of debate and controversy for a long time. Those of us who study and focus on the institution of slavery too often face major challenges when trying to reconstruct the past while also navigating contemporary society's ideas of race, national identity, and myths. This is one Black woman’s journey in navigating identity, family stories, classroom politics, and emotions with the history of enslavement in the United States. The presentation will be led by Katrina Moore who is the associate dean for diversity, equity, inclusion, and engagement for the College of Arts and Sciences. She is also an associate professor in the Department of African American Studies and History at Saint Louis University
When: Thursday, April 3, 2025, 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Where: Lower level classroom at Pius Memorial Library, 3650 Lindell Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 63108
Join us at the Sheldon Concert Hall as we celebrate Colson Whitehead, the esteemed recipient of the 2025 St. Louis Literary Award. The evening will feature an engaging conversation between Whitehead and moderator, SLU Associate History Professor Dr. Katrina Moore, and captivating performances inspired by his work.
When: Wednesday, April 9, 2025, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Where: Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Boulevard, Saint Louis, MO 63108
Cost: $15
Join us in a riveting discussion from the 2025 St. Louis Literary Award Winner Colson Whitehead author's craft and his creative processes.
When: Thursday, April 10, 2025, 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Where: The Wool Ballrooms in the Busch Student Center, 20 N. Grand Blvd. St. Louis,
MO 63103
Join Health Care Ethics professors, Dr. Jason Eberl and Dr. Yolonda Wilson for an insightful discussion on the complex bioethical themes presented in The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, which reflect the painful intersection of race, medicine, and power. Through the lens of this haunting narrative, we will explore how historical and contemporary bioethical issues—such as racial injustice in biomedical research, involuntary sterilization, eugenics, and the exploitation of Black bodies in anatomical dissection—are woven into the fabric of the story.
When: Tuesday, April 15, 2025, 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM
Where: Lower level classroom at Pius Memorial Library, 3650 Lindell Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 63108