Midnight Sun Visiting Writers Series

The Midnight Sun Visiting Writers Series is an annual program that hosts local and nationally renowned writers for craft lectures and public readings. The first events were held in the early 1970s, and over the years, many of the most prestigious names in literature—Robert Pinsky, Lucille Clifton, Scott Russell Sanders, Mark Doty, Camille Dungy, and Terry Tempest Williams, to name a few—have made appearances in Fairbanks. All events are free and open to the public!

Daryl Farmer is Director of the Midnight Sun Visiting Writers Series for the 2024–25 academic year.

 

Upcoming Speakers

  • Sep13

      Schaible Auditorium
      7:00 p.m.
    The Midnight Sun Visiting Writers Series presents author, Mieke Eerkens. Eerkens will read from her debut book, All Ships Follow Me: A Family Memoir of War Across Three Continents, a powerful narrative that intertwines her father’s childhood internment in a Japanese labor camp in Java during World War II with her mother’s experience in a Dutch children’s home following the arrest of her Nazi-allied parents. This memoir explores the complexities of war, identity, and family across generations. The event is free and open to the public.

    A Zoom option is available for those who cannot attend in person:

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    Events

     

    Midnight Sun logo
    We're happy to debut the new logo for the Midnight Sun Visiting Writers Series. It was designed by undergraduate student Marina Gonzalez Mazo. Thanks to a Supplies & Services Award from Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity, we will be distributing promotional material featuring the new logo during the next academic year.

     

    Support the Midnight Sun Visiting Writers Series:

    Do you enjoy the work we do? Consider supporting the series through an online donation!

     

    Dead Writers

     

    The Midnight Sun Visiting Writers Series also hosts the Dead Writers reading during the Halloween season. Participants—including many of our MFA students and faculty—deliver readings from the work of their favorite deceased writers, often in full creepy costume. The event includes raffle prizes and awards such Best Costume and Best Performance. Dead Writers, which originated in 1990, raises additional funds to bring visiting writers to Fairbanks.

    Cover charge for this event is $5 for 51·çÁ÷¹ÙÍø students and $10 for all others. All of the proceeds go to the Midnight Sun Visiting Writers Series which brings up incredible authors and poets to our community.

     

     

    For more information about Dead Writers or the Midnight Sun Visiting Writers Series, please contact Jake Knuth .