Emailed notices announce the latest weekly readings in poetry and fiction, currently held at The Bark on All Saints Street, where generally Florida State faculty, members of the Department of English writing program, community, and out-of-town guest writers offer their own work.

Word of [South], a community-sponsored festival of literature and music held each spring, is a unique blend of writers and musicians and an exploration of the relationship between the two disciplines. The festival features authors who write about music, musicians who also are authors, authors and musicians appearing together, and everything in between. Throughout the year, Opening Nights at Florida State University presents compelling and distinguished artists who provide extraordinary experiences that educate, inspire and connect diverse audiences on and off campus; recent writers have included Stephen King, Salman Rushdie, David Sedaris, Cheryl Strayed, Colson Whitehead, and Jesmyn Ward.

Professional conferences also offer excellent opportunities for graduate students to present their own work. For information on other regional and national conferences, see the bulletin board outside the Department of English main office (WMS 405) or contact your program director.

The Literature, Media, and Culture Program organizes a Colloquium during the fall and spring semesters with guest experts in literature, theory, criticism, and cultural studies. Visitors in the past have included such nationally prominent figures such as Mark Anthony Neal, Laura Kipnis, Michael Bérubé, Dana Nelson, Andrew Ross, Slavoj Žižek, and others. All students are encouraged to attend the colloquium and are invited to meet the speaker at the informal reception that generally follows the talk.

The Rhetoric and Composition Speakers Series, likewise, hosts several scholars each year, who give talks and often meet students in class. Recently, these scholars have included LuMing Mao, Tamika Carey, Octavio Pimentel, Ricky Punzalan, and Kimberly Harper.