The Week Of Writing is a weeklong celebration of writing in all of its forms, stages, uses, functions, approaches, and levels of joy (and challenge). We are interested in hearing how undergraduate students, graduate students, post-docs, faculty and staff use, grapple with and/or celebrate writing across campus. From the Humanities to STEM, in any language or form, writing is an act that unites us all in academia (and maybe as people?). The WOW is our time to acknowledge, learn about, and celebrate it all.
2026 Co-Sponsors: Campus Writing Program, Center for the Humanities, Creative Writing Program, English Department, Faculty Success Council, Mizzou Libraries, Office of the Provost, Theater Department, Teaching for Learning Center
2026 Schedule of Events
2026 Theme: Writing “Above the Table“
Register for the whole week or for individual events on our Week Of Writing page on MU Engage. Links for individual events also listed below, where registration is required.
Monday, Oct. 19
Week Of Writing Kick-Off Celebration, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Location: Lowry Mall
Co-hosts: Campus Writing Program, Writing Center, Composition Program
Kick off Mizzou’s Week Of Writing with us by stopping by Lowry Mall to tell us why you love to write and enter to win prizes and Mizzou swag from the MU Bookstore.. Check out the events for the rest of the week and register for events while you’re there. Visit us on the Lowry Mall from 10am – 1pm, right outside the Student Success Center!
Open to undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars & researchers, faculty, and staff.
No registration necessary.
GradsWork, 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Writing Center in the Student Success Center
Co-hosts: Writing Center, Graduate School
GradsWork is a quiet space to bring current works in progress and to work in community with other graduate writers. We will invite participants to share goals at the beginning of the session, then work quietly and independently for the duration of the session. We will invite participants to report progress and/or future goals at the end of the session. All writers and all projects are welcome. Coffee & snacks provided.
Please note: GradsWork sessions are quiet spaces to work in community with other graduate writers; no general writing instruction will be provided at the sessions.
Designed for graduate students.
Register here.
Tuesday, Oct. 20
Graduate Student Writing Retreat, 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location: Conley House
Co-hosts: Campus Writing Program, Writing Center
Join us for a day of writing during the Week Of Writing! We’ll start at 9am, bring in lunch at 12pm, and continue writing until 3pm. Please pre-register, as the event will be capped at 18 students. Lunch will be provided to registrants. Graduate students at any stage, working on any project are welcome!
This retreat is designed for graduate students working on a writing project.
Register here.
Faculty Book Panel & Reception, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Location: Ellis 114A & Teaching for Learning Center
Co-hosts: Mizzou Libraries, Office of the Provost, Teaching for Learning Center
Join us as we celebrate Mizzou Faculty who have published a book in 2025 or 2026 (Jan. – Nov)! Hear from a panel of faculty members with books published as they talk about their work and writing process, then join us in the T4LC in Ellis 25 for a reception after.
Please RSVP by Oct 12 using this link.
Finding Your Writing Community: A Conversation with the Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers Guild, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location: Ellis 114A
Presenters: Bethany Spitzmiller, Cortney Daniels, Eilene Ording, Debra Sutton, Joseph Polacco, & Samuel Daugherty
Writing is often imagined as a solitary act: one writer, one laptop, one brilliant idea. But behind most finished writing is an often-invisible network of people who help those words make it to the page. Critique partners, beta readers, editors, mentors, writing groups, accountability partners, friends, and fellow writers help us work through unfinished drafts, navigate feedback and rejection, celebrate successes, and sometimes simply remind us to keep going. While one name may appear on the finished work, writing rarely happens entirely alone.
In this presentation, members of the Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers Guild (CCMWG) will bring this often unseen part of the writing process “above the table.” Writers representing different genres, experiences, and publishing paths will share how they found, or built, their writing communities, what those relationships have contributed to their writing lives, and what they wish they had known when they first began looking for other writers. This interactive conversation will also invite participants to reflect on their own experiences with writing and community. How do you find your people? What makes a writing community feel supportive and productive? How do you share work that isn’t “ready”? And what can you do when you don’t yet have a writing community? Whether you write fiction, poetry, academic work, or something entirely different, we hope participants leave with new ideas for finding connection, supporting other writers, and making writing a little less solitary.
Deconstructing the Draft: Dynamic Approaches to Writing and Revision, 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Location: Ellis 114A
Presenters: Emily Clemente, Will Lanstone
An unintended side-effect of the rising popularity of LLMs is the myth that writing should progress linearly along, as each word follows the next and slots neatly into place. When a real person attempts to emulate this process, they are far more likely to freeze up, tune-out, keep things vague, or resort to using AI than begin thinking critically and produce a piece of quality writing. We want to encourage students who enter the university setting with previous education emphasizing output, standardization, and formulaic writing assessments such as the five-paragraph essay to consider more recursive and dynamic approaches to writing that incorporate continuous revision and feedback.
This short presentation will include explanations and demonstrations from two Mizzou English instructors of some classroom exercises they use in their introductory level courses that encourage students to consider drafting and revision in a process-based, nonlinear, and non- formulaic manner. We will begin by framing the intended learning outcomes of these exercises and provide brief explanations for how these unconventional activities can encourage students to take a more process-based approach to their writing. One demonstration will include an exercise geared toward critical thinking in structure, organization, and style in the composition classroom, while another will feature an exercise in word choice and emphasis in creative writing. Although designed for English courses, we believe these exercises will be pedagogically relevant for any course that requires any form of textual analysis or composition.
Wednesday, Oct. 21
Writing Journeys: A Reflective Practice, 10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Location: Zoom (please register below for the Zoom link)
Presenter: Katie Austin
Inspired by “Writing Identity” from Ivanic (1998) and “Imagined Communities” from Kanno & Norton (2003), this casual roundtable session provides graduating seniors and graduate students the opportunity to reflect and celebrate their writing journeys (i.e. writing/writer identity) as they prepare for their future careers and goals (i.e. imagined communities). Writers will reflect on questions that largely address how their writer identity is evolving, what they are learning about writing/composition, and what those lessons mean for their futures. Participants can share insights with fellow attendees from varying programs and them apply to their own writing journeys. Ultimately, writers from all areas and levels are welcome to bring and share their journeys “above the table.”
Register here.
Writing While Learning, Teaching While Writing: Between Languages, Between Roles, 1:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Location: Ellis 114A
Presenter: Barja Islam
As a South Asian multilingual graduate student teaching first-year writing in the United States, I find myself moving between two sides of the writing classroom. In one room, I am the student preparing for discussions, presentations, and written work; in another, I am the instructor preparing questions, explanations, conferences, and classroom conversations. Moving between these roles has made me notice how much unseen writing goes into the words we eventually say aloud.
This 15-minute talk explores the writing behind those words: instructor notes, presentation notes, discussion questions, planned transitions, revisions, and the small phrases we write down because we want an idea to land clearly. In my teaching, I ask students to experience writing as a process rather than a performance. Moving between student and teacher has made me wonder what happens when we extend that idea beyond the finished page and notice the writing that supports teaching, speaking, and thinking aloud. My multilingual experience makes me particularly attentive to the movement between written language and spoken interaction, not necessarily as a question of correctness, but as a process of making rhetorical choices for different audiences. Drawing on my experiences as a graduate student and first-year writing instructor, I will consider writing as preparation, rehearsal, and thought that remains “above the table.”
The session is intended for writers across disciplines. My hope is that listeners leave noticing forms of writing they may not ordinarily recognize as writing, the invisible work that supports teaching, learning, presentations, conversations, and moments when words reach an audience.
Submission Soiree: A Creative Writing Program event, 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Sponsored by Creative Writing Program
Location: Writing & Research Hub, Ellis Library
Have some poems, essays, or stories that are ready to find their home? Bring them to the Writing & Research Hub and let’s submit together! Facilitated by Creative Writing PhD Candidate, Kayla Cayasso, the Creative Writing Program is sponsoring submission fees for up to 12 graduate students. If you have registered and can no longer attend, please let us know so that we can offer your spot to another writer. Coffee, tea, and snacks provided.
Register here.
From Professional to Professor: Building your Bridge into Academia, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Sponsored by Faculty Leadership and Success Council
Location: Ellis 114A
Moderator: Amy Simons, Professor, Professional Practice, Missouri School of Journalism
Panelists: Elizabeth Frogge, Professor, Professional Practice, Missouri School of Journalism & Assistant News Director, KOMU-TV; Sean Goggins, Professor, College of Engineering; Brian Henry, Assistant Teching Professor, College of Education and Human Development; Chelseá R. Mitchell, Associate Clinical Professor, School of Law
You spent years becoming an expert in your field. Then you became a faculty member and discovered there was a whole second job no one taught you how to do.
For faculty coming to higher education from professional practice, the transition can be exciting, rewarding, and sometimes overwhelming. How do you balance teaching with maintaining professional credentials and industry engagement? What exactly is a teaching philosophy? How do you give and receive feedback in an academic culture? And how do you find mentors and community when you’re still learning the landscape?
Join faculty from across the university for a practical conversation about navigating the hidden curriculum of academic life. We’ll share lessons learned, common challenges, and strategies for building a successful and fulfilling career in higher education. Faculty, staff, and doctoral students from all disciplines are welcome.
Please register here.
Undergrad Write Night, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Conley House
Sponsored by Campus Writing Program
Undergraduate students, please join us for some pizza and a cozy spot to get some words on the page. Sponsored by the Campus Writing Program and begun because of a undergraduate writer’s request, these undergraduate writing retreats are a spot for you to sink in and let the words flow. Pizza provided.
Register here.
Thursday, Oct. 22
What’s Hiding UNDERNEATH the Table: The Monsters Writers Create, 10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Location: Ellis 114A
Presenter: Olivia Latendresse
This presentation is intended for anyone who has ever felt like an outsider at the writing table—students, scholars, educators, and professionals navigating unfamiliar genres, expectations, or identities as writers. Using Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as a central metaphor, I will consider what might have happened if Victor Frankenstein had responded differently to his creation—if he had nurtured, understood, and taken responsibility for the creature rather than immediately rejecting him as a monster before taking the time to understand. Writers can make the same mistake with their own creations. Sometimes what initially feels strange, flawed, or frightening is actually something beautiful: a distinctive voice, an unconventional approach, an unexpected idea, or a piece of ourselves that makes our writing uniquely ours.
This presentation takes participants through my personal journey navigating a wide variety of writing identities and the “monsters” I initially perceived within them. In the end, participants will be invited to bring their own “monsters” into the light and reconsider what is truly monstrous. Rather than simply overcoming the messy, uncertain, and imperfect parts of writing, we can learn to recognize, nurture, and even celebrate them as essential pieces of what makes our writing, and writing process, distinct. In doing so, we may discover that the things we once feared or rejected can become some of our greatest opportunities to learn, grow, and expand what we are capable of as writers.
Creative Revision-ing: Divination & Scrying Practices for Revising our Writing, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: Ellis 114A
Presenter: Julia Kooi Talen
Revision can be fun, whimsical, and magical!! In this workshop, attendees will learn how to use place, plants, and tarot cards to approach revision. We will consider what is “around” the table in the room of our presentation, noting what seems to be in it’s place and what seems out of place and use discussion to guide revision in our writing. We will also practice using plants like flowers and trees to help us channel our revision powers to bring to the page. Additionally, we will draw tarot cards and use tarot to guide how we move through a section of our writing and revise it. I will demonstrate all methods, and attendees will have time to gather a list of guiding principles for revision using place, plants, and tarot cards and to practice applying those principles to revision.
Special Collections Event facilitated by Dr. Emily Friedman, 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location: Ellis Library 114A
Co-Hosts: Center for the Humanities, Creative Writing Program, English Department, Mizzou Libraries, Special Collections, Office of the Provost, Theater Department,
How are the Bronte’s tiny manuscripts connected to roleplaying games like Dungeons & Dragons and modern comic books?
In this interactive introduction to playful objects, games, and comics held in Special Collections, Dr. Emily Friedman shows how researchers recover the hidden history of play, and how items and ideas from the past are inspiring new games today.
English 1000 Dine & Draft, 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Writing & Research Hub, Ellis Library
Co-Hosts: Mizzou Libraries
English 1000 students are invited to join us from 4pm-8pm in Ellis Library to spend some time with their English 1000 drafts. Olive Garden salad & breadsticks are available for students to dine on; students should also bring any drafts-in-progress to work on at the event. We will have a quiet writing room available and we will have Research Librarians and Writing Center writing tutors on site for walk-in appointments (reserved for Dine & Draft participants only).
No registration necessary.
Table Top Role Playing Game Jam, 6:00 p.m.
Location: Hexagon Alley
More information & registration coming soon!
Friday, Oct. 23
Graduate Student Lunch & Learn with Dr. Emily Friedman, 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Location: TBD
Join Dr. Emily Friedman for an intimate conversation about the writing (and publishing) in academic that happens above the table and what to focus on at the table. In other words, spend the lunch hour with Dr. Friedman talking about “what to publish, when.”
Registration required.
Register here.
Trade Publishing Panel, 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Location: TBD
From writing for the stage and screen to developing a new RPG campaign, writing extends beyond the academic constraints of the world of five-paragraph essays and journal articles. This panel features a diverse spread of professionals, and explores how they have applied, leveraged, deepened, and even challenged the writing skills and techniques developed in the college classroom through their professional careers and personal endeavors. Panelists will explore how writing for different goals and audiences has shaped their impression of writing as a craft, the way writing is taught in or outside the classroom, and the experience of being a creative professional in the age of ever-advancing generative artificial intelligence technologies.
“Why Do We Tell Stories?” A Talk by Dr. Emily Friedman, 7:00 p.m.
Location: Ellis Auditorium
Sponsored by: Center for the Humanities, Creative Writing Program, English Department, Mizzou Libraries, Office of the Provost, Theater Department
Why do we tell stories? To try to make sense of a world that can be terrifying and enormous.
— Brennan Lee Mulligan, “Fire and Ruin,” Exandria Unlimited: Calamity (2022)
Actual Play — the recording and broadcasting of roleplaying games for audiences — has existed online for over two decades, and has been rising in mainstream attention for over a decade. But what draws people to watch, listen, and record AP? This talk, taken from the Overture of Dr. Friedman’s forthcoming book, The Actual History of Actual Play, provides an introductory glimpse into the power of the form for audiences and creators across the globe.
Emily C. Friedman teaches courses on British literature, book history, games, and playful media. Trained as a book historian, narratologist, and digital humanist, her work examines the history of cultural production outside of commercial mass media from the eighteenth century to today, from never-published manuscript fiction to analog games. Now one of the senior scholars and public intellectuals in the field of “Actual Play,” a new media form where roleplaying games are performed for audiences, her research on the topic has appeared in multiple academic books and journals, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and the game media site Polygon. Her next book, The Actual History of Actual Play, is forthcoming from MIT Press, and she is at work on a book on the comic and roleplaying game DIE for University of Michigan Press, a multiauthored critical companion to major Actual Play Dimension 20, and future work on microcelebrity and “nerd fame”. In 2026-27 she is in residence in Washington, DC as the Public Humanities Fellow at the Folger Shakespeare Library.
Free & open to the public. No registration necessary.