English DepartmentThe Schiff Family-Reynolds Price endowment was established in 2005 by Elizabeth York Schiff (Trinity College Class of 1981, Law School Class of 1985) and James Andrew Schiff (Trinity College Class of 1981) in memory of Reynolds Price, who was an immensely popular professor of creative writing at Duke University for over 50 years. Distributions from the fund are used to support creative writing initiatives of the Department of English. One of those initiatives is the Reynolds Price Reading Series. We invite one distinguished writer each year, usually in the Spring semester, to come and give a public reading of their work and meet with students.
List of distinguished writers who have participated in the Reynolds Price Reading Series:
Ron Rash—As the inaugural author in our Reynolds Price Reading Series, we invited Ron Rash, the Parris Distinguished Professor in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University, in March of 2015. He gave a reading from his new short story collection at Smith Warehouse. Rash was selected to open this new reading series because, like Price, he strongly identifies with North Carolina, and his work reflects this deep connection.
Madison Smartt-Bell—In March of 2016, we hosted novelist Madison Smartt-Bell. While Bell teaches at Goucher College in Maryland, he is best known for his trilogy series on Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution. While visiting Duke, Bell gave a public reading from his novel All Souls Rising at Perkins Library, and participated in a writing workshop with the students in our advanced Creative Writing Fiction course.
Lucy Corin—An alumna of Duke University and current Program Director of the Creative Writing Program at the University of California, Davis, Lucy Corin came to Duke in March of 2017 as our distinguished Reynolds Price Visiting Author. Professor Corin, a novelist and short story writer, has received several distinctions in her career to-date, including an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. During her visit to Duke, she gave a public reading at Brody Theater, Branson Hall to a crowd of current undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and several residents of Durham. While on campus, Professor Corin participated in a lengthy writing workshop with two of our creative writing classes in a special joint class.