Jiménez-Porter Writers' House

Let’s gooooo!

❤️🎉❤️🎉

❤️

📕 ⏳ 🏅

It’s Tuesday. Still waiting. Chapbooks due Friday. At this point we’ve refreshed our email 47 times, stared meaningfully into the distance, only been bribed once with dark chocolate covered espresso beans, and fully believe in you. Truly. Deeply. Urgently.

Finish strong.

It’s Monday. We’re waiting. Chapbooks are due Friday. No pressure. Just…two directors sitting here like 👀

You’ve got this. Finish strong.

This one feels special.

Join us tonight as we celebrate our MFA writers stepping out of academia and into the world as masters of their craft.

A huge, personal shoutout here: Elizabeth Bryant (), who has been at the heart of JPWH as our GA—thoughtful, steady, a giant heart, loved by everyone in this community. And January Santoso (), who has shared her voice with our students in the classroom and beyond, leading one of the most talked about classes of the year, a tremendous human teaching our young writers. Getting to see both of them take the stage as graduating writers and listening to them read… that’s the full circle moment.

Come through, bring friends, bring family, bring anyone who cares about stories and poetry and words and the people who write them.

🗓 Friday, May 1
🕕 6–7 PM
📍 Ulrich Recital Hall

Let’s pack the room for them!

LitFest is back!

Friday, May 8. We’re taking over your evening.

4–6 PM — Ulrich Recital Hall (Tawes)
Readings from this year’s Jiménez-Porter Literary Prize + Herbstein Award winners. (Some of the best work to come out of Writers’ House this year. No exaggeration.)

6–8 PM — Tawes Rooftop Patio
Food, drinks, music, and the part where we all actually get to hang out and celebrate.

Students, friends, parents, family, faculty, staff—all are welcome. If you’ve ever been part of this community—or just want to see what it’s about—this is the night.

Come through. Stay late. We promise this will be more fun than your last dentist visit and bio midterm combined.

We’re proud to announce the 2026 winners of the Herbstein Award in Fiction, presented in collaboration with .

The Sebastian Herbstein Memorial Scholarship in Fiction Writing, established in 2012 by Judith Freidenberg, honors the life and memory of Sebastian Herbstein—a talented writer, dedicated scholar, and deeply valued member of his community. This award supports emerging student voices in fiction and celebrates writing that carries forward that same spirit of curiosity, care, and craft.

Join us in celebrating this year’s winners at LitFest 2026, where they’ll read from their work as part of an afternoon dedicated to student writing across campus.

📅 Friday, May 8 | 4–6 PM
📍 Tawes Hall, Ulrich Recital Hall

LitFest is one of the highlights of the Writers’ House year—a gathering of students, faculty, and the broader community to celebrate creative work in all its forms.

Come out, support these incredible writers, and help us spread the word.

The Jiménez-Porter Writers’ House and Stylus: A Journal of Poetry, Prose, and Art () are pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 Jiménez-Porter Literary Prize, a writing contest open to all University of Maryland, College Park undergraduate students. Prize winners will be honored and read excerpts of their winning works at LitFest on May 8th at 4pm in Ulrich Recital Hall. All are welcome!