Hallowell Literary Lecture

Author and professor Elise Juska joins community as 2025 Hallowell Literary Lecturer

Author and professor Elise Juska spent time at The Haverford School as the featured speaker of the Edward R. Hallowell Literary Lecture series. She spoke at an evening lecture in Ball Auditorium to members of the community and the public, and in Centennial Hall to the Upper School community. 

During her lecture, she shared her path to becoming an author, including a reference to a list of goals she made at 10 years old. On her list were items like “don’t plan stories, just sit down and write them,” which she encouraged the boys to do to support their creative writing. Other items on her list include “keep trying,” and “after reading, use the style of writing from that book.” She says she still uses all three of those tactics in her own professional life. 

Juska also spent time with Upper School boys during her visit, during which they asked questions about her novels and her writing process. She visited the classroom of her former student, Haverford English teacher MeeRee Orlandini, offering advice to inspire future authors. 

The Hallowell Lecture brings a distinguished author to the School to deliver a lecture, spend time with students, and inspire an interest in literature. 

Juska is the author of the 2024 novel Reunion, which was named an Editors’ Choice in The New York Times and one of People Magazine’s Best New Books. Her previous novels include If We Had Known and The Blessings, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection and one of the Philadelphia Inquirer’s best books of the year. Her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in numerous publications. She is a visiting professor of creative writing at Bryn Mawr College.

View more photos from Elise Juska's visit