Rebecca Makkai, Pulitzer Prize finalist and bestselling author, to speak at APSU Sept. 18
By: Dr. Andrea Spofford August 25, 2025
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University’s with support from the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, is hosting Pulitzer Prize nominee Rebecca Makkai at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 18,
in the Mabry Concert Hall. This free public event will include a reading and book
signing.
Makkai holds the prestigious Roy Acuff Chair of Excellence for the 2025-26 academic year. Established in 1985, the chair of excellence honors country music legend Roy Acuff and brings regionally and nationally acclaimed artists to APSU’s campus.
“We are thrilled to welcome Rebecca to campus,” said CECA Director and Co-Coordinator of Creative Writing Dr. Andrea Spofford. “Rebecca’s writing, in addition to her work with students, resonates deeply, and we are grateful for the Acuff Chair of Excellence and the possibilities it provides. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our students and our community.”
About Rebecca Makkai
Makkai is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel as well as four other works of fiction. Her third novel, was named one of the was a finalist for both the 2019 Pulitzer Prize and the 2018 National Book Award, and won the ALA Carnegie Medal and the LA Times Book Prize, among other honors. A 2022 Guggenheim Fellow, Makkai teaches graduate fiction writing at Middlebury College, Northwestern University, and the Bennington Writing Seminars, and she is the artistic director of Learn more about Rebecca’s work by
As the 2025-26 Acuff Chair of Excellence, Makkai will visit APSU creative writing classes, work directly with students and regional community members, and curate a reading at this spring’s Zone 3 Writers’ Festival (April 16-18, 2026).
To learn more about Zone 3 Press, contact Dr. Raymond Deeren, co-coordinator of APSU’s creative writing program, at deerenr@apsu.edu. For more information about CECA, contact Dr. Andrea Spofford at spofforda@apsu.edu.
About the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts
Since 1985, the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts (CECA, or "seek-ah") has been providing students, the Clarksville community, and the Middle Tennessee region with engaging experiences through the Art + Design, Creative Writing, Music, and Theatre & Dance programs at APSU. CECA brings as many as 85 guest artists to Clarksville each year and presents up to 100 public arts and culture events annually, including concerts, exhibitions, artist lectures, master classes, artist residencies, and more. In addition, CECA provides the arts faculty at APSU with research opportunities to enhance their professional growth as well as numerous student scholarships each year to support APSU's own emerging artists.
About the Acuff Chair of Excellence
In 1985, country music legend Roy Acuff generously established an endowment to enrich the arts community at APSU and in Clarksville-Montgomery County. The result was the Roy Acuff Chair of Excellence, which brings regionally and nationally acclaimed artists to APSU to share their expertise with students and the community in a dynamic atmosphere of unrestricted experimentation. The Acuff Chair rotates between APSU's four creative arts areas - Art + Design, Creative Writing, Music, Theatre & Dance - and has been filled each year with residencies by nationally and internationally known artists since its inception.