Originally founded and run by Ted Pelton, The Write Thing Reading Series is devoted to bringing literary artists to Medaille University's campus for the purpose of enhancing the educational experience of students and contributing to the scope and richness of the larger Buffalo literary community. 

For 20 years, Medaille University's Write Thing Reading Series has hosted talks, presentations, workshops, readings, and performances by both national and Buffalo-based fiction and non-fiction writers, poets, spoken word artists, playwrights, and other literary creatives. These presentations are open to students, faculty, and the public.

2022-23 Write Thing Series Guests:

Donna Hoke
Thursday, October 20, 2022
6 p.m.

Donna’s work has been seen in 47 states and on five continents, including at Barrington Stage, Barrow Group, Celebration Theatre, Gulfshore Theatre, Queens Theatre, Lake Dillon Theatre Company, Theatre Aspen, The Road, Phoenix Theatre, Atlantic Stage, Purple Rose, Skylight, Pride Films and Plays, New Jersey Rep, Hens and Chickens (London), The Galway Fringe Festival, and Actors Repertory Theatre of Luxembourg. Plays include Brilliant Works of Art (Kilroys List), Elevator Girl (O’Neill, Princess Grace, and Austin Film Festival finalist), Safe (winner of the Todd McNerney, Naatak, and Great Gay Play and Musical Contests), and TEACH (Gulfshore New Works, O'Neill semifinalist). She has been nominated for the Primus, Blackburn, and Laura Pels prizes, and is a three-time winner of the Buffalo's Emanuel Fried Award for Outstanding New Play (Seeds, Sons & Lovers, Once In My Lifetime). She has also received an Individual Artist Award from the New York State Council on the Arts to develop Hearts of Stone, and, in its final three years, Artvoice named her Buffalo's Best Writer—the only woman to ever receive the designation.

Donna has also been serving the Dramatists Guild in various capacities since 2012. She is an ensemble playwright at Road Less Traveled Productions, a blogger, moderator of the 13,000+-member Official Playwrights of Facebook, New York Times-published crossword puzzle constructor, children's and trivia book author, and founder/co-curator of BUA Takes 10: GLBT Short Stories. Speaking engagements include Citywrights, Kenyon Playwrights Conference, the Dramatists Guild National Conference, Chicago Dramatists, the Austin Film Festival, and a live Dramatists Guild webinar. For more information, visit donnahoke.com.

Noah Falck
February 2, 2023
6 p.m.
The Library in Huber Hall

Noah Falck is the author of Exclusions (Tupelo Press, 2020) finalist for The Believer Book Award for poetry and the recent chapbook normal normal (Foundlings Press, 2022). His work has appeared in The Kenyon Review, Literary Hub, Poetry Daily, Poets.org, and has been anthologized in Poem-A-Day 365 Poems for Every Occasion. He works as Education Director at Just Buffalo Literary Center, and in 2013 founded the Silo City Reading Series, a multimedia poetry event series inside a 130-foot-high, 100-year-old abandoned grain elevator.

Julio Montalvo Valentin
February 16, 2023
6 p.m.
The Library in Huber Hall

Julio Montalvo Valentin (they/his/Julio) is a traveling teaching artist, poet, freelance writer, and arts facilitator. In pursuit of community and home, Julio began by collaborating with others to co-found the late Cringe-Worthy Poets Collective and co-host the late Ground and Sky Reading series at Rust Belt Books for several years.

Julio received his bachelor’s and master’s degree in Writing and English literature from SUNY Buffalo State, where he also received two research fellowships, one for his second coast-to-coast poetry tour and another to study poetry curated on the Stonewall Nation Radio Program. They have also authored three poetry chapbooks, the latest being Those Who Pray to Rice (NightBallet Books, 2019). After many years of publishing chapbooks, Julio found his calling through teaching artistry after interacting with the arts community and non-profit organizations such as Just Buffalo Literary Center. This has led to collaborations and projects that the Buffalo Community continues to draw inspiration from. Julio worked on creative writing experiences with the TimeSlips: WNY Tele-Stories Project, the BPS “Woke Words” program (“Freedom” poetry mural at Broderick Park), and the inaugural Teaching Artist Mentorship Program with the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable.

These days, Julio is a lecturer, public speaking coach, teaching artist, freelance grants/proposals writer, and uncle who makes time to serve an ever-changing community of socially-engaged writers through trauma-informed, re/generative workshops. Julio currently serves as a member of the Latino/a/x arts collective called Los Artistas del Barrio Buffalo (LAdB), the Spark Filmmakers Collective, and the Lit Youngstown 2022 Literary Festival planning committee. You can always find Julio ready for the next writing opportunity and to share their love of words through his next project. For more information, visit ProcessPoetry.com.

Past Writer/Artist Guests: