Week 1: January 19 - 25 

Monday, January 19: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – University offices closed 

Tuesday, January 20: First day of classes 

Tuesday January 20: Financial Aid Forms for 2026-27 due to Katherine Weiner 

Wednesday, January 21, 4:00pm at the Nonfiction Writing House: Cupcake Welcome Gathering for NWP Distinguished Visiting Professor Jenny Boully 

Friday, January 23, 12:00pm: 304 EPB (Gerber): “Survived the First Week” Gathering 

Friday, January 23, 4:00pm: Deadline for Digital Scholarship & Publishing Studio, & MFA Summer Fellowship materials (for Second-Year MFA students). Send to Graduate Program Coordinator Tara Atkinson. 

Week 2: January 26 - February 1 

Friday, January 30, 4pm: Student-led discussion on summer employment, all NWP students welcome! 

Week 3: February 2 – 8 

Monday, February 2, 2026: Last day to drop a course and reduce tuition/fee assessment (you will be billed for any courses you drop after this date!) 

Wednesday, February 4, 12:00pm: Deadline for Stanley Awards for International Research materials submitted online (for details, see website) 

Friday, February 6, 3:00pm: Deadline for Herodotus Award proposals 

Friday, February 6, 3:00pm: N + 1 editors Mark Krotov & Lisa Borst Publishing Talk, Gerber Lounge (304 EPB) 

Week 4: February 9 - 15 

Monday, February 9: Submissions for CLAS Postgraduate Visiting Writer Fellowships due to each MFA department contact (Third-Years Only) 

Monday, February 9: Schedule builder open/MyUI Course Offerings available for fall 2026 

Wednesday, February 11, 3:30 p.m.: Publishing Q&A with Amanda Uhle, Publisher and Executive Director of McSweeney's, at the NWP House.

Friday, February 13, 7:30pm: Krause Essay Prize Ceremony and Reception at the UI Old Capitol Senate Chambers honoring the 2025 winner, Sarah Aziza 

Week 5: February 16 - 22 

Friday, February 20, 7:00pm, Prairie Lights: Alumni Jonathan Gleason reads from Field Guide to Falling Ill — in conversation with NWP faculty Sarah Minor 

Week 6: February 23 – March 1 

Tuesday, February 24, NWP House: 4:30pm: Recruit the Newbies! Help advise the NWP’s newly admitted Class of 2029 about their future plans. Come for an informational meeting with Melissa to find out how you can help. 

Wednesday, Feb 25: 4:30pm, Brainstorming session for the NWP’s upcoming One Day Fundraiser on March 26. Join the faculty in the NWP lounge to help drum up ideas about how to excite NWP alum and friends to donate 

Friday, February 27: Degree application deadline (apply in MyUI). 

Friday, February 27: MFA spring graduates (Third-Years only) must send English Department Graduate Coordinator Tara Atkinson a list of their thesis title, thesis committee members, date, and time of defense. 

Friday, February 27, 7:00pm: Jenny Boully, NWP Distinguished Visiting Professor and author of Betwixt and Between, reads at NWP House 

Week 7:  March 2 - 8 

Wednesday, March 4 - Saturday, March 7, Baltimore, Maryland: AWP Conference 

Week 8: March 9 – 15 

Wednesday, March 11, 3:30pm: Q+A with editor Jessie Kindig of Yale University Press at the NWP House 

Friday, March 13: Fall 2026 course preferences due to Graduate Program Coordinator Tara Atkinson. 

Week 9: March 16 - 22 

Spring Break 

Week 10: March 23 – 29 

Thursday, March 26 – 27: Welcome Days for Incoming NWP students 
Thursday March 26, 7pm: Erik Larson in conversation with Inara Verzemnieks - The Demon of Unrest. Ticketed event at the Englert.

Friday, March 27, 2pm: A craft talk by Krause Visiting Writer, Elissa Washuta, at NWP House 
Friday, March 27, 5 pm: Pizza dinner for incoming and current students.

Friday, March 27, 7:00pm: A reading by Elissa Washuta, author of White Magic, at NWP House 

Week 11: March 30 – April 5 

Wednesday, April 1, 7pm: Graphic memoirist Lauren Haldeman in conversation with Carmen Maria Machado - Wild that We’re Alive, at Prairie Lights.

Week 12: April 6 – 12 

Monday, April 6, 3:00pm: Deadline for submissions for Roxanne Mueller Award 

Friday, April 10, 3:00-5:00pm: Second-Years to submit thesis proposals (prospectus) to faculty and CC Graduate Program Coordinator Tara Atkinson. More details will be announced at a later date. 

Friday, April 10, 3:00pm: Deadline for submissions for Prairie Lights Prize 

Week 13: April 13 - 19 

Monday, April 13: Early Registration for Fall 2026 begins 

April 13-14: Visit from editor Vanessa Haughton of Knopf and Pantheon at NWP House 

Week 14: April 20 - 26 

Tuesday, April 21st: Final exam reports due/last day to hold thesis defense (Third-Years only) 

Week 15: April 27 – May 3 

Tuesday, April 28: Deadline for Single Thesis Deposit (Third-Years only) 

Tuesday, April 28, 7 p.m.: Launch Reading: Tisa Bryant reads from Residual at Prairie Lights Books. 

Friday, May 1: Last day of early registration. Students with teaching assignments should complete their fall 2026 registration by this date 

Week 16: May 4 – 10 

Friday, May 8: Close of classes 

Saturday, May 9: NWP Graduation Party at NWP House, 11:00am 

Week 17: May 11 - 17 

Final exam week for the university, and commencement ceremonies 

Tuesday, May 19: Last working day for spring TA/RA contracts