This year marks the 40th anniversary of the George Bennett Fellowship for Creative Writing. Endowed by Elias B. M. Kulukundis '55, it honors George E. Bennett (English instructor at the Academy from 1929-1965) and awards a one-year fellowship to a writer who has not yet published a book. As writer-in-residence for the year, the Bennett Fellow lives in Exeter and makes himself or herself available in an informal way to students interested in writing. He or she is also invited to give a reading at the Library during the spring.

Among the 40 writers who have been Bennett Fellows is Maggie Dietz. Maggie now teaches in the English Department and is a resident of Dunbar Hall along with her husband Todd Hearon, also a member of the English Department, and their toddler-aged twins. Looking back on her year as Exeter's writer-in-residence, Maggie says "It was a lovely year, with long days for thinking and working. I spent a lot of time in the woods, and in my head, and inside of books—and a fair amount of time in D-hall. What better gifts could there be for a writer than time and food? I wrote about half of my book on that sustenance, and was sustained also by the company of smart colleagues, and by my visits to classes and my meetings with students whose excitement about language was inspiring."

The library's Bennett Fellows webpage has more information about the program, the writers and the books.

You can click on the title of any of the books shown below to see its cover.