Cropper Center for Creative Writing

Join us for a reading of original works by graduating Creative Writing students.

Join us for a reading by poet Cintia Santana.

The Cropper Center for Creative Writing at the University of San Diego is excited to share a preview of its lineup of readers for the Lindsay J. Cropper Memorial Writers Series for the 2025-2026 academic year. This fall, we will welcome author Claire Vaye Watkins and author Tom Bissell. All events are free and open to the public. The Annual Barrie Cropper Memorial Lecture on the Craft of Creative Writing: Claire Vaye Watkins. Thursday, October 2, 2025, 12:30 p.m. in Learning Commons 107 The Lindsay J. Cropper Memorial Writers Series: Claire Vaye Watkins Thursday, October 2, 2025, 6 p.m. in Manchester Hall Auditorium Claire Vaye Watkins is the author of two novels: I Love You but I’ve Chosen Darkness and Gold Fame Citrus , as well as the short story collection Battleborn , winner of the Story Prize, the Dylan Thomas Prize, and the Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame. A recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Lannan Foundation and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Claire is a professor in the Programs in Writing at the University of California, Irvine. She lives in Orange County and the Mojave Desert. The Lindsay J. Cropper Memorial Writers Series: Tom Bissell Thursday, November 6, 2025, 6 p.m. in Manchester Hall Auditorium There will be a book signing and dessert reception following the reading. Tom Bissell was born in Escanaba, Michigan, in 1974. He is the author of eleven books, including The Father of All Things , Extra Lives , Apostle  and Creative Types. With Greg Sestero, he cowrote The Disaster Artist , with was a New York Times bestseller and was adapted into an Academy Award-nominated film. As a screenwriter, he cocreated The Mosquito Coast , based on Paul Theroux’s novel of the same name, for Apple TV+ and wrote three episodes for the second and final season of Andor: A Star Wars Story for Disney+. He has also written for numerous video-game franchises, among them Battlefield , Uncharted  and Gears of War . His awards include the Rome Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a WGA Award for Excellence in Videogame Writing, and nearly a dozen appearances in The Best American series. He lives in Los Angeles with his family. We thank you for all your ongoing support of the Cropper Writers Series and look forward to seeing you at these events! All are welcome to attend. For more information, please contact the Cropper Center for Creative Writing Director and Professor of English Brad Melekian at melekian@sandiego.edu . Sponsored by the University of San Diego’s Cropper Center for Creative Writing. The Lindsay J. Cropper Center for Creative Writing was established at USD in 2004  with a generous gift from Barrie and Dorothy Cropper in memory of their daughter, Lindsay J. Cropper, an alumna of USD, an English major and aspiring writer, who died tragically in 2000. The purpose of the center is to foster the appreciation and practice of creative writing at the University of San Diego by hosting an annual Writers Series, sponsoring a literary journal, promoting the development of writing courses and granting awards for creative writing.

The Lindsay J. Cropper Center for Creative Writing and the USD English Department cordially invite you to the next of our 2024-2025 events, a reading by scholar and poet Kimberly Johnson. The reading will take place on Thursday, March 6, 2025 at 6 p.m., in Manchester Hall Auditorium. The reading will be followed by a dessert reception and book signing. Johnson will also give the biannual Joanne T. Dempsey Memorial Lecture on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, at 4 p.m., in the Manchester Hall Auditorium. A reception will follow the lecture. Both events are free and open to the public. Kimberly Johnson is a poet, translator and literary critic. Her work has appeared widely in publications, including The New Yorker , Slate , The Iowa Review , PMLA and Modern Philology . Recipient of grants and fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Utah Arts Council and the Mellon Foundation. Johnson holds an MA from the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and a PhD in Renaissance Literature from the University of California at Berkeley. Kimberly Johnson lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. All are welcome to attend. For more information, please contact the Cropper Center for Creative Writing Director and Associate Professor Brad Melekian, at melekian@sandiego.edu . Sponsored by University of San Diego’s Cropper Center for Creative Writing and the Department of English. The Lindsay J. Cropper Center for Creative Writing was established at USD in 2004 with a generous gift from Barrie and Dorothy Cropper in memory of their daughter, Lindsay J. Cropper, an alumna of USD, an English major and aspiring writer, who died tragically in 2000. The purpose of the center is to foster the appreciation and practice of creative writing at the University of San Diego by hosting an annual Writers Series, sponsoring a literary journal, promoting the development of writing courses and granting awards for creative writing. Plan Your Visit When visiting USD, please plan ahead and allow yourself ample time to park your vehicle, pay at a pay station and take the tram to your desired destination or event. View the Campus Map Parking Visitors may park in the West Parking Structure/West Lot.  Vehicles must have a valid USD parking permit OR pay at a pay station or on the ParkMobile app between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, including vehicles displaying an ADA placard. The pay stations on campus accept coins as well as Visa & Mastercard credit/debit cards. They do not accept cash or American Express cards. The rate for parking in metered areas is $2.50 per hour. All paid parking areas at USD operate as pay-by-plate. This means that a license plate number is required when making a payment at the pay station. It may be helpful to take a picture of your license plate after you park your vehicle. Once you have made your payment, there is no need to display your receipt on your dashboard. Payment at all metered space locations on campus may also be made from your smartphone.  Download the Parkmobile App Tram Service Tram service is offered free of charge from West Parking Structure up to the main campus. Take the “West Campus Loop” tram to the top of the hill. The Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice will be on your right. The tram runs every 5 to 7 minutes. A complete tram schedule is available on the Tram Services Website .  View a live map of each route displaying the vehicle's location.