06-In-Person-Coming to the Festival of Faith & Writing 2026: Faithful Literature for Every Reader
Fall or Spring Course | Registration opens 1/5/2026 6:00 AM EST
Join us for an enriching four-week literary exploration designed to deepen our understanding of faith, community, and the power of narrative. This course engages with diverse voices that challenge, inspire, and illuminate the human experience of seeking connection and belonging. From immersive journalism within a complex Christian community to short stories exploring the Black American Muslim experience and a heartwarming children's novel of resilience, we will examine how literature helps us find light and hope in a complicated world.
Course participants will receive a free ticket to one of the three plenary speaker events at the Festival of Faith and Writing (Robin Wall Kimmerer, Barbara Brown Taylor, or Ross Gay). Details will be provided at the first class period.
This course precedes the biennial Calvin Festival of Faith & Writing?(April 16-18, 2026) at Calvin University. All four featured authors are scheduled speakers at the festival.
Session 1: Circle of Hope, by Eliza Griswold. ISBN?978-0374601683
Session 2: Selections from Ross Gay [we will send a pdf to participants]
Session 3: Short stories from Temple Folk by Aaliyah Bilal [we will send a pdf to participants]
Session 4: A Place to Hang the Moon, by Kate Albus. ISBN 978-0823452460
Books for week 1 and 4 are available in the Calvin University Campus store or at multiple sources online.
Jennifer Holberg and Jane Zwart teach in the Calvin English department, and Craig Mattson teaches in the Calvin communication department. Jennifer Holberg is the director of the Calvin Center for Faith & Writing (which runs the FFW), and Jane Zwart and Craig Mattson are faculty fellows.
Jennifer Holberg
Jennifer L. Holberg, leader, is professor and department chair in the Calvin English department, where she has served for over twenty years. She has taught in the CALL program for almost that long, too. She co-directs the Calvin Center for Faith & Writing, home of the Festival of Faith & Writing.