Writer In Residence: About

2025 Writer in Residence: Alejandra Campoverdi

We are excited to announce Alejandra Campoverdi as this year's Writer in Residence!

Alejandra's national bestselling book, FIRST GEN, is the winner of the Dolores Huerta Award by the International Latino Book Awards, who also named Alejandra its 2024 Rising Star in Nonfiction. FIRST GEN is also the winner of the Martin Cruz Smith Award by the California Independent Booksellers Alliance. The Council in Education chose FIRST GEN as their 2024 Opportunity Matters Book Club selection, a nationwide book club for first-generation and low-income students at colleges and universities across the country. Join us this fall in the Dezember Reading Room of the Walter W. Stiern Library to welcome Alejandra! 

More about Alejandra Campoverdi 

Evening with the Author 

Memoir Writing Workshop (registration required for attendance)

Usually in the Spring semester, our WIR author showcases a novel and/or authored publication in the Walter W. Stiern Library Dezember Reading Room. The author may read a specific passage, open the floor for discussion with the audience, and provides a brief background on their journey as an author. Book signing at the end of the event is often included but not required.        

Our invited WIR author will also provide a Writing Workshop one or two days after the showcase mentioned above, to 15 participants from approximately 10:00 am - 3:00 pm on a Friday or Saturday in the Walter W. Stiern Library with lunch provided.  This workshop can be tailored to the author's preferences. The showcase event and workshop are free and open to the public. 

Invited WIR authors are provided a stipend for their WIR experience including travel and lodging to and from Bakersfield.  We also provide access to a private study room on the 4^th floor of the library during their one-year residency.

Linked here are past WIR [csub.libguides.com] 

Registration Is Open!

In this intimate workshop, Alejandra Campoverdi will lead participants in an exploration of how to craft stories that are both deeply personal yet universally relatable to readers of all backgrounds. The workshop will include a guided discussion, writing prompt and optional sharing.

The Writer In Residence program began in 2012 as a five-year pilot grant in partnership with PG&E. The CSUB WIR grant funding from PG&E ended in 2017.  Since 2017, it has been privately funded by a sole benefactor.  The program has had a collaborative selection process between our Walter W. Stiern Library and sometimes the English Department. Ideally, we strive to invite authors who have a connection to Bakersfield and CSUB. Here is a bit more detail about the WIR program…