Rebecca Makkai is the author of the New York Times bestselling I Have Some Questions For You (https://rebeccamakkai.com/work/i-have-some-questions-for-you/) as well as four other works of fiction. Her last novel, The Great Believers, one of the New York Times' Best Books of the 21st Century (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/books/best-books-21st-century.html#book-80), was a finalist for both the 2019 Pulitzer Prize and the 2018 National Book Award, and was the winner of the ALA Carnegie Medal and the LA Times Book Prize among other honors. A 2022 Guggenheim Fellow, Rebecca teaches graduate fiction writing at Middlebury College, Northwestern University, and the Bennington Writing Seminars, and she is Artistic Director of StoryStudio Chicago (https://www.storystudiochicago.org/). Based on our long-standing Poet-in-Residence program, the Writer-in-Residence program brings an eminent writer of fiction or literary nonfiction to campus for a one-week visit each academic year. The Writer-in-Residence presents a public reading, a Q&A session, a craft workshop and meets individually with select students.

Security Blanket is a collaborative women's art project that stitches together a broad range of issues of concern to women and families. The organizers Lynn Estomin and Andrea Tuttle Kornbluh invited 30 artists and quilters to collaborate on an artwork modeled on a baby quilt. The quilt demonstrates how abortion rights are nestled within a range of needs which a just society would publicly fund, and which would benefit society as a whole. Each artist/quilter chose an issue of concern starting with a particular letter of the alphabet and then designed a block illustrating that issue. As a whole, the quilt offers an ABC guide to a more just and equitable society. The Security Blanket quilt is traveling to communities across the country, sparking dialogue and reflection on the interconnected needs of women and families in a just society. Each exhibition offers an opportunity for viewers to experience the artwork firsthand, engage with the issues it represents, and connect with others working toward equity and human rights. This project is sponsored by The Women's Film Project and is traveling across the US.