For the last 20 years, faculty at the University of Michigan have nominated undergraduate writers to showcase their work at a live event in the Shapiro Library.

The event, Café Shapiro, is going virtual this year, and the new format will include guest hosts, among them U-M alums who have forged successful careers in creative media:

Christopher Farah (U-M alum; BA, 1998, MA 2002) is a professional ghost-writer and a consultant at Funny Or Die.

Yoni Brenner is an LS&A-University of Michigan Alumni. He is a comedy writer and LA screenwriter 

Anna Wenger is a four time Emmy-nominated producer and writer with a B.A. in History from the University of California Los Angeles

Naomi Binnie, Digital Education Librarian, Associate Librarian, Library Learning and Teaching, University Library

Amanda Peters, Student Engagement Librarian, Library Learning and Teaching,  University Library and Adjunct Lecturer in Undergraduate Education, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts

Alexandra Rivera, Student Success and Community Engagement Librarian, Senior Associate Librarian, Library Learning and Teaching, University Library

Autumn Wetli, Undergraduate Collections Librarian, Assistant Librarian, University Library, Connected Scholarship

This year's series features about 40 students reading short stories, poetry, lyrical essays, opinion pieces, creative nonfiction, and screenplays over four nights; see our event listing for full details. All are welcome. 

Café Shapiro seeks to highlight the power of a humanities degree, so we asked this year’s guest hosts for some advice for students interested in pursuing careers in a creative industry. (Their responses have been edited for length and clarity.)