Creative Writing Program
Creative Writing Program
Tola Sylvan headshot with brick and tile wall and trees

University of Virginia Creative Writing Program Welcomes Tola Sylvan as 2026-2027 Kapnick Fellow

Tola Sylvan headshot with brick and tile wall and trees

The University of Virginia Creative Writing Program is delighted to announce that poet and translator Tola Sylvan has been selected as the 2026-2027 Kapnick Fellow in Creative Writing.

The Kapnick Fellowship brings an emerging writer to UVA for a one-year appointment, during which the fellow teaches undergraduate creative writing courses while advancing a significant creative project. As part of the fellowship, the Kapnick Fellow also contributes to the intellectual and artistic life of the program through public readings and engagement with the broader writing community.

Sylvan is a poet and translator whose work has appeared in leading literary journals, including Ploughshares, Poetry, The Iowa Review, and The Common. A Pushcart Prize nominee, she has received grants, scholarships, and fellowships from organizations including the McCormack Writing Center (formerly Tin House), Sundress Academy for the Arts, the Mellon Foundation, and Tupelo Press. 

She holds an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis, where she was a Dean's Distinguished Graduate Fellow. 

Sylvan will join the Creative Writing Program in Fall 2026, teaching undergraduate courses and participating in program events throughout the academic year. Her appointment continues the Kapnick Fellowship's tradition of supporting outstanding emerging writers while enriching the educational experience of UVA students.

Tola Sylvan is a poet and translator whose poems, prose, and translations have appeared in Ploughshares, Poetry, The Iowa Review, and The Common. She holds an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis and is the recipient of fellowships and scholarships from Tin House, Sundress Academy for the Arts, Tupelo Press, and other organizations.