2026 Levis Reading Prize
Date: Thursday, Oct 29, 2026
Start time: 7PM
End time: 8:30PM
Location: James Branch Cabell Library Lecture Hall (Room 303)
Audience: Open to the public
Matthew Tuckner, the 2026 Levis Reading Prize winner, will read from his poetry collection The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
The prize is awarded annually for the best debut or second book of poetry published in the previous calendar year and is chosen by the M.F.A. in Creative Writing program at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Tuckner received his MFA in Creative Writing at NYU and is currently a PhD student in English/Creative Writing at University of Utah, where he is Managing Editor of Western Humanities Review. His poems have appeared in American Poetry Review, The Nation, Kenyon Review, and the Best New Poets, among others. His upcoming poetry collection, Cloud Chamber, is also set to be published by Four Way Books in 2028.
The event is free and open to all and will be held in person but will also be live streamed through Zoom.
Registration is required.
Sponsor(s): he VCU Visiting Writers Series is presented on behalf of VCU's MFA in creative writing program in partnership with VCU Libraries. Additional sponsors are the VCU Department of English, and the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences.
Event contact: VCU Libraries Events Office, rbpander@vcu.edu