At a moment when journalism itself is the news, interest in the field continues to soar among William & Mary undergraduates.
A record number of applicants for the Sharp Journalism Seminar and overwhelming interest in the Charles Center’s journalism masterclass series demonstrate a demand for mentorship and hands-on opportunities in the field far exceeding the university’s current course offerings.
As a result, the Charles Center is collaborating with campus partners to bring three writers-in-residence to campus in 2025-26 to teach a variety of journalism courses that will further inspire students to hone their writing skills, learn the craft from expert practitioners, and build portfolios of work that could help launch their careers.
Two of next year’s writers-in-residence will be supported by an endowment created by Anne Sharp ’82 and Barry Sharp ’81, who in 2010 established the Sharp Journalism Seminar in collaboration with former Charles Center Director Joel Schwartz, W&M’s now Presidential Liaison for Strategic Cultural Partnerships Ann Marie Stock, and the Pulitzer Center’s Ann Peters, director of university and community outreach.
Charles Center Director Elizabeth Harbron credits the Sharps with helping to launch the journalism careers of dozens of William & Mary undergraduates.
“Fifteen years ago, Anne and Barry had the vision to connect the university with the journalism world in a new way through the Sharp Seminar,” Harbron said. “Today, they’re helping to bring the journalism field to our students through the kind of close mentorship that will inspire a new generation of nonfiction writers at W&M.”
Journalists Hilary Holladay (left, courtesy photo), David A. Price ’83 (center, photo by Susan Sabo), and Kris Worrell, Virginia Media editor-in-chief (right, courtesy photo), will share their expertise in a series of new hands-on journalism courses in 2025-26.
Sharp Writers-in-Residence, one in fall 2025 and another in spring 2026, will teach new journalism courses in the English department.
The fall course, Reporting & Writing the News, will be taught by Hilary Holladay, an award-winning journalist (currently writing a Substack newsletter) and author of six books, including the acclaimed biography The Power of Adrienne Rich (Princeton University Press paperback edition, 2025).
Holladay holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia, an M.A. from William & Mary, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has previously taught at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and James Madison University.
Her course will focus on building a network of sources, writing news stories with clarity and perception, and identifying the connections between local stories and larger themes and concerns. Journalistic ethics will also be a key component of the course. Guest speakers will include news reporters and editors who will share their experience and insights and take questions from the class.
David A. Price ‘83 will serve as the spring 2026 Sharp Writer-in-Residence. Price holds a B.A. in economics and computer science from W&M, as well as law degrees from Harvard University and the University of Cambridge.
His articles on history and technology have appeared in numerous publications, including The New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and National Geographic. Price is also the author of several books, including The Pixar touch: The making of a company (Knopf, 2009) and Love and hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the start of a new nation (Knopf, 2003).
“English and Creative Writing are very excited to expand our offerings in reported and researched nonfiction writing,” said English Department Chair Arthur Knight. “Students from across campus have been asking for such courses in increasing numbers, and we are pleased to collaborate with the Charles Center to start to meet this demand. The Sharps’ generosity will allow us to sustain these offerings.”
In addition, a new interdisciplinary course, Writing for Media, will be offered through the Charles Center in fall 2025 and spring 2026. The course will be taught by Daily Press Journalist-in-Residence Kris Worrell, who has served as editor-in-chief of Virginia Media since 2019.
The Daily Press Journalist-in-Residence program is funded by an endowment created more than 40 years ago by the board of directors of the Daily Press, Inc. (now Virginia Media) to honor the news organization’s longstanding relationship with W&M and its students, especially those writing for The Flat Hat.
Worrell, a graduate of the University of Virginia and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, has more than three decades’ experience reporting, editing, and overseeing rapidly evolving news organizations.
Her course will allow students to gain hands-on practice in crafting news, feature, and opinion pieces, possibly for publication in local or regional outlets.
Next year’s courses build upon the Charles Center’s year-long Sharp Journalism Seminar, which brings several Pulitzer Center-supported journalists to campus as mentors for seminar students, as they craft long-form pieces for publication on the Pulitzer website.
The new course offerings also address student interests identified during last year’s masterclass series facilitated by Denise Watson, former features and education editor for the Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press newspapers and now team editor for WHRO Public Media.
Over six classes beginning last September, Watson shared lessons on the mechanics and art of reporting, writing, and developing one’s style and voice.
Watson urged students to bring their experiences with the world into the newsroom, so that every story becomes a “community story” that directly engages readers.
Logan Mischke ’26, a sociology major and data science minor interested in pursuing a career in publishing, found the masterclasses to be a great opportunity to practice her writing skills.
Mischke said the masterclasses gave her “a better idea of how to approach journalistic writing compared to the academic writing that I am used to doing in my classes, because it’s a very different style of writing.”
Watson provided a space where students could work together to acquire, apply, and critique one another’s reporting and writing skills. According to Mischke, Watson is exactly the kind of inspiring figure that makes an impact on budding journalists.
Haidyn Brockelman ‘26, an English and film and media studies, shared Mischke’s appreciation for the chance to learn from experienced journalists and photojournalists.
Brockelman said that one of her favorite things the masterclasses taught her was how much teamwork is involved in journalism. “I didn’t realize that as a reporter, you would have a newsroom, you would be talking with all these different people, and there are so many steps, and it is ultimately just like being a big part of the team,” she said.
“Journalism has so much power, and I think sometimes I’ve definitely forgotten that. I think other people forget just how wide a scope you can have as a journalist and how much influence,” Brockelman said. “So, learning how to conduct yourself properly and professionally as a journalist is super helpful, especially knowing how aware you have to be.”
Watson highlighted social awareness as a key part of being a journalist, ending each masterclass by connecting the workshop’s lessons to larger national stories.
Though each masterclass had its own focus, there was a single throughline – journalism is about telling the stories that need to be told and telling them with integrity and purpose, Watson said.
Watson’s final words to the masterclass students? “Keep telling stories! Keep telling stories – wherever you are. They need to be told!”
Interested in learning more about journalism initiatives through the Charles Center? Click here.