College Novel

Nikki Erlick's Novel, The Measure

The College Novel for the 2024-2025 academic year is Nikki Erlick's The Measure. Members of the College Community are invited to read the novel and participate in activities, discussions, and lectures related to the book. Many faculty members will use the novel in class to foster interdisciplinary discussion. The college novel aims to create a reading community and encourage reading for pleasure, critical thinking, global awareness, and multicultural understanding.

Workshops, colloquies, and lectures support this activity.

Using a College-wide Novel, we unite the Sussex community to encourage reading as a lifelong source of pleasure and learning. Faculty, students, and staff select a novel that will best suit each year.

Dr. Eleanor Carducci, a retired Professor of English at Sussex, began the College Novel tradition in 1993. The current College Novel coordinator, Dr. Mary Thompson, annually asks the faculty and staff at Sussex to nominate novels and then holds a meeting for people to advocate for their nominations. At the end of the meeting, the group narrows the field to two options and a student vote determines which novel will become the College Novel for the new academic year.