Lanta Davis, a speaker at the 2026 festival of faith and writing

Lanta Davis


Lanta Davis writes and teaches about the sacramental imagination, beauty, and character formation. Her book, Becoming by Beholding: The Power of the Imagination in Spiritual Formation, was named one of Christianity Today’s best books of the year, and her writing has also appeared in publications such as Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic, Christianity Today, Plough, Parabola, and Christian Century.

As a Professor of Humanities and Literature for the John Wesley Honors College at Indiana Wesleyan University, she has researched and lectured on topics as diverse as ancient Christian mosaics, sacred architecture, virtues and vices, pilgrimages, memento mori art, and contemporary Irish fiction. She also hosts workshops on engaging the imagination in our spiritual and intellectual formation.

She suspects The Little Prince might just be the most profound work of literature in existence.