A. G. Harmon (Some Bore Gifts), Louise Marburg (The Truth About Me), and Deidra McAfee and BettyJoyce Nash (Lock & Load: Armed Fiction) share their stories from two collections and an anthology, and discuss the finely-honed craft of writing short stories.
Why should you attend?
“Each of A.G. Harmon’s finely crafted stories is a portrait of a human soul… All are flawed, needy human beings confronting endings of one sort or another-the loss of a dream, of a relationship or career, of an era, or of life itself-and meeting these endings with emotions that range from panic, to ecstasy, to blessed acceptance. Harmon is a gifted, compelling storyteller, and his characters are beautifully and sensitively rendered. Whether they are funny and awkward, lost and stumbling, in a panic or serene, light shines through them, gently glimmering as it plays on the threads of memory, or flaring brightly as their souls open in moments of realization.” —Foreword Reviews, July/August 2017
“The Truth About Me, Louise Marburg’s stunning debut collection, offers powerful, finely crafted stories and a myriad of memorable characters–some looking out at the world from behind a dark curtain, others peering in… Marburg knows how to take those dark breathtaking turns and then ease us into a place of understanding and compassion. She also has a wonderful sense of humor and an uncanny eye for locating the absurd, prompting laughter where you least expect it. A terrific collection by a very talented writer.” —Jill McCorkle, author of Life After Life.
Lock & Load is “a powerful, challenging and often exquisite response to our lethally dangerous gun culture. These stories reveal our complicated relationship to weapons, and offer chilling evidence of the way violence affects our contemporary consciousness.” —Roxana Robinson, author of Cost, Sparta
“Our finest writers parse out the nuances of this complicated and divisive issue in a way that only great literature can.” —Sheryl Monks, author of Monsters in Appalachia: Stories, on Lock & Load
Lock & Load is a “brilliant anthology. Every story—sad, sweet, hilarious, thoughtful, or satirical—turns up a gun. Clearly, a loaded gun is inspirational.” —Kelly Cherry, author of Temporium: Before the Beginning to After the End
This event is part of the 2018 Virginia Festival of the Book. A full schedule of events is available here.