Julie Schumacher, winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor, will read from and discuss her new novel, The Shakespeare Requirement.  The novel takes place at Payne University, where Jason T. Fitger, the hapless anti-hero of Dear Committee Members, has been elected chair of his dysfunctional department.  Not the most natural of leaders, Fitger is stymied on multiple fronts.

Know the Mother is an exploration of race, gender and class through layered, complex storytelling. Author Desiree Cooper’s collection of flash fiction—which often walks the line between poetry and prose—is a searing interrogation of the mother archetype. In her interactive reading, Cooper will challenge the audience to explore sexism as it is lived.

Join us for a discussion of Joanna Scott's new novel, Careers for Women, which foregrounds the story of Pauline Moreau, whose life is determined in large measure by two business executives. What makes this novel so profoundly haunting are Scott’s subtle references to the business practices and mentalities that underlie the construction and destruction of the Twin Towers. In an eerie manner, this is a powerful novel about 9/11.