Six authors to appear at Little Grassy Literary Festival in April

Six renowned authors will be appearing at this year's Little Grassy Literary Festival, to be held April 10 to 12 at SIU.

This year's authors include fiction writers Amina Gautier and Josh Woods; poets E.C. Belli, Leila Chatti and Paige Lewis; and essayist Alice Bolin. All authors will give readings from their published works, participate in open panel discussions, and interact with community member and students during a book sale and signing.

Festival events will be held in Guyon Auditorium at SIU's Morris Library. Little Grassy is free and open to the public, and it is organized and run by graduate students in SIU's master of fine arts (MFA) in creative writing program.

"We bring in contemporary authors who are both well-published and active in the writing community," said Mary Ardery, a second-year MFA student co-directing this year's festival. "Little Grassy is a unique opportunity for students and community members to interact with professional writers off the written page."

The festival begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 10 with readings in both fiction and poetry.

Josh Woods, an SIU MFA alum, is the author of the novel "The Black Palace" and the forthcoming story collection "O Monstrous World!" Poet Leila Chatti, author of "Ebb and Tunsiya/Amrikiya," will also read Wednesday evening.

Events on Thursday, April 11 begin with an 11 a.m. reading from Amina Gautier, whose story collections ("The Loss of All Lost Things," "Now We Will Be Happy and At-Risk") have been lauded with such honors as the USA Best Book Award in African American Fiction. Thursday's 2 p.m. reading will feature poet E.C. Belli, whose book "Objects of Hunger" is forthcoming from SIU Press; and essayist Alice Bolin, whose book "Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession" was selected as one of 2018's Notable Books by The New York Times Book Review.

"Alice Bolin's writing is especially poignant in how it addresses the impact of pop culture on society," said Allison Joseph, director of SIU's creative writing program. "In this digital age, it's important to develop media literacy - to understand how TV shows send cultural messages that affect us."

A 3 p.m. book sale and signing with the authors will be followed by a 4 p.m. panel on writing and identity. At 7:30 p.m., current SIU MFA students will read their work at Molly's Pint Brewpub in Murphysboro.

At 10 a.m. Friday, April 12, the authors will participate in a panel called "The Writing Life," with topics to include the creative processes and craft techniques, career trajectories and how to balance other professional demands with the writing discipline. The festival will conclude with an 11 a.m. reading from poet Paige Lewis, this year's Joseph D. Johnson Memorial Author. Lewis' book "Space Struck" is forthcoming in October.

"From science fiction to poetry about race and religion in America, this year's festival offers something for everyone," said Ardery. "We're very excited to bring these authors to southern Illinois."