Fiction Writer Marie Manilla to Present Reading on Feb. 11

Visiting fiction writer Marie Manilla will read from her work, “Still Life with Plums,” at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 11, in the second floor student lounge of the Ruth Ann Musick Library on the Fairmont State University main campus.  

Manilla is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a faculty member at Marshall University. Her work has appeared in The Chicago Tribune, Prairie Schooner, Mississippi Review, Calyx Journal, Kestrel and other journals. Her novel “Shrapnel” won the Fred Bonnie Award for best first novel and is forthcoming from River City Publishing.

Manilla’s story, “Hand. Me. Down,” which appeared in Kestrel, Spring 2009, is a poignant tale about families and legacies through the eyes of the youngest daughter. One reviewer of Manilla’s new book of short stories wrote: “This is an accomplished collection, displaying a variety of voices, settings, conflicts, and surprising resolutions. The writing is sure, and the stories demonstrate a writer who is confident in her vision.” Six of the stories in the collection have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes.

A reception and book signing will follow the reading. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Suzanne Heagy at hheagy@fairmontstate.edu. The event is sponsored by the Department of Language and Literature, Kestrel and the Ruth Ann Musick Library.