Panel discussion with young adult writers TBA, and a teen writing workshop hosted by the Neutral Zone. Also, announcement of the winners of the annual AADL “It’s All Write” teen short story writing contest, which features $1,500 in prizes.
1-5 p.m., AADL multipurpose room, 343 S. Fifth Ave. Free. 327-8301.
Carey F. Whitepigeon is a member of a Potawatomi tribe, one of the Three Fires of the Anishinaabe. A lifelong resident of the state of Michigan, she lives in Ann Arbor with her husband, three children, and two cats. She holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from the University of Michigan. Carey’s career has included marketing, market research, business consulting, project management, and non-profit management. She read Tolkien’s The Hobbit in second grade, and has loved science fiction and fantasy literature ever since. In addition to reading, Carey enjoys travel, hiking, kayaking, and spending time with her family.
Book:
Vivian Debaussigeh is a seventeen-year-old orphan growing up among her father’s people, the Anishnabeh, when she receives a letter inviting her to visit her mother’s planet of New Dawn. She leaps at the chance to unravel the mystery of her unknown past. But once Vivian arrives on New Dawn, nothing is as she had expected. Discovering a society of magic and deadly intrigue, Vivian becomes the target of kidnappers, murderers–and aristocrats who want to use her as a pawn. Now a battle of interplanetary politics threatens to destroy everything that she holds dear. Can Vivian master her hidden talents in time to save her new world–or to create a world worth saving?
On June 5, local short story writer Alex Kourvo and young adult novelist Bethany Neal discuss the basic issues that need to be confronted and resources available in getting your book published. For adult and teen (grade 6 & up) fiction and nonfiction writers. Also, Kourvo and Neal host an open house for writers to connect with one another and/or work on their projects at 7 p.m. on June 19.
7-8:45 p.m., AADL Westgate Branch, Westgate shopping center, 2503 Jackson. Free. 327-8301.
Literati Bookstore is pleased to welcome acclaimed filmmaker Whit Stillman, in conversation with Literati bookseller Sam Krowchenko, in support of Love & Friendship: In Which Jane Austen’s Lady Susan Vernon Is Entirely Vindicated.
A sharp comedy of manners, and a fiendishly funny treat for Jane Austen and Whit Stillman fans alike Impossibly beautiful, disarmingly witty, and completely self-absorbed: Meet Lady Susan Vernon, both the heart and the thorn of Love & Friendship. Recently widowed with a daughter who’s coming of age as quickly as their funds are dwindling, Lady Susan makes it her mission to find them wealthy husbands–and fast. But when her attempts to secure their futures result only in the wrath of a prominent conquest’s wife and the title of ‘most accomplished coquette in England’, Lady Susan must rethink her strategy. Unannounced, she arrives at her brother-in-law’s country estate. Here she intends to take refuge – in no less than luxury, of course – from the colorful rumors trailing her, while finding another avenue to ‘I do’. Before the scandalizing gossip can run its course, though, romantic triangles ensue.
“A postmodern confection [that’s] very, very funny.”–Penelope Green, New York Times
“In the ever-booming Austen spinoff industry, where paeans to Mr. Darcy are the norm, rewriting a work of the master’s in the guise of one of her detractors makes for an eccentrically cheeky tribute.”–Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker
“A merry comedy of pride, prejudice, and duplicity…. Silly, sly, eccentric characters and brisk chatter make for a diverting romp.”–Kirkus Reviews
“Lady Susan is finally getting some long overdue respect.”–Alexandra Alter, New York Times
Whit Stillman–winner of France’s Prix Fitzgerald for his prior novel–is the writer-director of five films, including Metropolitan, Barcelona, The Last Days of Disco, Damsels in Distress, and Love & Friendship, a mendacious representation of this story. At university, he was an editor of the Harvard Crimson, and he later worked in book publishing and journalism. His first novel, The Last Days of Disco, With Cocktails at Petrossian Afterwards, was also derived from a film story.
Sam Krowchenko is the host of Literati Bookstore’s podcast Shelf Talking. His work has appeared in Salon, Full Stop, and The Michigan Quartely Review. He is an MFA candidate at the Helen Zell Writers’ Program.
Literati is pleased to welcome Courtney Maum back to Ann Arbor in support of her second novel, Touch. Courtney will be joined in conversation by Callie Collins, a member of the Helen Zell Writers’ Program and co-director of independent press A Strange Object.
About Touch: Sloane Jacobsen was the foreseer of “the swipe,” among many other successful premonitions, and global fashion, lifestyle, and tech companies pay to hear her opinions on the future of everything from clothes to gadgets, food and families. Sloane’s recent forecasts on the family are definitive and unwavering: the world is over-populated, and with unemployment, college costs, and food prices all on the rise, having children is an indulgence. These predictions are also what brings her from Paris to New York City to work for the tech-giant, Mammoth, as their in-house trend forecaster for six months.
But not far into her contract, she begins to sense the undeniable signs of a movement against electronics that will see people embracing compassion, empathy, and “in-personism” again. She’s struggling with the fact that her predictions are hopelessly out of sync with her employers’ mission when her partner, the French “neo-sensualist” Roman Bellard, reveals that he is about to publish an op-ed on the death of penetrative sex. Still, Sloane becomes convinced that her instincts are the right ones, and goes on a quest to bring compassion and humanism to others, while finally allowing the love and connectedness she’s long been denying herself.
With the same mixture of wit and sincerity that won her debut novel so many fans, Touch is a poignant reminder to keep our heads up and our hearts open in our modern lives. It is a thoughtful, of-the-moment exploration of real-life concerns—that is truly another “book for everyone” (as the Washington Post said of her first) —and also explores prescient issues of technology, family, and artificial intelligence in a sophisticated and entertaining way.
“Touch is so smart that even its comic absurdities quiver with wisdom, as an anti-mom and a neo-sensualist confirm our suspicion that the lives of trendsetters aren’t quite what they appear to be. Courtney Maum’s writing is sharp and complex—prepare to be touched by this novel is ways you might not expect.”—Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Portable Veblen
“Our modern world is at once hyper-connected and hyper-alienating, and in this magical/terrible time, Courtney Maum’s latest novel offers us a balm, a solution, a call to action, or, at the very least, time away from our smartphones to read a compelling, perceptive, and moving story about the state of human intimacy and love in our contemporary era. Touch is at once wry and sincere, funny and serious, and you won’t be able to put it down.”—Edan Lepucki, author of California
“What begins as a satirical romp through the fields of trend forecasting and technology in Courtney Maum’s Touch deepens into a trenchant and wise portrait of what it means to be fully human at a time when the culture is trying its hardest to make us only partially so.”—Teddy Wayne, author of Loner and The Love Song of Johnny Valentine
Courtney Maum is the author of the celebrated novel I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You and her short fiction, book reviews, and essays on the writing life have been widely published in outlets such as The New York Times, Tin House, Electric Literature, and Buzzfeed. She has also co-written films that have debuted at Sundance and won awards at Cannes. At various points in her life, she has been a trend forecaster herself, a fashion publicist, and a party promoter for Corona Extra. She currently works as a product namer for M·A·C cosmetics from her home in Litchfield County, CT, where she lives with her husband and daughter.
Open mike storytelling competition sponsored by The Moth, the NYC-based nonprofit storytelling organization that also produces a weekly public radio show. Each month 10 storytellers are selected at random from among those who sign up to tell a 3-5 minute story on the monthly theme. The 3 judges are recruited from the audience. Monthly winners compete in a semiannual Grand Slam. Space limited, so it’s smart to arrive early.
7:30-9 p.m. (doors open and sign-up begins at 6 p.m.), $10. 764-5118.
Literati is thrilled to be the bookseller for the 2017 Storymakers Dinner, a fundraising event for the wonderful folks at 826michigan. This year’s dinner will feature author and friend of the store, Peter Ho Davies. Tickets and more information can be found here. We hope to see you there!
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Questions about the event or sponsorship inquiries may be directed to 826michigan Executive Director Amanda Uhle at Amanda@826michigan.org.
Peter Ho Davies is the author of two novels, The Fortunes (winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Award) and The Welsh Girl (long-listed for the Man Booker Prize), and two short story collections, The Ugliest House in the World (winner of the John Llewelyn Rhys Prize) and Equal Love (A New York Times Notable Book). His work has appeared in Harpers, The Atlantic, The Paris Review, The Guardian and Washington Post among others, and has been widely anthologized, including selections for Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories. In 2003 Granta magazine named him among its Best of Young British Novelists. Davies is also a recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, and is a winner of the PEN/Malamud Award.
Born in Britain to Welsh and Chinese parents, he now makes his home in the US. He has taught at the University of Oregon and Emory University, and is currently on the faculty of the Helen Zell MFA Program in Creative Writing at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Read a recent profile in the Guardian.
Every Thurs-Sun., June 8-25. U-M Residential College drama lecturer Kate Mendeloff directs students and local actors an alfresco production of Shakespeare’s culminating work, a visionary romance set on a magical island ruled by the enigmatic but benevolent sorcerer Prospero and his beautiful daughter Miranda. Prospero is in fact the exiled duke of Milan, who conjures a storm that shipwrecks his old enemies upon his island. He takes the opportunity to teach them a lesson before bestowing forgiveness, abandoning his magical powers, and preparing to return to the world. The Tempest is filled with verse and song (including the famous “Full fathom five”) and contains some of Shakespeare’s most gorgeously haunting poetry. The RC’s annual Shakespeare in the Arb productions have become a hugely popular local summer tradition. Director Mendeloff takes special care to make the shifting Arb environments an active force in the performance. Bring a blanket or portable chair to sit on; dress for the weather.
6:30 p.m., meet at the Peony Garden entrance at 1610 Washington Heights. $15 (students, seniors, & Friends of Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum, $10; kids under 5, free) at the gate only. Tickets go on sale at 5:30 p.m. Space limited; come early. 998-9540.
Literati is pleased to welcome John Cheney-Lippold in support of his book We Are Data: Algorithms and the Making of Our Digital Selves.
Algorithms are everywhere, organizing the near limitless data that exists in our world. Derived from our every search, like, click, and purchase, algorithms determine the news we get, the ads we see, the information accessible to us and even who our friends are. These complex configurations not only form knowledge and social relationships in the digital and physical world, but also determine who we are and who we can be, both on and offline.
Algorithms create and recreate us, using our data to assign and reassign our gender, race, sexuality, and citizenship status. They can recognize us as celebrities or mark us as terrorists. In this era of ubiquitous surveillance, contemporary data collection entails more than gathering information about us. Entities like Google, Facebook, and the NSA also decide what that information means, constructing our worlds and the identities we inhabit in the process. We have little control over who we algorithmically are. Our identities are made useful not for us—but for someone else.
Through a series of entertaining and engaging examples, John Cheney-Lippold draws on the social constructions of identity to advance a new understanding of our algorithmic identities. We Are Data will educate and inspire readers who want to wrest back some freedom in our increasingly surveilled and algorithmically-constructed world.
John Cheney-Lippold is Assistant Professor of American Culture and Digital Studies at the University of Michigan.
Readings by Chicago poet (and Crazy Wisdom Poetry Series cohost) Edward Morin and Mt. Pleasant poet Eric Torgersen. Morin’s new chapbook, Housing for Wrens, is a collection of poems about birds and other animals. Torgersen’s In Which We See Our Selves is a collection of ghazals, an ancient Persian form. The program begins with an open mike for poets, who are welcome to read their own work or a favorite poem by another writer.
7 p.m., Bookbound, 1729 Plymouth, Courtyard Shops. Free. 369-4345.
