Join us for a talk and signing with two acclaimed up-and-coming Michigan authors! Detroit author Michael Ferro is celebrating the release of his debut novel Title 13, named a “Most Anticipated Small Press Book of 2018” by literary blog Big Other. He’ll be joined by Ann Arbor writer R.J. Fox, author of the memoirs Love and Vodka and Tales from the Dork Side, speaking about his newest release, Awaiting Identification.
MICHAEL A. FERRO‘s fiction and essays have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies. He won the Jim Cash Creative Writing Award for Fiction, received an Honorable Mention from Glimmer Train for their New Writers Award, and been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Born and bred in Detroit, Michael has lived, worked, and written throughout the Midwest; he currently resides in rural Ann Arbor, Michigan. TITLE 13 is his first novel.
R.J. FOX is an English and video production teacher who uses his own dream of making movies to inspire his students to follow their dreams. He has previously worked in public relations and as a journalist. He is the author of Love & Vodka. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
All invited to listen to guild members swap stories or bring their own to tell.
2-4 p.m., AADL Downtown 3rd floor freespace rm. Free. annarborstorytelling.org, 997-5388.
Performance by this Ypsilanti-based writer and cartoonist, a National Poetry Slam champion best known for his spoken word poem “I Am That Nerd.” His most recent book, 2011’s Spoken Nerd Revolution, revels in the nerd culture of the early-to-mid 1980s, with numerous references to video games, comic books, and Star Wars.
7 p.m. Espresso Royale, 324 S. State. $5 suggested donation. facebook.com/AnnArborPoetry.
Local short story writer Alex Kourvo and young adult novelist Bethany Neal discuss tips for breaking down the revision process into manageable steps. For all fiction & nonfiction writers grade 6-adult. Also, Kourvo & Neal host an open house for writers to connect with one another and/or work on their projects at 7 p.m. on June 18.
7-8:45 p.m., AADL Westgate. Free. 327-4200.
Join us for an event we could all use, as retired Eastern Michigan University professor Gigi Langer presents her book, 50 Ways to Worry Less Now: Reject Negative Thinking to Find Peace, Clarity, and Connection. Gigi will teach us two simple techniques to reduce our negative thinking, and answer questions before signing copies!
About the Author
Gigi Langer, Ph.D.has overcome her own negative thoughts and worries to heal her relationship difficulties, chronic pain, codependence, overwork, fear of failure, and the effects of abuse.
Gigi holds a PhD in Psychological Studies in Education and an MA in Psychology, both from Stanford University. As a college professor, Gigi won several awards for her teaching and writing. She has written six books and hundreds of articles on personal and professional growth. Through her work with individuals and groups, Langer helps thousands of people improve their lives at home and at work. As a person in recovery, she hasn’t had a drug or drink for over 30 years. She lives happily in Michigan with her husband, Peter and her cat, Murphy.
June 5 & 19. 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. June themes: “Endings” (June 5) & “Impostor” (June 19). The 3-person judging teams 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.), Greyline, 100 N. Ashley. $8. 764-5118.
Literati is delighted to welcome award-winning author Richard Russo for a discussion his newly released essay collection The Destiny Thief: Essays on Writing. Richard will be joined by Sam Krowchenko for a post-reading discussion.
About The Destiny Thief:
A master of the novel, short story, and memoir, the best-selling and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Everybody’s Fool now gives us his very first collection of personal essays, ranging throughout writing and reading and living.
In these nine essays, Richard Russo provides insight into his life as a writer, teacher, friend, and reader. From a commencement speech he gave at Colby College, to the story of how an oddly placed toilet made him reevaluate the purpose of humor in art and life, to a comprehensive analysis of Mark Twain’s value, to his harrowing journey accompanying a dear friend as she pursued gender-reassignment surgery, The Destiny Thiefreflects the broad interests and experiences of one of America’s most beloved authors. Warm, funny, wise, and poignant, the essays included here traverse Russo’s writing life, expanding our understanding of who he is and how his singular, incredibly generous mind works. An utter joy to read, they give deep insight into the creative process from the prospective of one of our greatest writers.
Ricahrd Russo is the author of eight novels, most recently Everybody’s Fool and That Old Cape Magic; two collections of stories, with Trajectory published in 2017; and the memoir Elsewhere. In 2002 he received the Pulitzer Prize for Empire Falls, which like Nobody’s Fool was adapted to film, in a multiple-award-winning HBO miniseries; in 2016 he was given the Indie Champion Award by the American Booksellers Association; and in 2017 he received France’s Grand Prix de Littérature Américaine. He lives in Portland, Maine.
Sam Krowchenko is the host of Literati Bookstore’s podcast Shelf Talking. His work has appeared in Salon, Full Stop, and The Michigan Quarterly Review. A graduate of the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan, he is currently a Zell Fellow.
June 7-10, 14-17, & 21-24. U-M Residential College drama lecturer Kate Mendeloff directs students and local actors in an alfresco production of Shakespeare’s vividly poetic love story, a romantic tragedy about “star-crossed lovers” defying their feuding families. Initially lightheartedly comic, then dire, this perennially popular drama is the heart-wrenching tale of 2 impetuous young lovers destroyed by the intransigence of their feuding families, their own mistakes, and some incredibly bad timing. 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. $20 (Friends of Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum, $15; students, $15; seniors age 62 & over, $17; youth under age 18, $10; kids under 5, free) at the gate only. Tickets go on sale at 5:30 p.m. Space limited; come early. 998-9540.
June 7-10, 14-17, & 21-24. U-M Residential College drama lecturer Kate Mendeloff directs students and local actors in an alfresco production of Shakespeare’s vividly poetic love story, a romantic tragedy about “star-crossed lovers” defying their feuding families. Initially lightheartedly comic, then dire, this perennially popular drama is the heart-wrenching tale of 2 impetuous young lovers destroyed by the intransigence of their feuding families, their own mistakes, and some incredibly bad timing. 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. $20 (Friends of Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum, $15; students, $15; seniors age 62 & over, $17; youth under age 18, $10; kids under 5, free) at the gate only. Tickets go on sale at 5:30 p.m. Space limited; come early. 998-9540.
June 7-10, 14-17, & 21-24. U-M Residential College drama lecturer Kate Mendeloff directs students and local actors in an alfresco production of Shakespeare’s vividly poetic love story, a romantic tragedy about “star-crossed lovers” defying their feuding families. Initially lightheartedly comic, then dire, this perennially popular drama is the heart-wrenching tale of 2 impetuous young lovers destroyed by the intransigence of their feuding families, their own mistakes, and some incredibly bad timing. 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. $20 (Friends of Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum, $15; students, $15; seniors age 62 & over, $17; youth under age 18, $10; kids under 5, free) at the gate only. Tickets go on sale at 5:30 p.m. Space limited; come early. 998-9540.
