In his essay, “Get a Job,” Benjamin Percy states that “Your way of seeing the world bends around your work.” Percy goes on to give an example of a farmer whose sense of time depends on the height of corn, whose sense of place is created by the fields that surround him. Join authors Nick Rees Gardner, Ian S. Maloney, and Tobias Carroll for a panel discussion and Q&A on how writing about work, jobs, and careers can shape your fictional characters just as it can shape your life. Moderated by Andrew Bertaina.
FREE and open to the public. RSVP required below.
Nick Gardner is a writer, critic, writing teacher, and beer and wine buyer. His books include, So Marvelously Far, (Crisis Chronicles Press, 2019), an accounting of addiction and recovery in the Rustbelt; Hurricane Trinity (Unsolicited Press, 2023), a climate change novella; and the linked story collection, Delinquents and Other Escape Attempts. He’s received support from the Elizabeth George Foundation, Vermont Studio Center, the De Groot Foundation, and DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. He lives in Ohio and Washington, DC.
Ian S. Maloney grew up in Marine Park, Brooklyn, where he worked as a NYS Pest Control Technician. He works as Director of the Jack Hazard Fellowships for the New Literary Project and as Contribitor at Vol. 1 Brooklyn. Ian also serves on the Literary Council for the Brooklyn Book Festival and on the Board for the Whitman Initiative. South Brooklyn Exterminating (Spuyten Duyvil Publishing) is his debut work of fiction.
Tobias Carroll is the author of five books, most recently the novel In the Sight. His 2020 book Political Sign was released as part of the Object Lessons series. He writes a monthly column about translated books for Words Without Borders and is the managing editor of Vol. 1 Brooklyn.
Andrew Bertaina is the author of the essay collection, The Body Is A Temporary Gathering Place, and the short story collection, One Person Away From You. His work has appeared in The ThreePenny Review, Witness Magazine, Post Road, and elsewhere. His work has been anthologized in The Best American Poetry, The Best Microfiction, and listed as notable in three editions of The Best American Essays. He has an MFA from American University.
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