The third event in our Conversations@Efroymson series, which also happens to be our most exciting yet, is Butler’s first annual Writer’s Harvest. On Tuesday October 29, 7:30 PM at Clowes Memorial Hall, Indiana-based fiction powerhouses John Green, Ben Winters and Susan Neville will be giving readings– but that’s just the “writer” part. The “harvest” part is where you come in. We will be collecting your donations of dried pasta and white rice on behalf of Indy non-profit community kitchen Second Helpings. The event is, as always, free and open to the public.
While they do cook and deliver about 3,500 meals (about 150 pounds of pasta and rice!) every day, eliminating hunger is only one half of what Second Helpings does. The company also provides culinary job training to unemployed and underemployed adults. Their mission statement reads: “We’re not just teaching people to cook – we’re providing an avenue for people to transform their own lives. We don’t just collect food – we rescue food because we can’t stand to see it go to waste when others have none.” Naturally, your donation will be much appreciated. But we plan to make it worth your while; allow me to introduce our readers:
John Green is a New York Times Best Seller, Indiana Authors Award winner, and author of The Fault in Our Stars (set right here in Indianapolis… but currently being filmed in Pittsburgh, of all places), An Abundance of Katherines, and Printz Award-winning debut Looking for Alaska, to name a few. He’s also a prolific Youtube vlogger, if that’s your thing. He may write young adult fiction, but his work doesn’t pull its punches. It actually delivers them. Directly to the part of your brain that causes you to weep so violently that your face makes that twisted sort of shape you’re so self-conscious about. But don’t worry about crying in public– I’m sure he’ll read something funny.
Ben Winters is also a New York Times Best Seller for his sacrilegious-yet-satisfying Austen-parody Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. He won an Edgar Award for The Last Policeman, the first entry in his trilogy of detective novels, has written for several musicals, like Slut (for adults) and Uncle Pirate (for kids… probably?) and just so happens to teach in our esteemed MFA program. Earlier this year the abundantly energetic Winters gave a reading at Big Hat Books, excerpting from Countdown City, the second novel of his current trilogy. Expect to be simultaneously amazed by his energy, yet worried that the man may vibrate right through the floor.
Rounding out our talented trio of storytellers is Susan Neville, another member of Butler’s MFA faculty. Neville is a New York Times Better Seller, as well as winner of the Indiana Authors Award and the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction. She has also been published in O Magazine, though, when I called, Oprah was not available for comment. I’m sure she dug it. What I’ve read of Susan’s work is equal parts lush and spellbinding. She’ll be the yin to Winters’ yang.
So please do come to our first annual Writer’s Harvest, 7:30 PM, October 29, Clowes Memorial Hall. And please do bring a donation of dried pasta or white rice. Support a good cause, listen to some good writers share some good words; it promises to be a good time. If you’d like to help us promote the event, you can share the digital version of our promo flyer by clicking this little thumbnail right here.