A Time You Changed Course
Event Information
Description
PLEASE JOIN US ON THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 5PM-7PM AT SPARTAN SHOP TO SUPPORT THE OREGON JUSTICE RESOURCE CENTER'S WOMEN'S JUSTICE PROJECT.
Take a mini break from the AWP conference and recharge with the words of five women, all reading about a time they changed course. Inspiration for you and essential support for a nonprofit in need — a win/win.
Readings by Chelsea Bieker, Aja Gabel, Genevieve Hudson, T Kira Madden & Kimberly King Parsons
WHO WE'RE SUPPORTING
The Women's Justice Project (formerly known as the Women in Prison Project) is the first and only program in Oregon to exclusively address issues related to women intersecting with the criminal justice system. The organization works to ensure that the criminal justice system treats women fairly, protects their health and safety, and makes it possible for them to successfully rejoin their communities when they are released. The Women's Justice Project utilizes focused direct legal services, strategic partnerships, public awareness campaigns, and advocacy to achieve this goal.
MEET OUR READERS
Chelsea Bieker is from California’s Central Valley. She is the recipient of a 2018 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer’s Award and the author of two forthcoming books, the novel GODSHOT (2020) and the story collection, COWBOYS AND ANGELS (2021). Her writing has been published in Granta, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Electric Literature, Catapult, Joyland, The Cincinnati Review, The Normal School, No Tokens, Cosmonauts Avenue, and others. Her work has been supported by the MacDowell Colony and the Tin House Writer’s Workshop. She holds a BS in journalism from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and an MFA in creative writing from Portland State University. Currently she lives in California with her husband and two children where she teaches writing and is at work on a narrative nonfiction project.
Aja Gabel is the author of the novel, THE ENSEMBLE, about the lives of the members of a professional string quartet. It was published last year by Riverhead Books, and is her first novel. She's also written and published short fiction and essays. Aja studied writing at Wesleyan University and the University of Virginia, and has a PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Houston. In 2013 she was a fellow at Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and she currently lives and writes in Los Angeles.
Genevieve Hudson is the author of the hybrid memoir A Little in Love with Everyone (Fiction Advocate, 2018), the story collection Pretend We Live Here (Future Tense Books, 2018), and the forthcoming novel Boys of Alabama (Liveright, forthcoming). Her writing is published or upcoming in Catapult, McSweeney's, Hobart, Tin House, Joyland, No Tokens, Bitch, Portland Monthly, and other places. Her work has been supported by the Fulbright Program and artist residencies at the Dickinson House, the MacDowell Colony, Caldera Arts, and the Vermont Studio Center. She received an MFA in creative writing from Portland State University, where she occasionally teaches fiction writing and gender studies courses.
T Kira Madden is an APIA writer, photographer, and amateur magician. She is the founding editor-in-chief of No Tokens, and facilitates writing workshops for homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals. A 2017 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in nonfiction literature, she is the author of the memoir LONG LIVE THE TRIBE OF FATHERLESS GIRLS (Bloomsbury, 2019). She lives in New York City and teaches at Sarah Lawrence College.
Kimberly King Parsons is the author of the short story collection Black Light, forthcoming from Vintage August 13, 2019, and the novel The Boiling River, forthcoming from Knopf in 2020ish. Her fiction has been published in Best Small Fictions, New South, Black Warrior Review, No Tokens, Joyland, Ninth Letter, Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. Her book reviews and interviews have appeared in Bookforum, Fanzine, Time Out New York, The Millions, and elsewhere. She lives with her partner and sons in Portland, OR, where she writes about Texas, motherhood, and LSD.