By Whitney Hale
(May 6, 2015) — Join organizers of the Kentucky Women Writers Conference as they host a preview party featuring award-winning author Hannah Pittard, assistant professor at University of Kentucky Department of English. The event, including a reading from "Reunion," will begin 4 p.m. Saturday, May 9, at The Morris Book Shop, located at 882 East High Street in Lexington.
Pittard's second book, "Reunion," chronicles the weekend of a far-flung family reunited by their father's death. In addition to featuring Pittard's work, the preview party will also showcase titles by other writers to be featured at the conference this September. In addition, attendees can meet the conference's board of advisors. Those attending will also have the opportunity to win free admission for one (a $125 value) to the 2015 Kentucky Women Writers Conference.
As part of the conference this fall, Pittard will share the stage for a conversation with keynote speaker Ann Beattie, a popular and critically acclaimed short story writer. Pittard was Beattie's student at University of Virginia. The keynote event, made possible in part by a generous contribution from UK Libraries, is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Sept. 11, at the Singletary Center for the Arts.
In addition to the appearance with Beattie, Pittard will also teach a two-part fiction workshop at the Kentucky Women Writers Conference. In the workshop, "From What if? to What now? to What just happened?" participants will conceive, design and begin to construct stories of their own. The workshop will be from 2-4:15 p.m. Sept. 11 and 12, and requires purchase of general admission ($175 before Aug. 1, $200 thereafter) to the conference.
Author of three books and more than a dozen short stories and essays, "Reunion" garnered Pittard several honors, including a Millions' Most Anticipated Book, a Chicago Tribune Editor's Choice, a BuzzFeed Top-5 Great Book, a Best New Book by People Magazine, a Top-10 Read by Bustle Magazine and LibraryReads, a Must-Read by TimeOut Chicago, and a Hot New Novel by Good Housekeeping. Her first novel, “The Fates Will Find Their Way,” was an Oprah Magazine selection, an Indie Next pick, a Powell's Indiespendible Book Club Pick, and a "best of" selection by The Guardian, The Chicago Tribune, Details Magazine, The Kansas City Star, Chicago Magazine, Chicago Reader and Hudson Booksellers. Pittard, a consulting editor for Narrative Magazine, is the winner of the 2006 Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award. Her forthcoming novel, "Listen to Me" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), is due out in 2016.
Now in its 37th year, the Kentucky Women Writers Conference is an annual event known for bringing notable women writers to Lexington for readings, writing workshops and discussions. A program housed in the UK College of Arts and Sciences, the conference is made possible in part by continued community partnerships, including its primary venue, the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. Registration for the conference is open now.
For more information on the conference, visit online at www.kentuckywomenwriters.org.