Join us to discuss excerpts from Mother Winter, a memoir by Sophia Shalmiyev and A Girl Goes Into The Forest, a collection of short stories by Peg Alford Pursell. Please email Micah Perks at (meperks@ucsc.edu) for the readings and to RSVP for the discussion.

Peg Alford Pursell is the author of A Girl Goes Into the Forest, (Dzanc Books, July 2019), and of Show Her A Flower, A Bird, A Shadow, the 2017 Indies Book of the Year for Literary Fiction. Her work has been published in many journals and anthologies, including Permafrost, Joyland, and the Los Angeles Review. Most recently, her microfiction, flash fiction, and hybrid prose have been nominated for Best Small Microfictions and Pushcart Prizes. She is the founder and director of WTAW Press, a nonprofit publisher of literary books, and of Why There Are Words, the national literary reading series. She is a member of the SF Writers Grotto. See more at: www.pegalfordpursell.com

Sophia Shalmiyev is an immigrant from the Soviet Union and the author of Mother Winter (2019, S&S), which Kirkus Reviews describes as “a rich tapestry of autobiography and meditations on feminism, motherhood, art, and culture, this book is as intellectually satisfying as it is artistically profound. A sharply intelligent, lyrically provocative memoir.” Shalmiyev has an MFA from Portland State University and a second master’s degree in creative arts therapy from the School of Visual Arts. She lives in Portland with her two children. Her latest work can be found at Lit Hub and Guernica.