Clark College Columbia Writers Series opens season with "The Female Gaze"

For Immediate Release
October 30, 2019

For additional information (media inquiries only):
Hannah Erickson, Communications & Marketing
T: 360-992-2954 E: herickson@clark.edu
High-resolution images of Kali Fajardo-Anstine and Kimberly King Parsons, as well as National Book Foundation and Clark College logos, available upon request.

New partnership with National Book Foundation brings two fiction long-listers to college on Nov. 7

VANCOUVER, Wash. – The Clark College Columbia Writers Series kicks off its 2019-2020 season with “The Female Gaze” with 2019 National Book Awards Fiction Longlisters Kali Fajardo-Anstine (Sabrina & Corina) and Kimberly King Parsons (Black Light). This event, which is free and open to the public, will be held on Thursday, November 7, from noon to 2:00 p.m in Penguin Union Building (PUB) room 161 on Clark College's main campus.

The event includes a reading and discussion on building buzz around debut short story collections and highlighting the many faces of contemporary female identity in literature. It will feature brief readings, a moderated conversation, and question-and-answer session followed by a book signing.

“The Female Gaze” is presented by the National Book Foundation and Clark College in a new partnership.

Kali Fajardo-Anstine is from Denver, Colorado. Her fiction has appeared in The American Scholar, Boston Review, Bellevue Literary Review, The Idaho Review, Southwestern American Literature, and elsewhere. Kali has received fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and Hedgebrook. She received her MFA from the University of Wyoming and has lived across the country, from Durango, Colorado, to Key West, Florida.

Born in Lubbock, Texas, Kimberly King Parsons received her MFA from Columbia University. Her fiction has been published in The Paris Review, Best Small Fictions 2017, Black Warrior Review, No Tokens, Ninth Letter, and The Kenyon Review, among others.

The Columbia Writers Series was launched at Clark College in 1988, bringing local, national and international authors to the college and the region. After “The Female Gaze,” this year’s lineup will continue with the writer Terese Mailhot on Monday, January 27.

Information about the Columbia Writers Series is available at www.clark.edu/cc/cws.

This event is held on Clark College’s main campus at 1933 Ft. Vancouver Way. Directions and maps are available online. Individuals who need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event should contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services (DSS) Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP). The DSS office is located in room 013 in Clark’s Penguin Union Building.

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