Author Gerkensmeyer returning to DPU April 3

Sunday, March 27, 2016
Sarah Gerkensmeyer

Sarah Gerkensmeyer, a 2001 graduate of DePauw University and winner of the 2012 Autumn House Fiction Prize, will return to her alma mater on April 3.

Her 7:30 p.m. appearance in the Richard E. Peeler Art Center auditorium is presented by DePauw's James and Marilou Kelly Writers Series.

Gerkensmeyer's first story collection, "What You Are Now Enjoying," was longlisted for the 2013 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award.

"These stories are dark and fantastic, full of danger and humor and heart," notes Aryn Kyle, author of "Boys and Girls Like You and Me."

"Gerkensmeyer's world is distinct and vibrant and haunting -- filled with characters whose longing rings with truth and familiarity, inducing in her reader a physical ache. What a remarkable and unforgettable collection."

An English (writing) major at DePauw, Gerkensmeyer went on to graduate from Cornell University's M.F.A. program. A Pushcart Prize nominee, her stories and poetry have appeared in American Short Fiction, Guernica, The New Guard, the Massachusetts Review and Hayden's Ferry Review, among others.

The Kelly Writers Series was established in 1998 with gifts from Marilou Morrell Kelly, a 1955 graduate of DePauw.

An endowment gift by J. David Field, professor emeritus of English at DePauw University, created the professorship in 2007. Appointments to this chair bring nationally recognized and practicing writers to DePauw as visiting and/or permanent members of the faculty.

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