Local, Award-Winning Short Story Author Laura Maylene Walter
Award-winning author, self-described cat lady and Lakewood resident Laura Maylene Walter will be at Lakewood Public Library’s Main Auditorium at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 9 to discuss and read from her debut book of short stories, Living Arrangements. This collection, which received the 2010 G.S. Sharat Chandra Prize for Short Fiction as selected by Robert Olen Butler, includes 13 stories featuring a diverse group of characters who redefine their sense of belonging while navigating difficult circumstances, facing their pasts and finding a path forward. Whether it is an unattractive woman winning ungainly notoriety as a lingerie window model, a young figure skater being lured by a stalker, or a daughter examining her mother’s accidental death on a horse farm, these stories’ protagonists surprise themselves and the reader by finding their places in the world through unpredictable turns.
In addition to giving a brief reading from her book, Laura will discuss her writing journey and hold a Q & A. Regarding how she hopes patrons who attend her program report on it afterwards she lightly joked, “She’s a writer who cares about language, puts great care and attention into her work, and had some inspirational/amusing anecdotes about her writing journey. Her presentation was fun, not boring, and she definitely did not stumble over her words or fall down on her way to the podium.” Walter’s writing has appeared in Poets & Writers, The Writer magazine, Inkwell, American Literary Review, and various other publications. She is the recipient of the Ohioana Library Association’s Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant, Washington College’s Sophie Kerr Prize, and various other writing awards as well. She shares with us the universal truth surrounding the promise and pressure entwined in one’s passion and is sure to inspire perseverance towards your own dreams, whatever they may be.
This program is free and open to the public. No registration is required. Books will be available for sale and signing at the event. Call (216) 226-8275 ext. 127 for more information.