To kick off our 2024 National Endowment of the Arts Big Read initiative, The Center for Fiction welcomes Orange Prize-winning author Madeline Miller to celebrate her brilliant 2018 novel Circe, which masterfully reframes Greek mythology to turn its titular witch into a compelling heroine. Expansive yet intimate, the Red Tentacle Award-winning novel follows Circe across centuries as she witnesses the events of Greek epics—from the birth of the Minotaur to Odysseus’ journey—unfold in front of her as she lives in exile on the island of Aiaia. Joining Miller are Maria Davahna Headley and Rachel Lyon, two authors who are also masterful retellers of old epic stories. Headley, a New York Times bestselling author and translator, has gained acclaim for her contemporary translation of Beowulf which invokes the mood of urban legends, and The Mere Wife, a dystopian retelling of Beowulf set in 21st-century America. Lyon is the author of Fruit of the Dead, an electric modern reimagining of the myth of Persephone and Demeter. Her debut novel, Self-Portrait with Boy, was a finalist for the 2018 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.

Headley, Lyon, and Miller will have a rousing conversation about Circe moderated by Nataly Gruender, author of Medusa, an intimate retelling of its infamous titular villain. The panel will discuss the power of retelling ancient stories for new audiences and how it can return humanity to characters that are stripped of it.

This event is the first in a series of free, dynamic, community-wide programming centered around Circe. This event, along with all of our NEA Big Read programming, is free, but space is limited. Guests will be admitted on a first-come, first-seated basis.

Launch event for Blair Hurley’s novel MINOR PROPHETS.

Literature Evenings—Fall 2019

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | Rachel Lyon is the author of the novel Self Portrait with Boy, which was long-listed for the Center for Fiction's 2018 First Novel Prize and is in feature film development at Topic Studios. Her short work has appeared or is forthcoming in One Story, Longreads, Joyland, Electric Literature, and elsewhere. She is Editor-in-Chief of Epiphany and cofounder of the reading series Ditmas Lit, in her native Brooklyn NY. View this event on the Bennington website.

The Glen Cove Public Library is on the north shore of Long Island, and has hosted a number of best-selling authors including Charles Belfoure, Julia Dahl, Sara Novic, Kimberly McCreight, Natalie Harnett, Christopher Bollen, Nadia Hashimi. Imbolo Mbue, Martha Hall Kelly, Fiona Davis Yoojin Grace Wertz, Lauren Belfer, Min Jin Lee and Anna Pitoniak. Rachel will read there on March 19.

Every semester the MFA in Creative Writing and Literature program hosts Writers Speak Wednesdays, featuring a variety of guest authors. The reception starts at 6:30 pm, with readings at 7 pm in the Radio Lounge on the second floor of Chancellors Hall at Stony Brook Southampton.

The Karma Reading Series is hosted by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright. Poster by the artist Nicolas Party.

Join us for hors d'oeuvres and drinks to hear Rachel Lyon '05 discuss how she's created a career out of literary writing. Rachel is the author of Self-Portrait with Boy (Scribner 2018), which NPR calls a "smart novel about the narcissistic ambition that's needed to succeed, especially in the art world, especially in New York." 

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