Dorothy Allison & Ron Rash (2011)

On April 1st 2011, two talented Southern authors read from their current works in this PEN/Faulkner fiction reading at Folger Shakespeare Library. Dorothy Allison is most famous for her semi-autobiographical novel Bastard Out of Carolina. Ron Rash is a significant contemporary Appalachian author, whose 2009 novel Serena was a PEN/Faulkner Award finalist. Both authors read from their new fiction.

Dorothy Allison is the author of Bastard Out of Carolina, a finalist for the 1992 National Book Award, and Cavedweller, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. She has also written a memoir Two or Three Things I Know for Sure, a book of poetry, and Trash, a collection of short fiction. Her work has been included in _The Best American Short Stories _and The Best of the South. Allison has taught creative writing in numerous universities. A novel, She Who, is forthcoming from Penguin.

Ron Rash is the author of four novels, four collections of short stories, and three books of poems. He has been awarded NEA Fellowships in fiction and poetry. A short story collection, Chemistry, and novel, Serena, were both PEN/Faulkner Award Finalists. His most recent book, Burning Bright, was a 2010 finalist for the Frank O’Connor Short Fiction Award. He teaches at Western Carolina University.