When writing a short story, an author must be swift and succinct. A short story does not allow a plot the same amount of breathing room compared to a novel. Writers April Ayers Lawson and Clare Beams welcome the immediacy inherent in a short story as they integrate intimate and engaging tales into their work.
Lawson's debut short story collection "Virgin and Other Stories" (Farrar, Straus and Giroux/2016) grapples with gender, sexuality and intimacy in gothic Southern landscapes. Meanwhile, Beams' debut short story collection "We Show What We Have Learned" (Lookout Books/ 2016) features several fantastical stories from the classroom.
Host Frank Stasio talks with Lawson and Beams about their approach to short story writing. Lawson and Beams speak at 7 p.m. tonight at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill.