BROWN BAG BOOK DISCUSSION: “RIVER BEND CHRONICLE” BY BEN MILLER

Join us for a casual conversation/discussion of Ben Miller’s RIVER BEND CHRONICLE: The Junkification of a Boyhood Idyll amid the Curious Glory of Urban Iowa (Lookout Books, University of North Carolina Wilmington) on Thursday, June 13 at noon at the MWC office at the Rock Island Public Library.

This discussion is taking place in advance of Miller’s appearance at the David R. Collins Writers’ Conference, where he will be the keynote speaker at a free public event at the Figge Art Museum on Thursday, June 27 – for more information about the DRC Writers’ Conference, including online registration, please visit the MWC website:

http://www.mwcqc.org/events-opportunities/david-r-collins-writers-conference/

The discussion will be led by a panel of local writers, avid readers, and MWC Board Members, and will focus both on the book and the history of QC literary history that is featured in the book. Miller grew up around the Quad Cities, and he worked with many well-known local authors & attended Writer’s Studio meetings (which still continue here at MWC on the 1st & 3rd Saturdays of each month).

***You do no need to have read the book to participate***

This discussion is free & open to everyone, and is intended to be an introduction to the book & Ben Miller in advance of his keynote address at the Figge on 6/27. This will be a casual lunchtime event, and attendees are welcome to bring their lunch with them.

MWC will copies of RIVER BEND CHRONICLE available for purchase in advance of the discussion (& the Conference) at the office & online for $12 – a 33% discount off the cover price!

RVSP is appreciate, though not required. If you have any questions, please contact MWC at (309) 732-7330.

The David R. Collins Writers’ Conference is made possible thanks to the generous support of our sponsors: Modern Woodmen of America, founding sponsor; the St. Ambrose University English Department; the Figge Art Museum; Rozz-Tox; and the Illinois Arts Council Agency through federal funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

BIO for BEN MILLER

Ben Miller is an essayist and fiction writer. After attending Cornell College (Mount Vernon, Iowa) he graduated from the New York University writing program, studying under E.L. Doctorow, John A. Williams and Luisa Valenzuela.

He is the author of the nonfiction work River Bend Chronicle: The Junkification of a Boyhood Idyll amid the Curious Glory of Urban Iowa (Lookout Books, University of North Carolina Wilmington).

http://www.riverbendchronicle.com

His prose has been published in many journals, including Kenyon Review, New England Review, Yale Review, AGNI, Ecotone, Raritan, Antioch Review, Southern Review, Harvard Review, and One Story. Six of his essays have been cited as “Notable” by Best American Essays and another, “Bix and Flannery,” was chosen to appear in the anthology by Louis Menand.

Miller’s awards include creative writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University.

https://benmillerauthor.wordpress.com/about/

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For complete information about the David R. Collins Writers’ Conference, please visit us online:

http://www.mwcqc.org/events-opportunities/david-r-collins-writers-conference/

Online registration for the David R. Collins Writers’ Conference is available here:

http://www.mwcqc.org/events-opportunities/david-r-collins-writers-conference/drc-conference-registration/