Authors and professors Dr. Kelly Ann Jacobson and Dr. Addie Tsai will read from their work on Thursday, Oct. 5, at the University of Lynchburg.
The event, “From Folklore to Frankenstein: Queer Subversive Retellings of Kelly Ann Jacobson (Robin and Her Misfits) and Addie Tsai (Unwieldy Creatures),” will be held at 6 p.m. in Hall Campus Center’s Memorial Ballroom. Admission is free, the public is invited, and light snacks will be served.
Jacobson, an assistant professor of English at Lynchburg, will read from her 2023 novel, “Robin and Her Misfits,” a queer young adult novel that reimagines the Robin Hood story.
She also is the author of the queer YA novel “Tink and Wendy,” which won the Foreword Reviews Gold Medal for YA, the forthcoming novel “Weaver,” and the chapbook “An Inventory of Abandoned Things,” which won Split/Lip Press’s 2020 Chapbook Contest.
Short pieces by Jacobson have been published in Boulevard, Southern Humanities Review, Daily Science Fiction, Iron Horse Literary Review, The Texas Review, Gargoyle, and other literary magazines.
Jacobson, who earned a PhD in fiction from Florida State University, also teaches speculative fiction and short story writing for Southern New Hampshire University’s online Master of Fine Arts program. You can find more about her on her website.
Tsai, a queer, nonbinary artist and writer of color, will read from their 2022 novel, “Unwieldy Creatures,” which has been described as a “biracial, queer, nonbinary retelling of Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein.”
The novel also was nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel.
Tsai is an assistant teaching professor of English at the College of William & Mary and also teaches in the MFA programs at Goddard College and Regis University. They also have collaborated with Dominic Walsh Dance Theater in Houston.
Tsai has an MFA from Warren Wilson College and a PhD in dance from Texas Woman’s University. They also are the author of the 2019 novel “Dear Twin,” fiction coeditor and editor of features and reviews at Anomaly, contributing writer at Spectrum South, and founding editor and chief at just femme & dandy.
For more about Tsai, visit addietsai.com.
“In addition to being a fun chance to revive literary misfits, my hope is this event will show the different ways that queer retellings of classic stories can work as mirrors for our contemporary society, as well as inspirations for future change,” Jacobson said.
At the Lynchburg reading, each author will read for about 10 minutes, followed by a Q&A and book signing. Books will be available for purchase at the event. This event is sponsored by Lynchburg Q, an affinity group for LGBTQIA+ faculty and staff. For more information, email Jacobson at [email protected].
