Upon arriving at Ball State University, Jill Christman, assistant professor of English and chair of the creative writing program, recognized a "gap" in the department.
The gap lay in the student's knowledge about writing and publishing. To help remedy the issue, Christman began a program similar to one that worked at one of her previous jobs.
The result of Christman's effort is "In Print," a two-day event beginning at 7 p.m. today and continuing at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Museum of Art Room 217. Tonight, three visiting authors, David Griffith, Alan DeNiro and Sharmila Voorakkara, will read from their freshly-printed books. Thursday, Christman will moderate a panel on what it takes to write a book. The panelists will be the authors featured the night before and Tracy Truels, editor of "Indiana Review," a non-profit literary magazine. Refreshments and book signings will follow the panel discussion, and the spring issue of the Broken Plate, Ball State's undergraduate literary magazine, will be distributed by student editors.
As the Coordinator of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities), Christman started a program similar to "In Print" called "First Books." When she arrived at Ball State, Christman started "In Print" after she received an Eli Lilly and Co. Foundation grant.
The main idea of the event was for the students to interact with newly published visiting writers who can better relate to the students' lack of publishing knowledge, she said.
"I try to get a wide range of writers," Christman said.
The genres of writers represented this year are fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry. Christman hand picks the authors and tries to select authors who have been featured in different publications such as journals, magazines or books. Christman said she prefers each writer to be published within the past two years, so the experience is still fresh in the authors' minds.
"Students wanted someone who would share what they are going through and would talk to them about their experience," she said.
Griffith's book, "A Good War is Hard to Find," talks about the scandal at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq and includes how society has become accustomed to violence in America, Griffith said. His book was published in October 2006, and falls in the genre of personal essay and memoir.
Griffith said it did not take long to get his book published, but it is important for students to know that getting a book published can be a long process of going from publisher to publisher.
DeNiro's book, "Skinny Dipping in the Lake of the Dead," is a collection of short stories that he has written over the past seven years. DeNiro said his stories span into all different genres. Some of the stories that he included in his book were also published in magazines, and his book was published in May 2006.
Voorakkara's first book of poetry, "Fire Wheel" won the Akron Poetry Prize and was published in 2005. Voorakkara could not be reached for comment.
Graduate student Nathan Meyers said he believed the event was important for students to attend.
"It is educational to learn from people who have experience outside of the university," Meyers said.
Check it outTONIGHTWhat: Authors' readingWhen: 7 p.m.Where: Museum of Art, Room 217
THURSDAYWhat: Panel discussionWhen: 7 p.m.Where: Museum of Art, Room 217
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