S125.
Surviving (& Thriving in) the Sophomore Slump
Saturday, March 26, 2022
9:00 am to 10:15 am
That first book is out in the world, the launch is long past, and you're back at your desk plugging away at the next one. You've already written and published one book—shouldn't the next one be easier? If you're still plagued by uncertainty and struggling with your second book, you are not alone. This panel of authors working on their sophomore books will grapple with surviving your debut and how to get the work done afterward while encountering the struggles and slumps of second books.
Participants
Blair Hurley is the author of the novel The Devoted, longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize. She received a 2020 Alberta Magazine Prize, a Best Small Fictions Prize, and a 2018 Pushcart Prize. She hosts the Writerly Bites podcast and teaches at Catapult and McMaster University.
Maurice Carlos Ruffin is the author of The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You: Stories, a New York Times Editor’s Choice, and We Cast a Shadow: A Novel, which was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and the PEN America Open Book Prize.
Lara Ehrlich is the author of the story collection Animal Wife and the host of Writer Mother Monster, a conversation series devoted to dismantling the myth of “having it all” and offering writer-moms solidarity, support, and advice as we make space for creative endeavors.
Arif Anwar’s debut novel, The Storm, was published by Simon and Schuster in 2018 to international acclaim, and it has been translated to multiple languages. Arif’s work has been published in the Daily Beast, VICE Magazine, Electric Literature, and the Daily Star, among others.
Rachel Beanland is the author of Florence Adler Swims Forever, which was a Barnes & Noble Book Club pick and recently recognized with the 2020 National Jewish Book Award for Debut Fiction. Rachel has an MFA in fiction from Virginia Commonwealth University.
