Curiosity. Community. Compassion. A Moderated Discussion

For many of us, the times we live in may feel more polarized and divisive than ever – and not just because it’s an election year. During such hotly contested times, how do we find a sense of shared belonging? What does moral imagination and moral courage look like in America today? How do we have conversations about these issues in the presence of disagreement? Join North Carolina writers of different backgrounds as they discuss how their own life experiences and values shape and show up in their writing - and how they engage the world.
This two-part event will feature a moderated discussion with authors followed by a break-out, interactive workshop designed in collaboration with the hosting partner to explore individual moral imagination. The event is open to the public, and registration is required for the interactive component, which will be capped at 40 participants. The total event time is 3.5 hours to accommodate a short break after the discussion.

Moderated Discussion 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Break/Author Signing 5:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Facilitated workshop 5:30-6:45 pm (Snacks provided)

Joe Killian is Greensboro Editor for The Assembly, North Carolina's magazine of place and power. He spent a decade at The News & Record covering cops and courts, higher education, and government before joining NC Policy Watch, where he was a senior investigative reporter. He's also written for The Bristol Press in Bristol, Connecticut, and The Cape Cod Times in Hyannis, Massachusetts. He has won multiple awards from the Society for Professional Journalists, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Associated Press, and the North Carolina Press Association. He has been living and reporting in Greensboro for more than 20 years.

Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle is an enrolled citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and resides in Qualla, NC, with her husband, Evan, and sons, Ross and Charlie. She holds degrees from Yale University and the College of William and Mary. Her debut novel, Even As We Breathe, was released by the University Press of Kentucky in 2020, a finalist for the Weatherford Award, and named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2020. In 2021, it received the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award. Her first novel manuscript, Going to Water, won the Morning Star Award for Creative Writing from the Native American Literature Symposium (2012) and was a finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction (2014). Clapsaddle’s work has appeared in Yes! Magazine, Lit Hub, Salvation South, South Writ Large, Our State Magazine, Bon Appétit, Travel + Leisure Magazine, and The Atlantic. After serving as executive director of the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, Annette returned to teaching at Swain County High School for over a dozen years. She is the former co-editor of the Journal of Cherokee Studies. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Museum of the Cherokee People and is the President of the Board of Trustees for the North Carolina Writers Network. Clapsaddle established Bird Words, LLC in 2022 and works as an independent contractor and consultant. In 2023, in partnership with the Museum of the Cherokee People, Clapsaddle launched Confluence: An Indigenous Writers’ Workshop Series that seeks to bring indigenous writers to the Qualla Boundary (Cherokee, NC) to work with aspiring writers.

Mimi Herman is the author of the recent novel, The Kudzu Queen, and two poetry collections, A Field Guide to Human Emotions and Logophilia. She is a Warren Wilson MFA alumna, a Kennedy Center Teaching Artist, and a member of the Board of Directors for the Association of Writers & Writing Programs. Mimi codirects Writeaways writing workshop-retreats in France, Italy, Ireland, New Mexico, and at the Weymouth Center for the Arts & Humanities in Southern Pines, North Carolina. You can find her at mimiherman.com and writeaways.com.

Ashley Lumpkin is a Georgia-raised, Carolina-based writer, editor, actor, and educator.

She is the author of four chapbooks and one full-length poetry collection. Her book, I Hate You All Equally, is a collection of conversations from her years as a classroom teacher. A lover of performance and the written word, she has been a competing member of the Bull City Slam Team since 2015 and currently serves as its coach.

She is the author of The Sad Stays (Scuppernong Editions), a genre-fluid, hybrid-memoir exploring her lifetime struggle with her mental health.

Above all else, Ashley considers herself a teacher, poet, and fryer of food. She is a lover of mathematics and language. She loves you too.

Stacy McAnulty is an award-winning children’s book author, who used to be a mechanical engineer and still dreams of being an astronaut. She has written over 35 books including the middle-grade novel, The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, an Indie Bestseller, and the picture book, Excellent Ed, a 2017 Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Honor book. Her popular and continually expanding Our Universe series includes Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years, Moon! Earth’s Best Friend, Sun! One in a Billion and more. Her debut middle-grade nonfiction, Save the People! Halting Human Extinction was favorably reviewed in the New York Times and received starred-reviews from Kirkus Review and School Library Journal. Most of her books include a STEM angle or an adorable dog—some include both. When not writing, Stacy likes to listen to NPR (or 80s music), bake triple-chocolate cupcakes, and eat triple-chocolate cupcakes. Originally from upstate NY, she now lives in Kernersville, NC with her 3 kids, 3 dogs, and 1 husband.

Host or Publisher PEN America