Hannah Grieco: FIRST KICKING, THEN NOT (with Susan Muaddi Darraj)

The Ivy invites you to an event for Hannah Grieco's debut short story collection, First Kicking, Then Not!

This is a collection that acts as a mirror, offering a wide array of women outside the expectations of others: Who looks back? Who do you want to see?

A young woman transforms after an unspeakable loss. A recent divorcee discovers a new life. An aging mother fears losing everything she loves, while another abandons her children at Starbucks. With "hot flashes of horror and humor...and so much insight into the monstrosity that is modern motherhood that I considered running away for a day" (Eman Quotah), it's a book that just might change your life.

Susan Muaddi Darraj, acclaimed author of Behind You is the Sea and many other books for adults and children, will join Hannah Grieco in conversation. Come celebrate with us!

Books will be available for purchase at the event!

Hannah Grieco's debut short story collection First Kicking, Then Not comes out August 12th from Stanchion. She teaches writing at Marymount University and writes a literary column for Washington City Paper. Read more of her work in The Washington Post, The Independent, Al Jazeera, Brevity, Wigleaf, Poet Lore, Shenandoah, Fairy Tale Review, and more. Find her online at www.hgrieco.com and on most social media @writesloud.

Susan Muaddi Darraj is an award-winning writer of books for adults and children. She won an American Book Award, two Arab American Book Awards, and a Maryland State Arts Council Independent Artists Award. In 2018, she was named a USA Artists Ford Fellow. Her books include her linked short story collection, A Curious Land, as well as the Farah Rocks children’s book series. She lives in Baltimore, where she teaches creative writing at Harford Community College and the Johns Hopkins University. Her new novel, BEHIND YOU IS THE SEA, was published in January 2024 by HarperVia. It received praise from The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Ms Magazine, and it was named a Best Book of 2024 by The New Yorker and Apple Books. Behind You Is the Sea was also a finalist for the 2025 PEN/Faulkner Award.

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