Scott Lambridis, Brittany Micka-Foos, Ashton Macaulay w/ Rochelle Robinson

The Serious Business of Being Silly: How Absurdity Makes the Unbearable Readable

A lively, craft-minded panel discussion about how humor and absurdity illuminate our darkest themes. To celebrate the launch of his debut novel St. Ulphia's Dead, Scott Lambridis joins fellow writers Ashton Macaulay and Brittany Micka-Foos in conversation moderated by HamLit editor Rochelle Robinson. Together they’ll explore why laughter and lightness belong beside grief and gravity, share brief readings, and invite audience questions. Part craft talk, part celebration of local storytelling, this event promises an evening that’s both thought-provoking and entertaining.

Registration is not required, but helps us anticipate audience size. If you'd like to RSVP, please do so here!

Disgraced medical researcher Mirs and his skeptical new supervisor Jo arrive on the remote island of St. Ulphia to investigate an outbreak of mass psychosis. The villagers claim they’ re being possessed— one by one— by a cannibalistic demon known as the Wendigo. While unraveling the villagers’ strange tales, Mirs and Jo are drawn into a tangle of local politics, mysterious disappearances, and impossible contradictions. When the missing begin to reappear, the boundaries between fact and folklore become dangerously thin. As tensions rise and trust fractures, Mirs and Jo must confront the possibility that the madness around them may not be entirely imagined— or may not be the villagers’ alone. A psychological mystery laced with absurd humor, St. Ulphia’ s Dead explores how trauma warps truth, how isolation breeds belief, and how the most terrifying demons are the ones we conjure for ourselves.

Born and raised in New York, Scott Lambridis earned a degree in neurobiology from the University of Virginia. He’ s toured the Midwest with a progressive rock band, founded an indie press and performance series, earned an MFA from San Francisco State University, tended a 40-acre olive farm, and read a book from every country of the world. He wrote St. Ulphia’ s Dead during his daughter’ s naps during a year in France, and finally settled with his wife and child in Bellingham, Washington, “the city of subdued excitement.” This is his first novel.

Brittany Micka-Foos is the author of the short story collection It's No Fun Anymore (Apprentice House Press 2025) and the chapbook a litany of words as fragile as window glass (Bottlecap Press 2024). Her work has been published in Ninth Letter, Witness Magazine, Epiphany, The Forge Literary Magazine, and elsewhere. More at www.brittanymickafoos.com.

Ashton Macaulay is a fiction writer living in Seattle, Washington. Inspired by the big adventure novels and films of old, Macaulay transports readers to intricately crafted worlds full of strange locales, surprising creatures, and compelling characters. He offers a humorous take on all things that go bump in the night and keeps his audience laughing amidst the suspense. After writing every morning, Macaulay works as a Data Scientist in the video game industry. He can be found outside of work running, golfing badly, reading, and spending time with his wife and three weird pets. Read more at https://macashton.com/

Rochelle Robinson (she/they) co-founded HamLit in 2019. She loves championing all things story, particularly tales told by silenced voices. You will also find Rochelle wherever there is film, including as curator and board member with CASCADIA International Women’s Film Festival.