Queens University MFA program hosts readings

Elissa Schappell ("Blueprints for Building Better Girls") will be among four Queens University faculty members giving free readings this month as part of the school's low-residency MFA program in creative writing.

The New York Times says Schappell's "Blueprints for Building Better Girls," a collection of linked stories, "crackles with the blunt, cynical humor wielded by people chronically on the defense. Her women are caustic and witty, even in the face of sorrow."

She'll read at 8:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 13, at Ketner Auditorium in the Sykes Learning Center. Also reading that night will be Pushcart Prize winner James McKean, author of two books of poems and an essay collection, "Home Stand: Growing Up in Sports."

Queens will also hold a reading 8 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8, in Ketner Auditorium featuring Davidson College graduate Ashley Warlick, author of three novels, including "Seek the Living," and poet Sally Keith, author of "Design."