The prize-winning author of The Immortal King Rao returns with her first collection of short stories.

Vauhini Vara's debut novel, The Immortal King Rao, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Prize and the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize, won the Colorado Book Award, and is being adapted for television. Lit Hub and Electric Literature have named her new short-story collection, This Is Salvaged, as one of the most anticipated books of the year. In it, Vara explores the nature of being a child, parent, friend, sibling, neighbor, or lover, and the relationships between self and others.

Vara speaks with New York Times bestselling author Leslie Jamison about her new book, which ponders the question, in a world defined by estrangement, where is communion to be found?

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ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Vauhini Vara is the author of This Is Salvaged, named one of the most anticipated books of the year by Lithub, Electric Literature, and The Millions, and The Immortal King Rao, a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Prize. She is also a journalist, writing for Wired, The New York Times Magazine, and others. She teaches at Colorado State University as a 2023–24 Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing and at the Lighthouse Writers Workshop's Book Project. She is also the secretary of Periplus, a mentorship collective serving writers of color.

Leslie Jamison is the New York Times bestselling author of The Empathy Exams; The Recovering: Intoxication and its Aftermath; Make it Scream, Make it Burn; and The Gin Closet. Her next book, a memoir called Splinters, comes out in February 2024. She writes frequently for various publications including The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New York Review of Books, and The Virginia Quarterly Review. She directs the nonfiction writing program at Columbia University, and lives in Brooklyn with her family.

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ACCESSIBILITY

In-Person | Assistive listening devices and/or hearing loops are available at the venue. You can request a free ASL (American Sign Language) interpretation or CART (Communication Access Real-Time Translation) captioning service by emailing your request at least two weeks in advance of the event: email accessibility@nypl.org or use this Gmail template. This venue is fully accessible to wheelchairs. 

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Vauhini Vara © Andrew Altschul
Courtesy Leslie Jamison