October 19 Readings: Sheri Booker, Danielle Ariano, Kelcey Parker, Danuta Hinc, and Marion Winik

Danielle Ariano received her MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing Arts from the University of Baltimore. She is the author of Getting Over the Rainbow, her debut book that recounts her humorous experiences as a lesbian, from her initial, uncertain utterance of the terrifying phrase “I’m gay,” all the way to her more recent declaration of “I do.” Her work has appeared on various online publications including Baltimore Fishbowl and Huffington Post and in literary journals such as the light ekphrastic, Cobalt Review, Welter and Rufous City Review. She is a frequent contributor to Baltimore Gay Life, where starting in January, she will have a monthly column chronicling her quirky experiences as a married gay woman. Her website is www.daniwrites.org.

Kelcey Parker’s first book, For Sale By Owner (Kore Press), won the 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Award in Short Fiction and was a Finalist for the 2012 Best Books of Indiana. She directs the creative writing program at Indiana University South Bend. During the summer of 2012, she worked as an Ask-Me Guide at Fallingwater, where she asked as many questions as she answered, helped visitors get the perfect photo of Fallingwater, and always kept an eye out for Liliane’s ghost. Visit Kelcey’s website.

Sheri J. Booker is a writer, poet, spoken word artist, and teacher. She is the author of the poetry book, One Woman, One Hustle (2003), Vook, I am the Poem (2011) , and memoir Nine Years Under: Coming of Age in an Inner City Funeral Home (2013) . She has traveled the U.S. speaking, reciting and performing her poetry. In 2007, she lived in rural South Africa where she helped to teach journalism skills to African women and worked as an editorial assistant for an international literary magazine. Sheri has written for Urbanite, Channel, The Amazwi Villager, a. magazine and The East County Times. Most recently, Sheri has discovered a passion for teaching. She currently teaches Creative Writing at Stevenson University and a refreshing course called Mind, Body, Soul at the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women.She has an M.F.A. in creative nonfiction from Goucher College. Visit her online at sheribooker.co

Danuta Hinc (http://danutahinc.com) holds an M.A. in Philology from the University of Gdansk. She completed three years of postgraduate studies at the Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences under the direction of distinguished Professor Dr. Maria Janion. She is a Lecturer at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she teaches Professional Writing.Hinc is the author of To Kill the Other, (Tate Publishing 2011) the fictionalized life story of one of the 9/11 hijackers. Hinc has published short fiction and essays in the Little Patuxent Review, The Muse, Litteraria, Word Riot Inc., and numerous features in the newsletter of the Polish Library in Washington, D.C. She is currently working on a fictionalized memoir, Angels in the Forest, which is based on the life of her grandfather, Józef Król (Joseph King) and World War II. She is also working on a collection of short stories based on people and events in her family and the history of 20th century Europe, titled, Europe Without a Name. Hinc lives in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Marion Winik is the author of the new memoir, Highs In The Low Fifties: How I Stumbled Through the Joys of Single Living. It joins Telling, First Comes Love, The Lunch-Box Chronicles, The Glen Rock Book of the Dead and others in the ongoing saga of her life. She writes a column at BaltimoreFishbowl.com, reviews books for Newsday, and contributes to The Sun. Lots more info at MarionWInik.com.