Monday, March 8, 2010

Swati Avasthi - SPLIT


SPLIT

By Swati Avasthi

Knopf

16-year-old Jace Witherspoon arrives at the doorstep of his estranged brother Christian with a re-landscaped face (courtesy of his father’s fist), $3.84, and a secret.

He tries to move on, going for new friends, a new school, and a new job, but all his changes can’t make him forget what he left behind—his mother, who is still trapped with his dad, and his ex-girlfriend who is keeping his secret. At least so far.

Split is about what happens after. After you’ve said enough, after you’ve run, after you’ve made the split—how do you begin to live again?

BIOGRAPHY
Swati Avasthi has been writing fiction since she read Little House in the Big Woods at age five. Emily Brontë, Harper Lee, and many others furthered her addiction. She institutionalized her habit at the University of Chicago, where she received her B.A. She has received numerous honors, including a Loft’s Mentor Series Award and University of Minnesota’s Marcella DeBourg Fellowship and the Thomas H. Shevlin Fellowship. 2010 will be a big year for her: she will complete her MFA from the University of Minnesota, and Knopf will publish her debut novel, Split, in March.

BOOK RELEASE
March 9, 2010

BOOK LAUNCH
The Loft Literary Center
March 20, 2010
7:00 PM
Performance Hall
Refreshments provided

APPEARANCES
March 18th, I'll be interviewed by Charlotte Sullivan on KFAI

WEBSITE
www.swatiavasthi.com

BLOG
www.swatiavasthi.blogspot.com

UNIQUE INFORMATION
Before I wrote Split, I coordinated a domestic violence legal clinic where I interviewed thousands of abuse survivors.