By: Jackie Chicalese, Staff writer

Award-winning short-story author Nina McConigley was Lebanon Valley College’s Writer-in-Residence during the week of Oct. 10 as a part of the new Visiting Writer’s Series.

The new Visiting Writers Series, titled “Writing: A Life,” is a program supported by the President’s Innovation Fund that brings writers to campus, preferably two a semester. The goal is to have at least one of those writers stay as a week-long Writer-in-Residence. McConigley was the first Writer in Residence as part of the new series.

McConigley kicked off her week at the Valley with a public reading of an excerpt from her collection of short stories entitled “Cowboys and East Indians,” followed by a short question-and-answer session on Monday, Oct. 10. The rest of her week was spent holding three fiction-writing workshops, one of which was affiliated with LVC’s writers group, as well as one-on-one conferences with students regarding their personal fiction pieces.

Rachel Seifrit, a junior English major with a concentration in literature, attended McConigley’s reading, workshops and personal conference. She said that the experience allowed her to get feedback on her work, as well as helped encourage confidence in her writing.

“I have always second-guessed [my writing], and now I feel like I know what I am doing,” Seifrit said.

Dr. Holly Wendt, a professor of English at LVC and director of “Writing: A Life,” chose McConigley for her teaching ability as well as her interest in culture and identity, which speaks to all writers.

“The presence of the community of writers is never to be taken for granted,” Wendt said. “All students attended Nina’s events for no other reason than interest and excitement, and I think that’s marvelous.”

Wendt hopes McConigley’s visit inspires students “to take away a sense of curiosity and encouragement to write about things that interest them.

McConigley remarked that she was inspired by the talent of the good, young writers on campus.

“To sit and talk with smart people about books and writing is always inspiring, and it influences my writing,” she said.

At the end of her visit, McConigley offered a final piece of advice for the writers.

“People love to think about being a writer and don’t think about the work,” McConigley said. “Being a writer and writing are two different things. Reading, to me, makes you a better writer. Also, do the work; it’s easy to talk about writing, but just closing out the world and putting your butt in the chair is sometimes what it takes—I need to remember that, too.”

For more information on the “Writing: A Life” series, see Dr. Wendt in Humanities 207D.