The Iowa Writers' Workshop, The Frank N. Magid Undergraduate Writing Center, The Undergraduate Creative Writing Track, and Prairie Lights cordially invite you to attend a reading by two of the freshest young voices in American fiction: Vinnie Wilhelm and Nick Dybek.

Wilhelm--author of the acclaimed short story collection IN THE ABSENCE OF PREDATORS (Rescue Press, 2011)--and Dybek--author of the brilliantly crafted novel WHEN CAPTAIN FLINT WAS STILL A GOOD MAN (Riverhead Books, 2012)--will read from their work at Prairie Lights this Wednesday (April 18th) at 7:00pm

Shot through with dark humor, desolate landscapes, and seemingly impossible plot turns, Vinnie Wilhelm’s IN THE ABSENCE OF PREDATORS is a striking collection that haunts long after the stories have reached their outlandish conclusions. Here we discover the most captivating of human forms: dreamers, liars, thieves, murderers, and lovers. Marco Kaye of The Collagist writes that, “the characters play detectives of a sort, searching for parallels between nature and their own mental landscapes.” Wilhelm achieves this balance through sharp wit and biting humor, creating some “of the funniest stories [you’ll] ever read.”

Nick Dybek's novel WHEN CAPTAIN FLINT WAS STILL A GOOD MAN tells the story of Loyalty Island, and the men who leave the Olympic Peninsula for the Bering Sea to spend the winter catching king crab. Their dangerous occupation keeps food on the table but constantly threatens to leave empty seats around it. As our narrator, Cal, recounts the trips his father made to sea, the lengths to which men will go to support their family blurs the line between right and wrong in remarkably captivating ways. As the Kirkus review writes, "In this tale of good men 'doing unspeakable harm to other people,' Dybek proves himself an observant, appealing writer.... Peopled with multidimensional characters and featuring well-drawn settings... Dybek writes well about family, about relationships and loyalty, about responsibility and community, and about all that passes from father to son."