In Magpies (Carnegie-Mellon University Press, $17.95), Lynne Barrett's characters move through the past decade's glitter and darkness. From the Internet's fragmented pages to a gossip columnist's sweet poison to an ABCs of a hurricane season, these stories explore story forms and storytelling as a means of connection, betrayal, and survival for characters who learn, sometimes too late, the value of what's grasped and what's lost.

At the event, Lynne will be joined by the artist whose painting is on the cover of Magpies, Sterling Mulbry. Lynne and Sterling will discuss where art and books meet, on covers, including paintings of books.