Long-time Pittsburgh area writer, essayist, and columnist, Virginia Montanez, whose debut novel Nothing. Everything. was recently published, will discuss her winding path to becoming a published novelist, including her early anonymous blogging days, how she came to terms with her disability, how and why she wrote her novel, and all the lessons she's learned along the way.
Virginia Montanez made a name for herself by writing humorously about the city of Pittsburgh. She is the history columnist for Pittsburgh Magazine and her essays have appeared in the Post-Gazette. In addition to publishing her own weekly online newsletter, she is a graduate student at the University of Massachusetts, Boston (remote). She is the founder of the Make Room for Kids at the Mario Lemieux Foundation as well as the founder of the mapping project Pittsburgh Remains to be Seen. She has been profoundly hearing impaired since birth.
About the book: Nothing.Everything. tells the story of trauma-damaged, panic-addled Ellis Sloan, an irreverent YA author who is pretty sure she's broken. She spends her days fooling her teens into thinking she's just fine since their lives fell apart. No, she's not spending hours on the couch staring at the ceiling wondering where it all went wrong. No, she's certainly not pretending to be writing that second novel while actually typing gibberish into a document entitled SFDJKLJF. Nothing. Everything. is a story of humor, a story of heart, a story of hope, and a story of what happens when a woman finally decides to fight for herself.
NOTES:
- OLLI members may register one guest by contacting the office by Email or Phone.
- All others should register via email (osher@pitt.edu) or phone (412-624-4274).
- Registration Required!
- Novel will be sold at the event and Ms. Montanez will sign books after the talk.