Sunday News

F&M welcomes writer Hannah Tinti

Novelist and short-story writer Hannah Tinti will conduct the Bank Prize Reading at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Philadelphia Alumni Writers House at Franklin & Marshall College, 633 College Ave. The event is free and open to the public.

Tinti's short-story collection, "Animal Crackers," has sold in 16 countries and was a runner-up for the PEN/Hemingway Award. Her best-selling novel, "The Good Thief," is a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, recipient of the American Library Association's Alex Award, winner of the John Sargent Sr. First Novel Prize, and winner of the Quality Paperback Book Club's New Voices Award.

It tells the story of Ren, an orphan missing a hand who is "adopted" from the Catholic orphanage where he has spent his entire life by a con man named Benjamin. Set in 19th century New England, this classic adventure tale whirls Ren through life as an assistant to a couple of resurrection men -- otherwise known as grave robbers -- and through whaling towns to an ominous mousetrap factory. All the while Ren wonders about his missing hand and his missing parents.

Tinti also is co-founder and editor-in-chief of One Story magazine, and received the 2009 PEN/Nora Magid Award for excellence in editing.

In an interview with Fiction Writers Review, Tinti said, "I think that the ability to take criticism and thoughtfully implement it in your work is key to building your skills as a writer. I see this a lot from the editorial side of One Story. There are certain writers I work with who I try to show how something is not quite tracking or not quite coming across. Then I'll give examples of how I think they can fix it, and discuss challenges and ways they can work it through. When you're working as an editor, your relationship with a writer is a companionship, working side by side, versus the teacher telling the student, "Go this way" or "Go that way."

The Bank Short Story Prize was endowed by Lawrence H. Bank, class of 1965, to honor and preserve the memory of his late brother, Jerome Irving Bank. Jerome Bank, a graduate of Hobart University and of the New York University School of Law, always wanted to be a writer, but died before realizing his dream.

Each year, any F&M student can submit a work to be judged. The winner of the $1,000 Bank Prize is chosen by a visiting short-story fiction writer. Larry Bank hopes the Bank Prize will encourage students to take a chance by following a dream.n