Writers Elyssa East, Erica Wright, and Alex Segura discuss the rewards and challenges of writing in multiple genres. Moderated by Ricardo Maldonado. Sponsored by Guernica Magazine.

Erica Wright’s latest crime novel is The Granite Moth (Pegasus Books). Her debut, The Red Chameleon (Pegasus Books), was one of O, The Oprah Magazine’s Best Books of Summer 2014. She is also the author of the poetry collection Instructions for Killing the Jackal (Black Lawrence Press) and the chapbook Silt (Dancing Girl Press). She is the poetry editor and a senior editor at Guernica Magazine as well as an editorial board member for Alice James Books.

Alex Segura is a novelist and comic book writer. He is the author of the Miami crime novel Silent City, the first in a series featuring Pete Fernandez. Silent City and its sequel, Down the Darkest Street, are out this year via Polis Books. He has also written a number of comic books, including the best-selling and critically acclaimed Archie Meets Kiss storyline, the “Occupy Riverdale” story and the upcoming Archie Meets Ramones. He lives in New York with his wife. He is a Miami native.

Elyssa East received her B.A. in art history from Reed College and her M.F.A. in creative writing from Columbia University’s School of the Arts. She has received awards and fellowships from The Corporation of Yaddo; the Ragdale, Jerome, and Ludwig Vogelstein Foundations; Columbia University; the University of Connecticut; and the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum.  Elyssa’s book, Dogtown: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town, interlaces murder, legend, and history in a Massachusetts ghost town. It was recently awarded the 2010 L. L. Winship/PEN New England Award for the best work of non-fiction about New England. Dogtown was also named a “Must-Read Book” by the Massachusetts Book Awards and an Editors’ Choice selection from the New York Times Book Review.

Ricardo Alberto Maldonado was born and raised in Puerto Rico. He is the translator of Dinapiera Di Donato’s Collateral (Akashic Books/National Poetry Series) and the recipient of fellowships in poetry from the New York Foundation for the Arts and Queer Arts Mentorship. He is managing director at the 92Y Unterberg Poetry Center.

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