Local Authors Speaker series to conclude May 30 with event on “Writing Motherhood”

ASHLAND, Ohio – The third event of a Local Authors Speaker series, a collaboration between the Ashland University MFA in Creative Writing program and the Ashland Public Library, will take place Saturday, May 30, at 2 p.m., in the Stockwell Room of the Ashland Public Library (224 Claremont Ave.).

Organized by AU’s College of Arts and Sciences, the Local Author Speaker series highlights local authors’ work and increases awareness of the MFA program.

The theme of the May 30 event is “Writing Motherhood” and features authors Allison Barnhart, Emily Carrington and Nadya Williams, Ph.D.

Barnhart, a 2006 Ashland University graduate, wrote a memoir, “The Record Keeper: The Unfolding of a Family Secret in the Age of Genetic Genealogy.” The touching personal narrative brings to light the complex dynamics of family and friendships, motherhood and marriage, and how they can be torn apart by betrayal and abuse, yet mended together by time, forgiveness and love.

Carrington, a 2009 alumna of AU, is the founder of the Early Pregnancy Loss Association and executive director of Friends of Ashland Seminary. Her essays on motherhood and pregnancy loss have appeared in Public Discourse, The Federalist and more.

Williams is the interim director of the AU MFA in Creative Writing program. A classicist, historian and author, Williams has published three books, including “Mothers, Children, and the Body Politic: Ancient Christianity and the Recovery of Human Dignity,” which argues each human being possesses a worth above one’s economic production. She also is books editor at Mere Orthodoxy and hosts the Christians Reading Classics podcast.

The previous Local Authors Speaker events featured John Byron, Ph.D., professor of New Testament at Ashland Theological Seminary, and Daniel K. Williams, Ph.D., associate professor of history at AU.