DMACC English Professor Marc Dickinson's Debut Collection of Short Stories Set for Sept. 10 Release

• "Replacement Parts," a collection of short stories by DMACC English Professor Marc Dickinson, will be released by Atmosphere Press on Sept. 10.

• The collection features 12 linked stories that follow a recurring cast of characters as they navigate their way from adolescence to adulthood in small-town America.

• In conjunction with the book's release, Dickinson will read from the collection, participate in a Q&A and sign copies of his work during a FREE event on Sept. 11 at Beaverdale Books in Des Moines.

DMACC English Professor Marc Dickinson will celebrate the Sept. 10 release of "Replacement Parts," his debut collection of short stories with Atmosphere Press, at 6:30 p.m. on Wed., Sept. 11, at Beaverdale Booksin Des Moines.

During the special event, Dickinson will read excerpts from his new collection, participate in a Q&A and sign copies of his work. There is no cost to attend, and everyone is welcome.

"The short stories in 'Replacement Parts' focus on characters who are struggling with their personal demons and societal expectations in small-town America," said Dickinson, who also leads the DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts in addition to teaching creative writing at DMACC. "This collection was years in the making, and I found inspiration from the many stories and memories that people have shared with me over the years about living in Iowa - as well as my own experiences living in the state."

Dickinson's short stories have also appeared in Shenandoah, Cream City Review, North American Review, The Greensboro Review, Chattahoochee Review, Beloit Fiction Journal, South Dakota Review, American Literary Review (as winner of the ALR Fiction Prize), as well as numerous other journals. He holds an MFA from Colorado State University and now lives in Iowa with his wife and two children.

For more information about "Replacement Parts" and Dickinson, click here.

Replacement Parts: Overview

In Dexton, Iowa, every man, woman, and child grapples with the challenges of small-town life, each seeking redemption-or escape-from a land to which they're deeply rooted. The local sheriff searches for a missing girl while trying to reconcile with his estranged daughter. A returning soldier, haunted by violent visions, finds his hometown no longer feels like home. When a girl loses her mother, she forges an unlikely family with a mysterious drifter and a man claiming to be her father. Within a center for troubled teens, intersecting narrators get caught in purgatory between the past and future. And in the title story, a child befriends a sick classmate, forcing the boy to pick sides in a school that shuns weakness.

In "Replacement Parts," we witness a recurring cast of characters as they navigate their way from adolescence to adulthood. Intimate in nature but novelistic in scope, these 12 linked stories span the generations, each replacing the next until everyone is finally forced to face their own dark history.

Contacts:

- Marc Dickinson, DMACC English Professor and "Replacement Parts" author, (515) 964-6221, [email protected]

- Lisa Schmitz, DMACC Marketing, (515) 964-6813, [email protected]

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