Author Valerie Vogrin at Confluence Books
Date/Time
Date(s) - 09/27/2026
2:00 pm
Location
Confluence Books
Categories
Carbondale, IL: Valerie Vogrin has been writing, and teaching creative writing at SIUE, for over 20 years, but will make her first appearance at Confluence Books to read from her latest book, “Expedition,” which a reader described as a psychological mystery. Local readers will recognize the SIUC campus in some parts of the story.
The reading and book signing will be Sunday, September 27, starting at 2 pm. Vogrin will also bring copies of her short story collection, “Things We’ll Need for the Coming Difficulties,” which was awarded the Spokane Prize for Short Fiction. Some of those stories have appeared in Ploughshares, AGNI, The Los Angeles Review, and other journals, as well as in New Stories from the Midwest 2020 and other books.
From the book cover: “Expedition” is the story of a life upended. When water quality specialist Margo Webster returns from Africa following her recovery from an unknown ailment, something seems off. Although the doctors from the nonprofit sponsoring her work gave Margo a clean bill of health, when she arrives in Chicago, she’s still experiencing troubling symptoms—a heightened sense of smell, hallucinations, and severe memory loss. When Margo tries to investigate, she is thwarted, and the nonprofit organization insists she never left the country. The novella follows Margo on her quest to uncover answers and find a path forward. While the truth evades her, Margo discovers allies and a surprise paranormal power. Maybe.
Vogrin received her MFA from the University of Alabama and an Illinois Arts Council fellowship in 2021, among other awards. She was the longtime prose editor for Sou’wester, SIUE’s literary journal, and currently works with individual writers as a developmental editor.
Confluence Books is located at 705 West Main Street in Carbondale. Parking is available off Forest Avenue. For more information about Confluence Books or the book signing, contact confluencebooks@gmail.com or 618-525-3075.