Novelist to Speak at Pitt-Bradford

Novelist Katrina Kittle will read from her most recently published book, "The Blessings of the Animals,” on Thursday, Nov. 4, at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.

Her free talk will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Mukaiyama University Room of the Frame-Westerberg Commons. A question-and-answer session, book signing and reception will follow. The program is part of the university’s Spectrum Series.

“Most reading series tend to focus on literary writers who make their living doing other things – teaching and editing, primarily,” said Nancy McCabe, associate professor of writing at Pitt-Bradford. “Especially given the recent economy, students are always asking me how anyone makes a living writing. So I’ve been trying to bring in authors with varied career paths.”

Kittle's novel, “The Blessings of the Animals,” is an examination of the institution of marriage as the veterinarian Cami Anderson comes to terms with her own divorce through her “chaotic circus of relationships” with family, friends, and a cast of animals that includes an angry horse, a three-legged cat and an escape-artist goat.

The publisher describes this as “a wry and moving story of forgiveness, flexibility, happiness, and the art of moving on.”

The Boston Globe hailed the book as “...an unpretentious, well-written, emotionally authentic story...”

“The Blessings of the Animals” was a Women’s National Book Association selection for National Reading Group Month for October, a Midwest Connections Pick for September 2010, and an Indie Next Pick for August 2010.

Kittle’s other books include “Traveling Light” and “Two Truths and a Lie.” “The Kindness of Strangers” was a BookSense pick and won a 2006 Great Lakes Book Award for Fiction. Early chapters of that book also garnered her grants from the Ohio Arts Council and Cultural Works.

McCabe said that Kittle is on her way to becoming a bestselling fiction author who heavily researches social issues for her books.

“Katrina Kittle supports herself writing popular fiction, and I thought that her career would be an interesting model for students and that her books would help them see how all kinds of fiction incorporate the same elements,” McCabe said.

Before becoming a full-time writer, Kittle worked as a high school and middle school English and theater teacher, a house cleaner, a veterinary assistant, a children’s theater director, a costumer, and as case management support for the AIDS Resource Center

Kittle holds a bachelor's degree in English and education from Ohio University and a master’s degree in creative writing from Spalding University in Louisville, Ky.

More information about the Spectrum Series is available by contacting Patty Colosimo, assistant director of arts programming, at (814) 362-5155.