We all know that setting is a vital component of any story. Be it in fiction or nonfiction, the writer establishes the backdrop to help readers create a more realistic and encompassing visualization of a specific place and time. The environment influences not only the readers’ experience, but also the characters’ and narrators’. Where else but in sun-drenched central Italy might generations of villagers squabble over a gigantic fungus? And what better journey to becoming a writer than the one from the mountains of Kashmir to the classrooms of Ann Arbor to the cultural landscape of Los Angeles? Bon voyage!

Presenters: Kira Jane Buxton, Priyanka Mattoo

Moderator: Sarah R. Baughman