Madeline ffitch/Erik Ruin/Elizabeth LaPrelle: "Avalon Rise!" & "Letters of Fire" dual release celebration

Join us as we celebrate Madeline's new novel Avalon Rise! and Erik's artist's book (and exhibition) Letters of Fire: Emma Goldman to Ben Reitman 1909-1927.

From the acclaimed author of Stay and Fight, Avalon Rise!  is an uproarious, unabashed novel of an Appalachian town, the diverse locals who make it home, an influx of white nationalists trying to take over, and the ways in which the battle brings out our light. Letters of Fire is a hand-screenprinted artists' book based on the tempestuous (and at times steamy) correspondence of legendary Anarchist agitator and her sometime-lover and manager Ben Reitman, which explores the challenges of polyamory, ideological differences and age gaps within a partnership, as well as of balancing commitments to a demanding lover and a revolutionary movement.

You can expect readings from ffitch's novel, a brand new crankie performance by Ruin, as well as music from the brilliant Appalachian singer/scholar Elizabeth LaPrelle, followed by a lively discussion!

Madeline ffitch is the author of the short story collection Valparaiso, Round the Horn and the novel Stay and Fight, which was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction, the Washington State Book Award, the LA Times Book Award, and was the 2023 Ohio Center for the Book pick for the National Book Festival.

Madeline has been awarded two O. Henry prizes, in 2024 and 2025, and her story "Seeing Through Maps" was chosen for the 2024 Best American Short Stories anthology. She has received fellowships from Yaddo, UCross, Blue Mountain Center, and Macdowell, and was writer in residence at the Carolyn Moore Writer's House. Madeline is a recipient of the 2025 Creative Capital State of the Art Prize.

Madeline lives in the hills of Appalachian, Ohio with her two children

Elizabeth LaPrelle is a scholar and singer of Appalachian Ballads from Rural Retreat, Virginia. She built her style and repertoire from research into archival recordings, and family and friends. She started making recordings with her family as a teen, and received her undergraduate degree from the  College of William and Mary with a major in Southern Appalachian Traditional Performance. In the experimental folk duo Anna & Elizabeth, she toured internationally and helped re-popularize the “crankie” performance art form. She’s also a banjo-player, and a visual and interdisciplinary artist. She lives with her husband Brian Dolphin and their young son.

Erik Ruin is a Michigan-raised, Philadelphia-based printmaker, shadow puppeteer, paper-cut artist, etc., who has been lauded by the New York Times for his "spell-binding cut-paper animations." His work oscillates between the poles of apocalyptic anxieties and utopian yearnings, with an emphasis on empathy, transcendence and obsessive detail. He frequently works collaboratively with musicians, theater performers, other artists and activist campaigns. He is a founding member of the international Justseeds Artists' Cooperative, and co-author of the book Paths Toward Utopia: Graphic Explorations of Everyday Anarchism (w/ Cindy Milstein, PM Press, 2012). Current projects include the Ominous Cloud Ensemble, an ever-evolving, collectively-improvising large ensemble for projections and music.

Studio 34 is West Philly's mixed-use yoga healing arts space. Located up a flight of stairs on the 34 trolley (aka "T2") line, we host 30+ classes a week and 150+ events a year, as well as weekly arts meetups, recovery groups, and private wellness services. Find it all at www.studio34yoga.com