About this Event
In community college, large-bodied twin sisters Ofelia and Norma struggle for a sense of self. When Ofelia sheds pounds from long, solo walks, Norma senses their twinness slipping away. She slips away to a transfer college out of town, leaving Ofelia for the first time, and each sister confronts alone life as a large person in an anti-large-person world.
Ofelia, having previously lost weight without trying, now makes a deliberate effort to do so, resulting in disordered eating and a treadmill disaster that shakes her to her senses. She moves out of the family home, leaving their emotionally clumsy and clueless mother Lyla to fend for herself. Meanwhile, Norma escapes into her solitude by swimming laps in the college pool where she suffers an experience that sends her into emotional retreat. Neither sister shares with the other what she has experienced, widening the gulf between them. They move into careers, still estranged until a tender moment leads to the sharing of their secrets. Ofelia, appalled at what Norma has suffered, vows to help seek revenge.
A former Seattle resident, Donna Miscolta is the author of four books of fiction, including her latest Ofelia and Norma (Regal House Publishing). Recognition for her previous books include being listed as a 2020 Latino Book of the Year, winning the Next Generation Indie Book Award for Multicultural Fiction and an Independent Publishers Award for Best Regional Fiction, twice receiving an International Latino Book Award, and being a finalist for the Washington State Book Award. Her stories, essays, and book reviews have appeared in dozens of journals and anthologies. Her latest anthology appearance is in Mixed Roots, edited by Anne Liu Kellor (Beacon Press, 2026). A recording of her work is part of the Library of Congress PALABRA Archive, a showcase for Latin American and Latino writers. She blogs at donnamiscolta.com about writing, reading, and her life in Spain.
Jane Wong is the author of the memoir Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City (Tin House, 2023). She also wrote two poetry collections: How to Not Be Afraid of Everything (Alice James, 2021) and Overpour (Action Books, 2016). A Kundiman fellow, she is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize and fellowships and residencies from the U.S. Fulbright Program, Harvard's Woodberry Poetry Room, Artist Trust, Hedgebrook, UCross, Loghaven, the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, and others. An interdisciplinary artist as well, she has exhibited her poetry installations and performances at the Frye Art Museum, Richmond Art Gallery, and the Asian Art Museum. She grew up in a take-out restaurant on the Jersey shore and is an Associate Professor at Western Washington University. Find her on Instagram @paradeofcats.
Feel free to reach out to Village Books and Paper Dreams for further assistance at 360-671-2626!
Event venue & nearby stays
Village Books and Paper Dreams, 1200 11th Street, Bellingham, United States
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