Join us for an evening with River Selby, a Kingsbury and Legacy Fellow at Florida State University, as they discuss their new book, Hotshot: A Life on Fire. The fierce debut memoir of a female firefighter, Hotshot, navigates the personal and environmental dangers of wildland firefightingAbout the Book
From 2000 to 2010, River Selby was a wildland firefighter whose given name was Anastasia. This is a memoir of that time in their life--of Ana, the struggles she encountered, and the constraints of what it means to be female-bodied in a male-dominated industry. An illuminating debut from a fierce new voice, Hotshot is a timely reckoning with both the personal and environmental dangers of wildland firefighting.
By the time they were nineteen, Selby had been homeless, addicted to drugs, and sexually assaulted more than once. In a last-ditch effort to find direction, they applied to be a wildland firefighter. Two years later, they joined an elite class of specially trained wildland firefighters known as hotshots. Over the course of five fire seasons, Selby delves into the world of the people--almost entirely men--who risk their lives to fight and sometimes prevent wildfires. Simultaneously hyper visible and invisible, Selby navigated an odd mix of camaraderie and rampant sexism on the job and, when they challenged it, a violent closing of ranks that excluded them from the work they'd come to love.
Drawing on years of firsthand experience on the frontlines of fire and years of research, Selby examines how the collision of fire suppression policy, colonization, and climate change has led to fire seasons of unprecedented duration and severity. A work of rare intimacy, Hotshot provides new insight into fire, the people who fight it, and the diversity of ecosystems dependent on this elemental force
About the Author
River Selby worked as a wildland firefighter for seven years, stationed out of California, Oregon, Colorado, and Alaska.
They are currently a Kingsbury and Legacy Fellow at Florida State University, where they are pursuing their PhD in Nonfiction with an emphasis in postcolonial histories, North American colonization, and postmodern literature and culture. River has spent nearly a decade researching the history of fire suppression in the United States, Indigenous fire and land-tending practices, climate change impacts, and ecological adaptations across North American landscapes. Their research is informed by their extensive field experience.
They hold an MFA in fiction from Syracuse University, and a BA in English and Textual Studies from the same institution, where they served as a Remembrance Scholar before graduating summa cum laude, with honors. River also received a Critical Language Scholarship for Hindi and served as a Fulbright ETA in the Czech Republic.
River was born in Los Angeles and grew up in the Pacific Northwest. They are autistic and nonbinary.
Order your book here: https://midtownreader.com/book/9780802149497?ic_referral=dm_5FWWeKikkPj9itMdncsClke0cqR0QjZYsx7cKXyQwM5g2F_xFbpJRXNydR_Eq7LB-KXNGciGjJ2VOVWepd-9NgKjwOIGoS5lB_7TQQsRjPtLCdgZTFD0R-V-VbXughzda
Event Venue
1123 Thomasville Road, Tallahassee, FL, United States, Florida 32303
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