Amina Gautier is an assistant professor of English at Depaul University. Her stories have appeared in literary journals such as the Antioch Review, Iowa Review, North American Review, Kenyon Review and Southern Review. Gautier’s stories have also appeared in the anthologies Best African-American Fiction and New Stories from the South. Her new collection of short stories titled At-Risk, which has received the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, tells the stories of  New York adolescents in the 80’s, who are labeled “at-risk” by the school systems.

A book release party for the award-winning author was held at the Student Center of DePaul University on Monday, October 10^th. Gautier read her story titled, “Some Other Kind of Happiness“ from her collection, which she delivered with both confidence and emotion. The story is about a girl named Naomi who helps her diabetic grandmother with her insulin shots every day and is struggling through her adolescent years. Gautier explained how the theme of the story is having someone else’s life in your hand, and how the needle and syringe have been passed down through generations, expressing the bond between blood relatives. The stories in this collection were written over a period of years.

The award-winning author is inspired by visceral images to bring life to her stories.

 by: Mary Adekale 

Mary is a sophomore majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing