Ackland staff member to read from his novel

Nic Brown is best known to the UNC community as a member of the Ackland Art Museum’s team.

But today he’ll show another side — his critically acclaimed life as an author.

Brown will read from his book, “Floodmarkers,” and answer questions today at Bulls Head Bookshop.

Since the book’s release in July, “Floodmarkers” has attained critical acclaim from many national book critics. It also was selected as an editor’s choice by the New York Times Book Review.

Brown, a native North Carolinian who grew up in Greensboro, wrote “Floodmarkers” while at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, a highly esteemed two-year writing program.

Brown returned to North Carolina with his wife and took the job of director of communications at the Ackland.

Brown describes his book, which is broken up into short stories, as “a novel in parts.” All of the stories take place in the fictional town of Lystra, North Carolina, as the residents deal with Hurricane Hugo.

Brown said the setting of Lystra was a combination of Chapel Hill and Greensboro.

A fictional town gave him freedom to create whatever he wanted without the burden of staying true to an actual place, he said.

Also, the setting of a small town allows the characters’ interactions to be intimate and intense, Brown said.

The novel is set during Hurricane Hugo, which made landfall in September 1989.

“It is used as a device to mix up the daily lives of these people to allow something special to happen,” Brown said.

Kyle McKay, marketing manager for Bulls Head, said Brown was an obvious choice as a speaker because of his close ties to UNC and his literary rising star status.

“We knew there would be an audience for it,” he said.

For McKay, the most appealing part was the short story format of the novel. He said he enjoyed the flexibility that the collection of short stories provides.

“It’s crazy to me how he can write about these totally different types of characters,” McKay said.

But some said they enjoyed viewing the book as one big story.

Lauren Turner, a curatorial assistant at the Ackland, said the narrative was enriched because she could take in all the stories together.

Brown said each chapter is a whole story that can stand on its own, but they are all still connected, just like the songs on a CD.

“It made it easier than just writing 12 short stories,” he said.

Though he wrote this work while at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he still finds time to write even with a full-time job.

And his fiction-writing background has even helped Brown in his current role at the Ackland.

Amanda Hughes, who hired him, said his writing background made him stand out from other applicants.

“I was looking for someone who understands how to tell a story,” Hughes said.

Brown has finished his next book, which is now in the editing process.

His second novel, “Doubles,” about doubles tennis players, is due for release next fall.


Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.