Deep Vellum Books presents a reading and conversation in celebration of C. W. Smith’s new novel, Girl Flees Circus (University of New Mexico Press). At this special event, Smith will be in conversation with Dallas Morning News columnist Steve Blow.

About the book

When nineteen-year-old aviatrix Katie Burke crash lands her biplane on the only street in No Name, New Mexico, her arrival changes her life and the lives of everyone around her. As Katie and her craft need repair, locals take her in and help her, including a schoolteacher who longs for Katie’s friendship, an interracial couple who own the town’s diner, a handsome young mechanic who lives in a teepee, and a shell-shocked veteran of World War I.
As her story unfolds, Katie’s mysteries deepen—revealing shocking secrets, a scandalous past, and a future in true peril. Girl Flees Circus takes flight the moment Katie crashes to earth, promising a journey into the lives of a glamorous, redheaded stranger and the people she will change forever.

About the presenter

C. W. Smith is an award-winning author of novels, short stories, essays, and a memoir. His works include Steplings, Buffalo Nickel, and Letters from the Horse Latitudes. A native of Hobbs, New Mexico, Smith now lives in Dallas, Texas.