This program features Associate Professor Tom McAllister in conversation with fellow Temple University Associate Professor and Book Fight! podcast co-host Mike Ingram, and a reading from How to Be Safe: A Novel. Described as a cross between We Need to Talk about Kevin and Dept. of Speculation, the novel contends with sexism and gun violence as it explores one woman’s furious grappling with the repercussions of small-town tragedy.

Tom McAllister is an Associate Professor of Instruction in the First Year Writing Program at Temple University. His memoir, Bury Me in My Jersey, was published by Villard in 2010 and his first novel, The Young Widower’s Handbook, was published in 2017 by Algonquin. Tom’s shorter work has appeared in numerous publications, including The Best American Nonrequired Reading, Hobart, and Black Warrior Review. He also co-hosts the weekly Book Fight! podcast, and lives in New Jersey.