
Before the night's reading and discussion, Director of the Literary House Joshua Wolf Shenk talks in the Lit House kitchen with guest of honor Stefan Fatsis.

The Lit House feline resident Edith Wharton settles into a chair beside Fatsis' place at the podium.

Shenk introduces Fatsis as "a real literary master" who delves into "fascinating and usually hidden subcultures."

After an introduction, Fatsis reads a scene about anagrams from his book
Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players, in which he chronicled the obsessive subculture of the iconic board game.

Fatsis reads a scene from his most recent book
A Few Seconds of Panic: A 5-foot-8, 170-pound, 43-year-old Sportswriter Plays in the NFL. During the scene, he describes the emotions behind a high-pressure display of his newfound position as a kicker for the Denver Broncos.
A Few Seconds of Panic, Fatsis explained, attempts to explore who athletes are, and attempts a modern version of George Plimpton's 1968 book
Paper Lion.

Matthew Sims '10 partakes when Fatsis opens the reading to questions from the audience.

After the reading, Fatsis talks football and signs a copy of
A Few Seconds of Panic for Michael Alexander '09.

Annabelle Shore '10 brings the book store to the Lit House, selling copies of Fatsis' works.

Katie Rivara '10 has her copy of
Word Freak signed. As a student in Josh Shenk's Living Writings course, Katie had previously read excerpts from both of Fatsis' featured books.