Congratulations to Claire Arbogast, our latest member success story!
Come see Claire at the IWC Member Meeting on Tuesday, November 12!
The daughter of florists and granddaughter of a prolific gardener, award-winning author Claire Arbogast grew up among the winding streets and deep front porches of historic Irvington on the eastside of Indianapolis. But her life took a wide turn as books and the times challenged her limited perspective of the world. This questioning wove its way into her very fiber, leading her to try on different ways to live, different ways to love, and different ways to write with the hope of opening up attitudes with stories that start conversations.
After a few years of exploring (southern Indiana, Chicago, California, The Farm in Tennessee, Albuquerque, touring the country in a handmade camper, and a couple winters in Alaska), she earned a degree in journalism from Indiana University-Bloomington and went on to a career in communications, working in Fort Wayne, Bloomington, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati. She is the recipient of a 2009-10 Greer Artist Fellowship grant and a 2008 Ropewalk Writers Retreat Masters Creative Non-fiction Workshop Scholarship.
These days, she gardens and writes in Bloomington, Indiana, relishing every sweet day with a thirst for sorting, rejecting, and adapting to the infinite stream of ideas that flow into our lives. Connect with her blog, books, and reviews of books at www.clairearbogast.com
Regarding the IWC, Claire says “I drive up from Bloomington to Indy as often as I can for the Indiana Writers Center monthly member meetings to experience the company of writers outside of my immediate literary community. The speakers are always interesting, and I am inspired by and impressed with the quality of the work by my fellow writers. I go home filled with new thoughts and points to ponder … as well as tasty cookies.”
Claire’s memoir, Leave the Dogs at Home (available on Amazon and at IU Press), was published by Indiana University Press in 2015. It was the winner of the 2016 AAUP Public and Secondary School Library Selection. It’s a story of how the death of an eclectic husband and loss of a contrary love leads unexpectedly to a better life. A trip with two good dogs through the insightful, funny upheaval of home repair, career disaster, serial gardening, and geezer dating. The Library Journal called it “an excellent choice for those touched by grief, ready for a change, or just wanting to read a beautifully written memoir.”
In her new novel, If Not the Whole Truth, released September 2024, a brave young woman from Indianapolis hunts for truth in the late 1960s era counterculture only to find in 2022 America everything she holds dear, including her own life, is in chilling danger. With settings in Indy, Chicago and Bloomington, it was a #1 best seller in Regional American Literature on Amazon for one brief shining moment. A tale of self-discovery, love, friendship, and family, Kirkus Reviews called it “Historically rich, with … contemporary relevance. GET IT.”
We are happy to share the good news of our members! Please reach out to us if you have a success we can highlight.