“At the Diner in Heaven,” a collection of short stories by Tracey Levine, director of University Seminars and the Creative Writing major, will be published in September by Mint Hill Books, an imprint of Main Street Rag Publishing Company.

“I wrote these stories over a long period of time,” Levine explained. “I am very busy in my career as a professor and an administrator, and I often don’t have dedicated time to write. But I was never not writing. I churned these out slowly and thoughtfully, and I’m really pleased with how this book came together and how the stories are connected and do speak to each other in the same universe, it seems. I think I even surprised myself.”

The book contains 11 stories, centering around themes such as complicated interpersonal relationships, childhood trauma, and the struggles women face in the modern era. While several stories focus on heavier topics, there are also lighter, more humorous stories too, including what Levine calls a “Freaky Friday” body switch moment.

When asked if she has a favorite, she named three, all for different reasons.

“I would like to say that I don’t [have a favorite], but of course I do,” she said. “I feel like the title story was really difficult for me to write and allowed me to process a lot of things personally. I also really loved bringing my Bubbie back to life in the pages of ‘Things Temporarily Hidden.’ The last story in the book, ‘You Are What You Are,’ really allowed me to explore all the complicated things with being raised in catholic institutions and what I witnessed there. I was really pleased with the result.”

Levine teamed up with Main Street Rag Publishing Company for the first time on this book. She explained this was for many reasons, such as a larger first-run publication amount, keeping the title in print for around five years, and a strong social media presence, but mainly because she felt supported throughout the whole process.

“This collection was accepted at two spots, but I decided to go with Main Street Rag, who is known to be a good independent publisher. They’ve been really great with everything. And they’re so thorough, like a little too thorough,” she said, laughing.

In conjunction with the release of “At the Diner in Heaven,” Levine will be hosting an on-campus event to celebrate the publication. More information will be forthcoming.

Watch Levine discuss her new short stories, and read pages from the title story, here. She is currently working on her next collection of stories, with each being set during the COVID-19 pandemic.