"In a Nutshell" by Lazarre Seymour Simckes is a collection of four illustrated stories in which characters jump from crisis to crisis and from story to story, as if caught up in a series of circus acts, dreaming of their lives instead of living them. The author himself is trapped in this nutshell, appearing in two of the tales. His previous work has been hailed as a riveting puzzle, unforgettable, funny, wild, unique, enlivened by an almost hysterical inventiveness, a black requiem for man's happiness and a haunting human tragedy.

He has taught at Harvard, Vassar, Yale, Williams, Brandeis and Tufts, as well as in Israel at Bar-Ilan and Haifa universities, and in Finland at the University of Tampere. Currently, he is preparing to launch an interactive writing workshop for participants in the Middle East region which will enable them to share their life experiences.