March 5, 2003 SELINSGROVE, (Pa.) - Rick Bass, known nationwide as the "Nature Writer," will read from his work as part of The Writers' Institute's Visiting Writers Series at Susquehanna University on Monday, March 17. The reading will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Isaacs Auditorium of Seibert Hall, and is free and open to the public. Bass is the author of 18 books of fiction and nonfiction, most of which tell stories about the West. Drawing on his knowledge as a geologist, Bass used the experience of prospecting for new wells as the basis for his book, Oil Notes. In Book of Yaak, Bass advocates the salvation of the Yaak Valley in Montana from the forest industry. The Watch, Bass's first collection of short stories, won the 1988 PEN/Nelson Algren Award. He also won the James Jones Fellowship Award for his novel, Where the Sea Used to Be. His other works include Wild to the Heart, Winter: Notes from Montana, Brown Dog of the Yaak: Essays on Art and Activism, The Hermit's Story, and Colter: The True Story of the Best Dog I Ever Had. His short stories have appeared in the Best American Short Stories and O. Henry collections, and his articles are regularly published in magazines such as Field and Stream, Sports Afield, Gray's Sporting Journal, and Outdoor Life. Bass is the eighth of nine writers scheduled to read at Susquehanna during the 2002-2003 school year as part of the Visiting Writers Series, sponsored by The Writers' Institute at Susquehanna University and the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. On April 24, Jay Woodruff, senior editor of Entertainment Weekly, will visit the university. Contact: Victoria Kidd 570-372-4119 #vk/3212#