VISITING WRITERS SERIES KICKS OFF AT SU
Author Tom Franklin to Present Reading on Oct. 4

September 21, 2007   SELINSGROVE, ( Pa. ) – The Writers Institute at Susquehanna University will inaugurate its 2007 Visiting Writers Series October 4 with a reading by author Tom Franklin. Winner of the 1999 Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Mystery Story, he will begin his reading at 7:30 p.m. in Isaacs Auditorium of Seibert Hall. The event is free and open to the public. Franklin is the author of the novels Smonk and Hell at the Breech, as well as the short story collection, Poachers. In 1999, Poachers was named a Distinguished First Book of Fiction by Esquire magazine. The title novella in this collection won the Edgar Allen Poe Award. Born and raised in Alabama, Franklin received his M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Arkansas and now teaches in the M.F.A. program at the University of Mississippi. “Franklin has an unbelievably strong southern voice,” said Tom Bailey, associate professor of English and creative writing at Susquehanna University. “His prose is wonderfully alive and terribly vivid.” He is the first of six visiting writers who will present readings on campus during the 2007 academic year. The next reading will be given by poet Carolyn Forché November 1 at 7:30 p.m. in Degenstein Center Theatre. Contact: Victoria Kidd 570-372-4119