The University of Houston-Victoria/American Book Review Reading Series is preparing for its spring series featuring five award-winning novelists, poets and essayists, including a Pushcart Prize winner and a National Endowment for the Arts fellow.
“Each of these authors and writers brings an enjoyable, and often important, emphasis on identity in his or her work,” said Jeffrey Di Leo, dean of the UHV School of Arts & Sciences, and ABR editor and publisher. “Whether the author delivers a tale of Connecticut families stuck in a storm during Thanksgiving or gives us a glimpse into the experience of life as a woman or African immigrant, each writer has a story to share.”
Visiting authors will read selections from their work at 11 a.m. in the Alcorn Auditorium inside UHV University West, 3007 N. Ben Wilson St. Immediately after the readings, authors will be available to sign copies of their work. All readings are free and open to the public.
Authors scheduled for the UHV/ABR Spring Reading Series are:
Jennifer duBois, Jan. 30 – duBois’s debut novel, “A Partial History of Lost Causes,” was the winner of the California Book Award for First Fiction, the Northern California Book Award for Fiction, and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Fiction. Her second novel, “Cartwheel,” was the winner of the Housatonic Book Award in fiction and was a finalist for the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Award. She is the recipient of a Whiting Writer’s Award, a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Award and a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship. Her third novel, “The Spectators,” was published in April.
Sarah Etter, Feb. 20 – Etter is the author of “Tongue Party.” Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in journals and publications that include The Cut, Electric Literature, VICE, Guernica and Philadelphia Weekly. She is the recipient of writing residencies at the Disquiet International Program in Portugal and the Gullkistan Creative Program in Iceland. She earned her Master of Fine Arts from Rosemont College, and she lives in Austin.
Ladan Osman, March 12 – Osman is a Somali-born poet and essayist. She is the author of “Exiles of Eden” and “The Kitchen-Dweller’s Testimony,” winner of the Sillerman First Book Prize; and the chapbook “Ordinary Heaven,” which appeared in the box set “Seven New Generation African Poets.” She has received fellowships from the Fine Arts Work Center, Cave Canem, Luminarts Foundation and Michener Center for Writers Fellowship, among numerous other nominations.
Douglas Kearney, April 2 – Kearney is a poet, performer and librettist who has published six books that bridge thematic concerns such as politics, African American culture, masks, the Trickster figure and contemporary music. His most recent work, “Buck Studies,” was awarded the Community of Literary Magazines and Presses Firecracker Award for Poetry, the Theodore Roethke Memorial Poetry Award and the silver medal for the California Book Award in Poetry.
Rick Moody, April 30 – Moody is the author of six novels, including “The Ice Storm” and “Hotels of North America;” three story collections, including “Demonology,” and three works of nonfiction. With Darcey Steinke, he co-edited the anthology “Joyful Noise: The New Testament Revisited.” His most recent work is a memoir, “The Long Accomplishment.” His work has been widely anthologized in “Best American Stories,” “Best American Essays” and The Pushcart Prize, and has been adapted into films, theater works and musical compositions. He teaches at Brown University and lives in Rhode Island.
ABR is a nonprofit, internationally distributed literary journal published six times a year. It began in 1977, moved to UHV in 2006 and has a circulation of about 10,000. The journal specializes in reviews of works published by small presses.
Authors are available after each reading to sign copies of their books. Each author also meets with students and attends a community reception.
For more information about the UHV/ABR Reading Series, call the ABR office at 361-570-4101 or go to www.americanbookreview.org.