'Best American' Author Gives Reading at JMU

From: Public Affairs

October 23, 2007

Tim Gautreaux, critically acclaimed novelist and short-fiction writer, will give a public reading to the JMU community Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. in the Alleghany Room on the second floor of the Festival Conference and Student Center. Those interested in meeting Gautreaux may attend a question-and-answer session in Room 307, Taylor Hall at 4 p.m.

Gautreaux is the author of two collections of short fiction, Same Place, Same Things and Welding with Children, which was named a New York Times notable book of the year. He also has written two novels, The Next Step in the Dance, winner of the 1999 Southeastern Booksellers Award for Best Novel, and The Clearing, which appeared on the USA Today Top 10 list for 2003. Gautreaux's works have also appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Gentleman's Quarterly, Story and several fiction anthologies, New Stories from the South: The Year's Best of 1995 and 1997, and The Best American Short Stories for 1992 and 1997.

A longtime resident of Hammond, La., Gautreaux graduated from Nicholls State University and holds a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina. He taught creative writing at Southeastern State University for 30 years before he retired in 2002.

The event is sponsored by the JMU Departments of English and Cross Disciplinary Studies. For more information, contact Dr. Jean W. Cash at cashjw@jmu.edu.

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