Source: Karin Westman, 785-532-2190, westmank@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Rosie Hoefling, 785-532-2535, media@k-state.edu

Friday, Sept. 10, 2010

K-STATE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT SPONSORING FREE AUTHOR, FACULTY READINGS

MANHATTAN -- The Kansas State University department of English will offer several presentations by acclaimed authors and K-State faculty and students in September and October.

All events are free and open to the public. They include:

* Michael Weinreb, sportswriter and freelance journalist, 3:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 17, in Forum Hall at the K-State Student Union. Weinreb will read from his recently released book "Bigger than the Game: Bo, Boz, the Punky QB and How the '80s Created the Modern Athlete," which combines essay writing and reporting to trace the evolution of athletes due to the influences of society. A book signing will follow the reading.

* Poetry on Poyntz, 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 24, at the Strecker-Nelson Gallery, downtown Manhattan. Join various English department faculty and students as they gather to read pieces of their literary work.

* Dana Johnson, fiction writer, 3:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1, in the Union Little Theater. Johnson's debut collection of stories, "Break Any Woman Down," earned her the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction. Praised for her vibrant portraits of race, class and gender, her stories have appeared in many anthologies, including "Shaking the Tree: A Collection of Fiction and Memoir by Black Women," "The Dictionary of Failed Relationships: 26 Stories of Love Gone Wrong" and "California Uncovered: Stories for the 21st Century." Johnson will read from various pieces of her work at the event and a book signing will follow.

* M. T. Anderson, a prize-winning author of fiction for young adults, 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 6, in Forum Hall at the Union. Anderson has been recognized for his historical fiction, including "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing," "Traitor to the Nation" and "The Pox Party," which won the National Book Award and a Printz Honor for literary excellence in young adult literature. The event will include a reading and discussion of his popular futuristic novel "Feed," with a book signing to follow.

* Chris Chism, a professor of English at Rutgers University, 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29, in 017 English/Counseling Services Building. An expert on medieval and gender studies, Chism will speak on "Mortal Friends in Robin and Gandelyn and the Medieval Robin Hood Ballads."