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DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University's Department of English invites you to attend these free author readings, discussions, and book signings as part of its spring 2024 series of visiting writers and lecturers.
2 p.m. Feb. 29 – Melissa Febos, MFA, author of four books including the nationally bestselling essay collection, "Girlhood," will read from the collection, in Room 301 of Merrick Hall, 65 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. "Girlhood" has been translated into seven languages and was a LAMBDA Literary Award finalist, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in Criticism, and named a notable book of 2021 by NPR, Time, The Washington Post, and others. Her craft book, "Body Work," also was a national bestseller, a Los Angeles Times Bestseller, and an Indie Next Pick. Febos is a full professor at the University of Iowa, where she teaches in the Nonfiction Writing Program. Her reading will be followed by a question-and-answer session and book signing. Febos's presentation is Ohio Wesleyan's David G. Osborne Lecture sponsored by the Department of English.
4:15 p.m. March 27 – Lydia Conklin, MFA, award-winning writer and assistant professor of fiction at Vanderbilt University, will read from their short story collection "Rainbow, Rainbow," in the Milligan Room of Slocum Hall, 75 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. "Rainbow, Rainbow" celebrates the humor and depth of the queer and trans experience. Conklin has received honors and awards including a Stegner Fellowship in Fiction at Stanford University, a Rona Jaffe Writer's Award, three Pushcart Prizes, a grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation, and a Creative and Performing Arts Fulbright Scholarship to study in Poland. Conklin's fiction has appeared in Tin House, American Short Fiction, The Southern Review, The Gettysburg Review, and The Paris Review. They have drawn graphic fiction for Lenny Letter, Drunken Boat, and the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago and cartoons for The New Yorker and Narrative Magazine. Their reading will be followed by a question-and-answer session and book signing.
4:15 p.m. April 4 – Zackariah Long, Ph.D., Ohio Wesleyan's Ben T. Spencer Associate Professor of English, will discuss his current book project, "This Distracted Globe: Hamlet and the Renaissance Memory Theatre," in Room 312 of the R.W. Corns Building, 78 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. A specialist in English Renaissance literature, Long also has published essays on Shakespeare, Renaissance drama, and early modern psychology. He previously presented "How to Write Like Shakespeare" during OWU's inaugural three-minute "i-Qubed" lecture series and will travel to England in March with a group of students as part of his Travel-Learning Course, "Shakespeare: A Life in Theatre." His reading will be followed by a question-and-answer session. Long's presentation is Ohio Wesleyan's Benjamin T. Spencer Lecture sponsored by the Department of English.
4:15 p.m. April 10 – Lars Horn, M.A., award-winning writer and Columbia University School of the Arts faculty member, reads from their first book, "Voice of the Fish: A Lyric Essay," in the Milligan Room of Slocum Hall, 75 S. Sandusky St., Delaware. Horn's book explores topics including marine history, theology, questions of the body and gender, sexuality, transmasculinity, and illness. It won the 2020 Graywolf Nonfiction Prize, the 2023 Great Lakes College Association New Writers Award, was an Honor Book for the 2023 Stonewall Israel Fishman Nonfiction Book Award, and was an American Booksellers Association Indies Introduce Selection. Horn has been awarded the Tin House Without Borders Residency and fellowships from the Sewanee Writers' Conference and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Their writing has appeared in Granta, the Virginia Quarterly Review, the Kenyon Review, Poets & Writers, The Rumpus, Literary Hub, and elsewhere. Also a translator working in literary and experimental nonfiction, Horn will answer questions and sign books after the reading.
Learn more about Ohio Wesleyan's Department of English, Creative Writing Concentration, public lectures, and other events at www.owu.edu/English.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation's premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and competes in 24 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through its signature experience, the OWU Connection, Ohio Wesleyan teaches students to understand issues from multiple academic perspectives, volunteer in service to others, build a diverse and global perspective, and translate classroom knowledge into real-world experience through internships, research, and other hands-on learning. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book "Colleges That Change Lives" and included on the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review "Best Colleges" lists. Connect with OWU expert interview sources at owu.edu/experts or learn more at owu.edu.