BOONE—Matt Gallagher, an Iraq War combat veteran and writer, will be in residence at Appalachian State University June 13 and 14. Gallagher is the author of two highly acclaimed books: the memoir, “Kaboom,” and the recently published Iraq War novel, “Youngblood,” cited by the New York Times as “an urgent and deeply moving novel.”

Area veterans and their families are invited to participate in a veteran writers workshop June 13 from 4-7 p.m. in Gordon Gathering Hall of the College of Education Building. In addition, a public reading will be presented June 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Gordon Gathering Hall, followed by a reception and book signing in the Duke Rotunda of the College of Education Building.

Gallagher’s books will be available for sale at both events and at the University Bookstore.

Gallagher’s visit is presented by Appalachian’s newly formed Appalachian Veterans Arts and Humanities Collective, a working group of Appalachian employees and students dedicated to bringing hands-on arts and humanities programs and workshops to campus veterans as well as veterans and their families in the areas surrounding Watauga County and beyond.

It is also presented in part by Appalachian’s Office of Equity, Diversity and Compliance; Office of Academic Affairs; College of Arts and Sciences; Office of the Provost; Military Affairs Committee; Department of English; Office of Multicultural Student Development; University Bookstore; and community sponsor Gideon Ridge Inn.

About Matt Gallagher

Matt Gallagher is the author of the novel “Youngblood,” published in February 2016 by Atria/Simon & Schuster. Reviewing for The New York Times, Michiko Kakutani wrote of “Youngblood”: “On one level, the novel is a parable – with overtones of Graham Greene’s ‘The Quiet American’ – about the United States and Iraq and the still unfurling consequences of the war … Mr. Gallagher has a keen reportorial eye, a distinctive voice and an instinctive sympathy for the people he is writing about … [This] is an urgent and deeply moving novel.” “Youngblood” has also received positive reviews or been featured in The Washington Post, Esquire, The Wall Street Journal and Vogue.

A former U.S. Army captain, Gallagher’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Paris Review Daily and Playboy, among other places. He is also the author of the Iraq memoir “Kaboom” and coeditor of, and contributor to, the short fiction collection “Fire & Forget: Short Stories from the Long War.” In 2015, Gallagher was featured in Vanity Fair as one of the voices of a new generation of American war literature. Among other media, he has appeared on CBS News Sunday Morning and NPR’s “The Diane Rehm Show.”

A graduate of Wake Forest University, Gallagher holds an MFA in fiction from Columbia University. He lives with his wife in Brooklyn and works as a writing instructor at Words After War, a literary nonprofit devoted to bringing veterans and civilians together to study conflict literature.

For more information, visit http://diversity.appstate.edu/events/gallagher

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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