BOONE, N.C. — This spring, five renowned writers — whose works engage with subjects relevant to Appalachia, the South and the world — will visit Appalachian State University’s campus to take part in the university’s spring 2019 Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series.
“All five (visiting writers) have written works that are as relevant as they are timely, works that engage with Appalachia, the South and the world.”
Mark Powell, associate professor in the Department of English and director of the Visiting Writers Series
The authors who will visit Appalachian as part of the series, in order of appearance:
- Nonfiction author and journalist Beth Macy.
- Novelist Caleb Johnson, who is a visiting assistant professor of creative writing in Appalachian’s Department of English.
- Playwright Moisés Kaufman, author of Appalachian’s 2018 Common Reading Program selection — “The Laramie Project.”
- Poet Nathanial Mackey, who will be delivering the series’ Juanita Tobin Annual Memorial Reading.
- Novelist Abigail DeWitt.
“We are thrilled to bring such talented and timely authors to campus. All five have written works that are as relevant as they are timely, works that engage with Appalachia, the South and the world,” said Mark Powell, associate professor in Appalachian’s Department of English and director of the Visiting Writers Series.
“Beth Macy’s ‘Dopesick’ is the definitive work regarding the opioid epidemic, while Moisés Kaufman’s ‘The Laramie Project’ explores the aftermath of the 1998 death of Matthew Shepard.
“Abigail DeWitt’s ‘News of Our Loved Ones’ is a gorgeous novel about war and its fallout, and Caleb Johnson’s first novel, ‘Treeborne,’ is another meditation on memory, this time in the deep South.
“Nathaniel Mackey is a National Book Award-winning poet whose work has been described as ‘not simply writing about jazz, but writing as jazz.’”
Kaufman will read from and sign copies of his play “The Laramie Project,” which he co-authored with members of the Tectonic Theater Project. He will also give a public address at Appalachian’s Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts.
Macy, Johnson, Mackey and DeWitt each will read from and discuss their work, as well as lead talks on the craft of writing. Craft talks provide aspiring writers suggestions for refining their techniques, developing sounder work habits and gaining a greater appreciation of the writing process.
Admission to all events is free and open to the public. Book sales and signings will follow the talks and the readings.
Parking is free on Appalachian’s campus after 5 p.m. Convenient parking for series attendees is located in the College Street Parking Deck next to Belk Library and Information Commons (from King Street, turn down College Street at the First Baptist Church). To reach the Plemmons Student Union, cross College Street and follow the walkway between the chiller plant and the University Bookstore, passing the Post Office and entering the union on the second floor.
Community members attending Macy’s talk “Reporting from the Margins” may contact Susan Weinberg, the series’ coordinator, at weinbergsc@appstate.edu or 828-262-2871 to reserve free parking in the College Street Parking Deck. For further parking information or a map, visit https://parking.appstate.edu.
Spring 2019 schedule
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
Feb. 28, 2019
3:30 p.m.
201B Plemmons Student Union (Table Rock)
Journalist and author Beth Macy will discuss her New York Times-bestselling book, “DOPESICK: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America.” Macy will discuss her journey in gathering interviews with victims, family members, dealers and medical professionals from southwest Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley.
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
Feb. 28, 2019
3:30 p.m.
201B Plemmons Student Union (Table Rock)
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
Feb. 28, 2019
7:30 p.m.
201B Plemmons Student Union (Table Rock)
Journalist and author Beth Macy will discuss her New York Times-bestselling book, “DOPESICK: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America.” The book chronicles the opioid crisis, including the role of doctors, drug companies, and the government in the crisis.
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
Feb. 28, 2019
7:30 p.m.
201B Plemmons Student Union (Table Rock)
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
March 21, 2019
12:30 - 1:45 p.m.
124A Reich College of Education (Gordon Gathering Hall)
Caleb Johnson is the author of the novel “TREEBORNE”-- an honorable mention for the 2019 Southern Book Prize. Johnson grew up in Arley, Alabama, wandering the dense woods on his grandparents' property near a manmade lake.
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
March 21, 2019
12:30 - 1:45 p.m.
124A Reich College of Education (Gordon Gathering Hall)
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
March 21, 2019
7:30 p.m.
169 Plemmons Student Union (Three Top)
Caleb Johnson is the author of the novel “TREEBORNE”-- an honorable mention for the 2019 Southern Book Prize. Johnson grew up in Arley, Alabama, wandering the dense woods on his grandparents' property near a manmade lake.
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
March 21, 2019
7:30 p.m.
169 Plemmons Student Union (Three Top)
A public address by the author of “The Laramie Project”
April 8, 2019
7 p.m.
Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts
Moisés Kaufman is the founder and artistic director of Tectonic Theater Project, a Tony- and Emmy-nominated director and playwright, and a 2015 recipient of the National Medal of Arts. His play “The Laramie Project” is about the community of Laramie, Wyoming, in the aftermath of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, who was a gay student at the University of Wyoming. The murder, which was denounced as a hate crime, sparked a national debate.
A public address by the author of “The Laramie Project”
April 8, 2019
7 p.m.
Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
April 9, 2019
9:30 - 11 a.m.
137 Plemmons Student Union (Grandfather Mountain Ballroom)
Moisés Kaufman is co-author of the play “The Laramie Project,” which explores the community of Laramie, Wisconsin, following the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard.
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
April 9, 2019
9:30 - 11 a.m.
137 Plemmons Student Union (Grandfather Mountain Ballroom)
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
April 11, 2019
3:30 p.m.
124A Reich College of Education (Gordon Gathering Hall)
Nathaniel Mackey is the Reynolds Price Professor of Creative Writing at Duke University, where he works in the areas of modern and postmodern literature in the U.S. and the Caribbean, creative writing, poetry and poetics, and the intersection of literature and music.
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
April 11, 2019
3:30 p.m.
124A Reich College of Education (Gordon Gathering Hall)
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
April 11, 2019
7:30 p.m.
169 Plemmons Student Union (Three Top)
Nathaniel Mackey is the Reynolds Price Professor of Creative Writing at Duke University, where he works in the areas of modern and postmodern literature in the U.S. and the Caribbean, creative writing, poetry and poetics, and the intersection of literature and music.
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
April 11, 2019
7:30 p.m.
169 Plemmons Student Union (Three Top)
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
April 18, 2019
12:30 p.m.
137C Plemmons Student Union (Attic Window)
Abigail DeWitt is the author of three novels: “LILI,” “DOGS,” and “NEWS OF OUR LOVED ONES.” Her short fiction has appeared in Five Points, Witness, the Alaska Quarterly Review, the Carolina Quarterly, and elsewhere. She has been cited in “BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES,” nominated for a Pushcart, and has received grants and fellowships from the North Carolina Arts Council, the Tyrone Guthrie Center, the McColl Center for the Arts, and the Michener Society.
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
April 18, 2019
12:30 p.m.
137C Plemmons Student Union (Attic Window)
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
April 18, 2019
7:30 p.m.
169 Plemmons Student Union (Three Top)
Abigail DeWitt is the author of three novels: “LILI,” “DOGS,” and “NEWS OF OUR LOVED ONES.” Her short fiction has appeared in Five Points, Witness, the Alaska Quarterly Review, the Carolina Quarterly, and elsewhere. She has been cited in “BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES,” nominated for a Pushcart, and has received grants and fellowships from the North Carolina Arts Council, the Tyrone Guthrie Center, the McColl Center for the Arts, and the Michener Society.
Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
April 18, 2019
7:30 p.m.
169 Plemmons Student Union (Three Top)
For additional information about the spring 2019 series, click here and/or contact Weinberg at weinbergsc@appstate.edu.
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The Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series, named in honor of alumna Hughlene Bostian Frank ’68, brings distinguished and up-and-coming creative writers to the Appalachian State University campus throughout the year to present lectures and discuss their works. Frank is a 2013 Appalachian Alumni Association Outstanding Service award recipient, past member of Appalachian’s Board of Trustees, current board member of the Appalachian State University Foundation Inc. and generous supporter of Appalachian.
The spring 2018 Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series is supported by the Appalachian State University Foundation Inc., Appalachian’s Office of Academic Affairs, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of English, the Office of Multicultural Student Development, Appalachian’s University Bookstore, Belk Library and Information Commons and the Appalachian Journal: A Regional Studies Review. Business sponsors are The Gideon Ridge Inn, The Red Onion Restaurant and The New Public House & Hotel. Community sponsors include John and the late Margie Idol, Paul and Judy Tobin, Alice Naylor and Thomas McLaughlin.
Aug. 16, 2018
Caleb Johnson is the author of “Treeborne,” a novel about “how the past gets mixed up in thoughts of the future” and “how home is a story as much as a place.”
Feb. 16, 2018
“The Laramie Project,” a play about the community of Laramie, Wyoming, following the murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998, is Appalachian’s 2018-19 Common Reading Program selection for first-year students.
About the Department of English
The Department of English at Appalachian State University is committed to outstanding work in the classroom, the support and mentorship of students, and a dynamic engagement with culture, history, language, theory and literature. The department offers master’s degrees in English and rhetoric and composition, as well as undergraduate degrees in literary studies, film studies, creative writing, professional writing and English education. Learn more at https://english.appstate.edu.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at https://cas.appstate.edu.
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, affordable education for all. 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.
