Barnhardt and Chaon featured in WFU’s writers reading series

Barnhardt will read from his works at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 16 in Tribble Hall’s DeTamble Auditorium. The reading will be followed by a reception and book signing.

Barnhardt, who grew up in Winston-Salem, is a former reporter for Sports Illustrated and has written three critically-acclaimed novels: “Emma Who Saved My Life,” “Gospel” and “Show World.” He is currently director of the Master of Fine Arts and creative writing program at North Carolina State University.

Chaon will be the featured author on April 14. He will read at 7:30 p.m. The location will be announced. Chaon is the author of two short story collections, “Fitting Ends” and “Among the Missing.” “Among the Missing”, which was a finalist for the 2001 National Book Award, was listed as one of the 10 best books of 2001 by the American Library Association, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, the Las Vegas Mercury, and Entertainment Weekly. It was also cited by Publisher’s Weekly, the Washington Post and the New York Times as one of the “Notable Books of the Year.”

Chaon’s stories have appeared in many journals and anthologies and have won numerous awards. He is also the author of “You Remind Me of Me,” a novel published in 2004. He is currently the Houck Associate Professor in the Humanities at Oberlin College.

The Dillon Johnston Writers Reading Series is sponsored by the English department. All readings are free and open to the public. For more information, contact John McNally at mcnalljr@wfu.edu or at 336-758-3366.