University News

Laymon to Serve as Fall 2017 Fred Ewing Case and Lola Austin Case Writer in Residence

November 16, 2017

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MACOMB, IL – The Western Illinois University Department of English will host the Fred Ewing Case and Lola Austin Case Writer in Residence at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 29 in the Sherman Hall third floor auditorium. The event is open free to the public.

The reading will be delivered by author Kiese Laymon, a professor of English and African American studies at the University of Mississippi and a distinguished visiting professor of nonfiction at the University of Iowa.

Laymon, a black southern writer, born and raised in Jackson, MS, is the author of the novel, "Long Division," and a collection of essays, "How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America." He has written essays, stories and reviews for numerous publications, including Esquire, McSweeney's, the Los Angeles Times, The Guardian and Guernica.

He also has two new books coming out, including a memoir called "Heavy" and a novel, "And So On," which will be released in 2017 and 2018 by Scribner.

"Long Division" was short-listed for a Believer Book Award, the Ernest Gaines Award and the Morning News Tournament of Books, and it won the 2014 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. Laymon's essays have been included in the Best American series, the Best of Net anthology and the Atlantic's Best Essays of 2013.
He was selected a member of the Root 100 in 2013 and 2014 and Ebony Magazine Power 100 in 2015. 
The Fred Ewing Case and Lola Austin Case Writer-in-Residence supports bringing national writers of poetry and fiction to Western each year.

For more information on Laymon's reading, email Erika Wurth at et-wurth@wiu.edu. For more information on Laymon, visit kieselaymon.com.


Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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