Acclaimed Appalachian author Lee Smith to appear at UVa-Wise Nov. 28

Acclaimed Appalachian author Lee Smith will speak at The University of Virginia’s College at Wise on Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Fred B. Greear Gymnasium. The event will be free and open to the public.
 
Smith will read from her novel “Oral History,” about a college student who returns to her childhood home of Hoot Owl Holler to discover tales of murder, suicide, incest and blood ties. A question-and-answer session and a book signing will follow Smith’s reading.
 
A native of Grundy, Smith is the author of nine novels, including "Family Linen," "Saving Grace," "The Devil's Dream" and "Black Mountain Breakdown," as well as three story collections, including "News of the Spirit."

Smith’s “The Last Girls” (2002) made the New York Times bestseller list. The book was inspired by her raft trip down the Mississippi River with classmates from Hollins University in 1966.

Her latest work, “On Agate Hill,” is an historical novel set in piedmont North Carolina during the Civil War and Reconstruction eras.

A retired professor of English at North Carolina State University, Smith has received many honors, including an Academy Award in Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1999. Smith is married to Hal Crowther, a former editor and critic for Time and Newsweek, a screenwriter, and a contributor to the Oxford American.
 
Smith’s books are available at the UVa-Wise bookstore.
 
For more information, contact the Office of College Relations at 276-328-0130.

Posted November 16, 2007