Event: SMU LITERARY FESTIVAL March 22-24, 2012

Actually begins tonight with student readings on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Degolyer Library as well as elsewhere on Campus.  The specific schedule of events is available online by going to http://smu.edu/english/Events/LitFest2012/EventSchedule.html

PRESS RELEASE:

SMU Department of English Announces Literary Festival Lineup

Dallas, TX (December 9, 2011) — Today, the Southern Methodist University Department of English announced the speaker lineup for the 2012 SMU Literary Festival.

This annual three-day event is held on the SMU campus and will run from Thursday, March 22, 2012 through Saturday, March 24. The festival includes author readings, receptions, student conferences and book signings. All events are free and open to the public.

Since the 1980’s, SMU’s Literary Festival has featured notable writers that include John Updike, Joyce Carol Oates, Alice Walker, Norman Mailer, Robert Pinsky, and Jill McCorkle. For 2012 the line-up, in alphabetical order, includes: 

•  Dean Bakopoulos, an O, The Oprah Magazine #1 Title to Pick Up Now
• Shannon Cain, 2011 Drue Heinz Literature Prize
• Eduardo Corral, winner of both the 2011 Yale Series of Younger Poets and a 2011 Whiting Writer’s Awards
• Amina Gautier, 2011 Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction
• Tyehimba Jess, poetry book of the year by Black Issues Book Review
• Krys Lee, whose February 2012 story collection is receiving rave advanced reviews
• Corey Marks, editor of American Literary Review
• Martha Rhodes, Green Rose Prize 
  
  

“We are beyond pleased at the level of talent in our lineup this year,” said David Haynes, head of the SMU creative writing department. “This is an incredible opportunity for our students and the extended SMU community.”

SMU holds its Literary Festival on campus and free of charge, allowing students, faculty and the surrounding community an opportunity to interact with and hear the latest works from some of the best authors in the country. 

"Lit Fest has been a great way for me to learn more about writing as an art form and grow my craft," says Dylan Smith, SMU senior, "The Festival is a must-do for anyone who loves to read or write."

SMU’s Literary Festival brings together students and established writers while extending the sense of literary community to the Dallas community at large.

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For more information, go to the SMU DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH WEBSITE at:

 http://smu.edu/english/  and click on the LITERARY FESTIVAL  button on the lower left.