Visiting Author Reading at ATU Planned for March 14

Dr. Jen Fawkes
Dr. Jen Fawkes

Dr. Jen Fawkes will provide a visiting author reading of her book “Tales the Devil Told Me” at Arkansas Tech University on Tuesday, March 14.

Fawkes will appear at Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center room 300A beginning at 6 p.m. Refreshments will be served and the author will participate in a question and answer session.

“Tales the Devil Told Me” won the won the 2020 Press 53 Award for Short Fiction and was published by Press 53 in 2021.

According to notes from the publisher, the 196-page book examines “the possible lives of classic literary villains as Professor Moriarty, Shere Khan, Rumpelstiltskin, Polyphemus, Mrs. Danvers and others, while illuminating the consumptive nature of love, the crushing weight of isolation, the false promise of beauty and the power of storytelling itself.”

Fawkes holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology from Columbia University, a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from Hollins University and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in English literature and creative writing from the University of Cincinnati.

Her debut book, “Mannequin and Wife,” was a 2020 Shirley Jackson Award nominee, a double 2020 Foreword INDIES winner (gold in short stories/honorable mention in literary fiction) and one of Largehearted Boy’s favorite short story collections of 2020.

Fawkes’ appearance at Arkansas Tech is made possible by the ATU Department of English and World Languages and Pendergraft Library.