Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Wilmington, N.C. – The University of North Carolina Wilmington creative writing department proudly announces acclaimed North Carolina author Jill McCorkle as a distinguished visiting writer for September.

McCorkle’s visit includes a reading at 8 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 8 in King Hall Auditorium. The event, part of the Buckner Reading Series, is free and open to the public. A book signing will follow. The author’s books will be available for purchase.

McCorkle is the acclaimed author of five novels, three collections of short stories and the recipient of numerous literary awards. Her novel Carolina Moon (1996) was described by the Los Angeles Times as “sexy and sensible, warm and ironic at once.” Her other four novels, July 7th (1985), The Cheerleader (1985), Tending to Virginia (1987), and Ferris Beach(1991), received similar praise.

She has published three collections of short stories: Crash Diet (1997), Final Vinyl Days (1999), and Creatures of Habit (2003). “Billy Goats,” the first story in Creatures of Habit, was selected for The Best American Short Stories 2002. Author Richard Bausch called this collection “so rich, so complete an experience.”

Of her eight books of fiction, five have been chosen by the New York Times as Notable Books of the Year, and her stories have been widely published in literary journals and commercial magazines, including Atlantic Monthly, Cosmopolitan and Ladies Home Journal.

In 1993, McCorkle received the New England Booksellers Association Award for her body of work in fiction, and in 1996 she was included in Granta's celebration of the Best of Young American Novelists. She has taught at Bennington College, Brandeis, Duke, Harvard and UNC-Chapel Hill.

A sampling of reviews for Jill McCorkle’s works:

"Ferris Beach is a really fine read. Jill McCorkle is a writer who has delivered on her earlier promise and who promises still more." New York Times

"McCorkle is able to make you chuckle even as she breaks your heart." People

"It's part of McCorkle's gift as a storyteller how quickly we're drawn into the world of her characters." Chicago Tribune

McCorkle will teach a month-long, two-credit graduate fiction workshop in September at UNCW. Charles F. Green III established the Buckner Lecture Series in honor of Katherine K. Buckner to provide funding for distinguished guest presenters to visit UNCW.

For more information about McCorkle’s reading, contact the UNCW creative writing dept. at 910/962.7063 or e-mail Megan Hubbard at hubbardm@uncw.edu.