Critically acclaimed author Kathryn Ormsbee will read from her work at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, in Hall Campus Center’s Memorial Ballroom. The event, part of the Thornton Reading Series, is free and open to the public.
Ormsbee is the author of several books for children and young adults, including “Tash Hearts Tolstoy” and “The House in Poplar Wood.” Her novels have been translated into eight languages, selected for the Indie Next List and Junior Library Guild, and chosen for Scholastic and Target book clubs. They also made “best of” lists on NPR, Amazon, BuzzFeed, and the Chicago and New York public libraries.
Ormsbee’s upcoming novel, “Vivian Lantz’s Second Chances,” comes out in June.
Professor Jeremy Bryant, chair of the Richard H. Thornton Endowment, said Ormsbee was chosen this year because “many students are interested in both young adult fiction and graphic novels, and we wanted to bring in a strong writer who could talk with them about both of these popular genres.
“Personally, I find Ormsbee’s characters to be complex and relatable entities and I want to hear about how she creates her characters’ histories and brings [their] past selves onto the page.”
When asked what he thought students would gain from this lecture, Bryant said “Ormsbee’s works are very engaging and you find yourself having a hard time putting down her books. I think students will see how artistic and engaging writing can be.”
To build on this, Ormsbee will visit Dr. Kelly Jacobson’s Introduction to Creative Writing course to talk about her writing process and answer students’ questions.
For anyone not in this course, a Q&A and book signing will follow the reading.
For more information, contact Bryant at 434.544.8588 or bryant.j@lynchburg.edu.
This event is sponsored by the Richard H. Thornton Endowment in English. Since 1975, the endowment established in his name has enabled Lynchburg to bring exciting and successful poets, novelists, dramatists, and nonfiction writers to campus. These writers have taught classes, given public readings, and enriched the cultural lives of students, faculty, and other members of the community.
