Novelist Melissa Scholes Young will read from her work at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12. The reading, sponsored by the Richard H. Thornton Endowment in English, will be held in Hall Campus Center’s Memorial Ballroom. Admission is free and the public is invited.
Young, an associate professor in the literature department at American University, is author of the novels “The Hive” and “Flood.” She is the editor of two anthologies, “Grace and Darkness” and “Furious Gravity,” and a contributing editor at Fiction Writers Review. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Ploughshares, and elsewhere.
A Q&A and book signing will follow the reading.
“We are certainly excited to have Melissa Scholes Young visit our University, particularly since she’s a professor at American University and director of their undergraduate creative writing program,” said Jer Bryant ’03, ’10 MA, the Richard H. Thornton endowed professor.
“These roles demonstrate her passion for working with students. … I’m particularly excited about Young’s focus on rural literature and social classes in America; both of these foci appeal to many members of our community.”
While on campus, Young will spend time with students in Bryant’s Introduction to Creative Writing class. She also will work one-on-one with two of Lynchburg’s creative writing students. “Undoubtedly, our wonderful students will benefit from her class visit, her one-on-one work … and her public reading,” Bryant said.
Dr. Kelly Ann Jacobson, an assistant professor of English at Lynchburg, nominated Young for the Thornton Reading. The pair first met at a reading series for women in Washington, D.C., and they continued to run into each other at various book festivals.
“Melissa is an incredibly talented and kind author who I consider to be both a friend and a mentor, especially in her dedication to her students and her willingness to help young writers just starting out in their careers,” Jacobson said.
“That’s why I thought she would be a wonderful fit for the Thornton reading series.”
For more information about the Thornton Reading, contact Bryant at 434.544.8588 or bryant.j@lynchburg.edu.
