Hickory – The Lenoir-Rhyne University Visiting Writers Series returns for its 36th season and will host a variety of authors and musicians on campus this academic year.
The series, established in 1988, features readings and presentations by authors who have distinguished themselves in literature and often meet with students to discuss the stories behind their works. The series’ mission remains the promotion of literary experiences with contemporary writers meant to engage and educate university and community audiences. All events, which take place on the LR campus in Hickory, are open to the public.
Visiting Writers Series tickets are free, but new this year tickets are required for all 2024-25 Visiting Writers Series events. To learn more about the Visiting Writers Series or to receive your free ticket, visit www.lr.edu/vws.
Upcoming Fall Schedule:
The Campus Read: “Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law,” Mary Roach
Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, 7 p.m., P.E. Monroe Auditorium
Mary RoachMary Roach has been called “America’s funniest science writer” and is the author of New York Times bestsellers “Stiff,” “Spook,” “Bonk,” “Gulp,” “Grunt” and “Packing for Mars.” Her most recent book, “Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law,” is this year’s Lenoir-Rhyne Campus Read.
Roach has written for “National Geographic,” “Wired,” and “The New York Times Magazine,” among others, and her TED Talk made the TED 20 Most Watched list. She has been a guest editor for “Best American Science and Nature Writing,” a finalist for the Royal Society’s Winton Prize and a winner of the American Engineering Societies’ journalism award, in a category for which, let’s be honest, she was the sole entrant.
The next Visiting Writers Series will host New York Times Bestselling-Author Andrew Ayin on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, 7 p.m., Grace Chapel.
Visiting Writers Series Support
The Visiting Writer’s Series is made possible by support from the following sponsors and grant providers: Arts Culture Catawba through the North Carolina Arts Council, with funding from the State of North Carolina, National Endowment for the Arts and North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
About the Visiting Writers Series
Established in fall 1988, the Lenoir-Rhyne University Visiting Writers Series invites authors to tell the stories behind their works in a relaxed environment before an audience filled with campus and community members. The Writers Series’ mission is to build a community of readers because a community that reads is a more creative, open and tolerant community. In addition, VWS believes the beauty and power of words helps people make sense of the world. Children’s writers, mystery writers, essayists, poets and novelists all celebrate the written and spoken word.
About Lenoir-Rhyne University
Founded in 1891, Lenoir-Rhyne University is a co-educational, private liberal arts institution with more than 45 undergraduate degree programs and nearly 20 graduate degree programs. LR enrolls more than 2,200 undergraduate and graduate students. LR’s main campus is in Hickory, North Carolina, where both undergraduate and graduate degrees are offered. The university also offers graduate degree programs on its campuses in Asheville, North Carolina, and Columbia, South Carolina. The Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary is also in Columbia. LR is affiliated with the North Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and welcomes students from all religious backgrounds. The website is www.lr.edu.
