Hickory – Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Visiting Writers Series (VWS) will present Armistead Maupin, Thursday, Feb. 7, at 7p in P.E. Monroe Auditorium. Maupin is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he organized the installation of a memorial to Thomas Wolfe while serving as senior class vice president. His most recent publication, “Logical Family: A Memoir,” chronicles his odyssey from the south to freewheeling San Francisco, and Maupin’s evolution from curious youth to ground-breaking writer and gay rights pioneer.
Launched in 1976 as a serial in the San Francisco Chronicle, Maupin’s “Tales of the City” series now encompasses nine globally best-selling novels and a Peabody Award winning Netflix miniseries. “The Days of Anna Madrigal,” the final novel in the series, was released in January 2014, premiering at No. 3 on the Independent best-seller list and No. 7 on The New York Times best-seller list. Maupin’s 1992 novel, “Maybe the Moon,” which followed the comic adventures of a dwarf actress working in Hollywood, was named one of the 10 best books of the year by Entertainment Weekly.

“The Night Listener,” published in 2000, a psychological suspense novel inspired by an eerie episode in Maupin’s own life, became a 2006 feature film starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette. In 1997, Maupin received the Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Publishing Triangle of New York. In 2002, he was honored with the Trevor Project’s Life Award for his efforts in saving young lives.

Maupin was the first recipient of Litquake’s Barbary Coast Award for his literary contribution to San Francisco. In 2012, he was awarded Lambda’s Pioneer Award which is bestowed on individuals who have broken new ground in the field of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) literature and publishing. In 2014, he received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

He also received the Visionary Award from the 2014 Outfest Legacy Awards. Maupin is the subject of a new Netflix documentary titled “Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin.”

The VWS will continue with the following authors: Feb. 28, 2019, Anne-Marie Fyfe & Cahal Dallat – Writers in ResidenceBelk Centrum, 7pm.

March 7, 2019, Louise Penny, P.E. Monroe Auditorium, 7pm.

March 21, 2019, Kao Kalia Yang, Belk Centrum, 7pm.

April 4 & 6, 2019, Naomi Shihab Nye – The Little Read author Thursday, April 4, 7 pm, Belk Centrum; Saturday, April 6, 12 pm, P.E. Monroe Auditorium LR’s

VWS is supported by the United Arts Council of Catawba County through the North Carolina Arts Council, with funding from the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The VWS is also supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Sponsors of the 2018-19 VWS include: Barnes & Noble, NC Arts Council, United Arts Council of Catawba County, National Endowment for the Arts, Hickory Hop, Crowne Plaza, Cafe Rule, Hickory Public Library, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams and Robert Abbey Fine Lighting. To learn more about the VWS visit lr.edu/VWS.
Armistead Maupin