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.
New York Times Bestselling-Author Andrew Ayin
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, 7 p.m., Grace Chapel
Andrew AydinThe Visiting Writers Series welcomes New York Times bestselling-author Andrew Aydin for a public talk and Q&A on why voting matters now, more than ever. Aydin is a National Book Award winner, a Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Honoree, a Printz Award winner, a Sibert Medal winner, a Walter Dean Myers Award winner, a two-time Eisner award winner, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors. He is creator and co-author of the graphic memoir series, “March,” which chronicles the life of the late civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis. Co-authored with Rep. Lewis and illustrated by Nate Powell, “March” is the first comics work to ever win the National Book Award.
Aydin frequently lectures at schools and universities and participates in reading programs with incarcerated youth. Some of his comic works include the Captain America story “Home of the Brave” in Marvel Comics Presents #3 from Marvel Comics, Truth and Justice #6, Batman: Gotham Nights #16 and Titans Together #3 from DC Comics as well as the 2020 Battle for the Vote comic PSA produced in partnership with Rock the Vote. His prose works include articles for the Atlanta alt-weekly Creative Loafing and the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance Magazine.
Visiting Writers Series Support
ThevVisiting Writers 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.
