The U of A Program in Creative Writing and Translation in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is proud to welcome acclaimed novelist Marie-Helene Bertino as its 2017-18 Walton Visiting Writer in Fiction.

Bertino will give a free public reading of her work at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, in the Graduate Education building auditorium on the U of A campus. 

Bertino is the author of the novel 2 a.m. at the Cat's Pajamas, named an NPR Best Book of 2014, and the story collection Safe as Houses, long-listed for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story award. Her honors include The O. Henry Award, The Pushcart Prize, and the Iowa Short Fiction Award. She teaches at NYU and in the low-residency M.F.A. program at Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe.

Each year, the Walton Visiting Writers series in the Program in Creative Writing and Translation brings esteemed authors in poetry, fiction and literary translation to the U of A to give free public readings and to work with graduate students in the creative writing M.F.A. program. Past Walton Writers include Natalie Diaz, Chris Abani, Caryl Phillips, Franz Wright, Esther Allen and Karen Tei Yamashita.

This event is made possible by the Program in Creative Writing and Translation, the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, the Department of English and the Walton Family Foundation.