FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas International, the biannual literary magazine and nonprofit organization run by the M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing and Translation at the University of Arkansas, is hosting a benefit concert and silent auction from 8 to 11 p.m. Thursday, April 25, at the Fenix Gallery, located at 16 W. Center Street in Fayetteville.

The concert will feature a performance by Allison Williams, a Fayetteville-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and roots musician.

The silent auction will feature items and gift cards donated by Bordinos, Smoke & Barrel Tavern, Cheap Thrills, TheatreSquared, FlyARH, Jason Jones, Arsaga's, PilotArts, Core Brewing, and Issue 6 contributor Caitlin Horrocks. In addition to these donations, services such as music lessons, pool cleaning, portrait drawing, and custom paintings will also be available for auction.

Admission is a suggested donation of $10 at the door, and beer from Crisis Brewing, West Mountain Brewing, and Apple Blossom Brewing will be available at the bar. All proceeds go toward funding the seventh issue of the Arkansas International.  

"As a nonprofit organization, this auction is an important event that helps finance both future publications and pay our contributors," said Claire Pincumbe, the magazine's managing editor. "Showcasing local art and roots music in support of international literature is what the Arkansas International is all about."

About Allison Williams: Singer/songwriter and traditional musician Allison Williams plays old-time clawhammer banjo in a modern context. A native of the Arkansas Ozarks, Allison got her start as a punk rock musician before rediscovering her musical roots. In 2005 she formed the Forge Mountain Diggers, a hard-driving old-time band, with Freight Hoppers fiddler David Bass.

Allison Williams' solo CD Give Me the Roses features driving arrangements of traditional old-time songs, as well as eclectic originals, woven together by a talented backing band of rising stars, including alumni of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Old Crow Medicine Show, among others. When not on the road, Allison does live and studio sound, works with Southern folklore, and plays string bass in Western Swing and jug bands.

About the Arkansas International: The Arkansas International is a biannual literary magazine and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization run by the M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing and Translation in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas. The Arkansas International is dedicated to publishing a diverse array of poetry, creative nonfiction, fiction, and translation by national and international writers, both established and on the rise.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2.7 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.