The U of A Program in Creative Writing and Translation in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is proud to welcome novelists Julie Buntin and Gabe Habash as its 2019-20 Walton Visiting Writers in Fiction.

Buntin and Habash will give a free public reading of their work at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, in Gearhart Hall room 026 on the U of A campus.

Buntin's debut novel, Marlena, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Prize, longlisted for The Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize, and named a best book of the year by over a dozen outlets, including the Washington Post, NPR, and Kirkus Reviews. Her writing has appeared in The Atlantic,Vogue, The New York Times Book Review, Guernica, and other publications. An associate editor and the director of writing programs at Catapult, Buntin has taught creative writing at New York University, Columbia University, and the Yale Writers' Workshop.

Author of the novel Stephen Florida, Habash was a finalist for the New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award and the American Booksellers Association Indies Choice Award for Adult Debut Book of the Year. He is the fiction reviews editor for Publishers Weekly, and his work has appeared in The Paris Review, The Los Angeles Times, Guernica, The Millions, Poets & Writers, and Lithub, among others.