New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris will hold a free lecture and book signing at the University of Central Arkansas’s Reynolds Performance Hall on April 1 at 7:30 p.m.
Harris, a Mississippi native who now lives in southern Arkansas, writes the popular Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries novels on which the HBO hit series “True Blood” is based.
The book signing will immediately follow the lecture.
Larry Burns, adviser of the UCA Student Government Association, which helped in bringing Harris to campus, said the author’s lecture would be exciting for the UCA community.
“Many people in the UCA community, especially students, are fans of the Sookie Stackhouse series and ‘True Blood’ on HBO,” Burns said. “Bringing Charlaine Harris is a great example of the SGA putting students first and providing an opportunity to meet and hear from a truly relevant and current author. Many students, staff and faculty are really excited to have Ms. Harris here on campus. She’s a great Arkansas author with a great series that is only growing in popularity.”
Harris has been a published writer for 25 years. She began her career writing ghost stories and soon decided she wanted to start a series of books, according to her web site. Her first series, Real Murders, about a Georgia librarian, earned Harris an Agatha Award nomination. She also wrote the darker Lily Bard series that was based in Shakespeare, Ark.
Harris has gained most recognition for her Sookie Stackhouse series about a telepathic barmaid who befriends vampires and werewolves in the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps. The series has been published in Japan, Great Britain, Greece, Germany, Thailand, Spain, France and Russia. The HBO show ‘True Blood’, based on the series, begins its third season this year.
Harris is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and the American Crime Writers League. She is on the board of Sisters in Crime and alternates with Joan Hess as president of the Arkansas Mystery Writers Alliance.
Seating for the lecture is reserved. Two tickets per person may be picked up at the UCA Box Office, open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Reserved tickets may be picked up during those hours or between 6 and 7 p.m. on April 1. Tickets not picked up by 7 p.m. on April 1 will be released and given away. UCA students, faculty and staff must show IDs when picking up reserved tickets.
Harris’ appearance is funded by the UCA Student Government Association and the UCA Bookstore. – Miranda Grubbs
