11th Annual VCU Cabell First Novelist Award November 8, 2012

The nationally known Cabell First Novelist Award marks its 11th year. Justin Torres, winner of the 2012 Award, will read from “We the Animals” on Thursday, November 8, 2012, at 7 p.m. at the Grace Street Theater located at 934 West Grace Street on the VCU Monroe Park Campus. Following his reading, Torres will discuss the journey of his novel from idea to published book and take questions from the audience, which is usually filled with creative writers and other literary adventurers. A book sale, signing and reception will follow. While this event is free and open to the public, registration is requested--registration assists with the planning of the event and facilitates seating. To register online, see http://novelist.library.vcu.edu/festival.html. To register offline or to request special accommodations or make other enquiries, call Gregory G. Kimbrell at (804) 828-0593. Parking is available for a fee in the West Broad Street deck at 1111 W. Broad St. and the West Main Street deck at 801 West Main Street.

"We the Animals" has received rave reviews in The New York Times, Esquire, and elsewhere. Christopher Isherwood of The New York Times described the novel as relating “an affecting story of love, loss and the irreversible trauma that a single event can bring to a family.” Torres grew up in upstate New York. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, Tin House, Glimmer Train and other publications. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he is a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. This event is a partnership between the VCU Department of English and VCU Libraries. The widely recognized graduate program in creative writing within the VCU Department of English invented and manages the annual awards program.

Official Website: http://novelist.library.vcu.edu/festival.html