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Spring 2010 Autograph Series features David Liss & Andrew Porter

Co-sponsored by the Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts and Trinity University

Andrew Porter grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the youngest of three children. He received his B.A. in English from Vassar College and an M.F.A. in Fiction Writing from the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He is the author of the short story collection, The Theory of Light and Matter, which won the 2007 Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction and will be republished in paperback by Vintage/Knopf in Spring 2010. The Theory of Light and Matter also received Foreword Magazine’s 2008 “Book of the Year” Award for Short Fiction, and was selected by both The Kansas City Star and the San Antonio Express-News as one of the “Best Books of 2008.” Among his fellowships and awards are a James Michener-Paul Engle Fellowship, a University of Iowa Teaching/Writing Fellowship, a Sewanee’ Writers’ Conference Scholarship, an Artist Foundation of San Antonio Award, and a Pushcart Prize. His fiction has appeared in The Antioch Review, The Threepenny Review, and The Pushcart Prize Anthology, among others. Porter is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Trinity University.

David Liss is the author of five novels, with more on the way. His debut novel, A Conspiracy of Paper (Random House, 2000) with its hero, the pugilist turned private investigator Benjamin Weaver, was named a New York Times Notable Book and won him the 2001 Barry, MacAvity and Edgar awards for Best First Novel. David’s second novel, The Coffee Trader (Random House, 2003) was also named a New York Times Notable Book and was selected by the New York Public Library as one of the year’s 25 Books to Remember. His third novel, A Spectacle of Corruption (Random House, 2006) the sequel to A Conspiracy of Paper, became a national bestseller. David’s fourth novel, The Ethical Assassin (Ballantine, 2004) is his first full length work that is not historical fiction. David’s most recent novel, The Whiskey Rebels (Random House, 2008), is set in 1790’s Philadelphia and New York. The third Benjamin Weaver novel, The Devil’s Company (Random House, 2009), will be in stores in late 2009. Born in New Jersey and raised in Florida, David is, in fact, a one-time encylopedia salesman. He received his B.A. from Syracuse University, an M.A. from GeorgiaState Universty and his M.Phil from Columbia University, where he left his dissertation unfinished to pursue his writing career. David lives in San Antonio with his wife and children.

The Autograph Series presents writers of national or international stature in a free public reading followed by audience Q&A. The free evening readings are generally given at a major downtown theater and are offered once or twice each year. The day after the free public reading, the writer appears at a ticketed colloquium luncheon, which features an interview, Q&A, and a brief reading. Previous Autograph Series writers include Annie Proulx, Margaret Atwood, Ha Jin, Grace Paley, Peter Matthiessen, Tim O’Brien, Edward P. Jones, Mary Gordon, Philip Levine, and Yusef Komunyakaa.

To see a complete list of Gemini Ink’s Autograph Series writers who have shared their voices, insights, and talent with San Antonio audiences over the past decade, click HERE.

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