Arkansas Writers on Writing: Special Collections to Host Lecture Series in October

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“Mysteries, Mistresses and Murder: Celebrating Three Arkansas Authors”

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be an award-winning writer living in Arkansas? If so, an upcoming series of lectures titled “Mysteries, Mistresses and Murder: Celebrating Three Arkansas Authors” is for you. October is American Archives Month, and the University Libraries’ special collections department is commemorating the month by hosting lectures featuring Arkansas authors talking about writing in the Natural State. All lectures are free and open to the public.

The first Arkansas author to speak in the series will be Laura Parker Castoro of Pine Bluff, author of 38 novels in the genres of historical and contemporary romance, western, romantic suspense, and young adult fiction. Castoro began her career writing historical and contemporary romance novels that were published under the name Laura Parker. Castoro’s lecture is scheduled from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 8, in the Special Collections Reading Room in Mullins Library (MULN 130). A welcome reception will begin at 3 p.m. with the program following at 3:30 p.m.

The second lecture in the series will feature Radine Trees Nehring of Gravette, who has published a collection of essays titled Dear Earth: A Love Letter from Spring Hollow, as well as popular mystery novels in the “To Die For” series, featuring characters Carrie McCrite of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and her friend Henry King. Trees Nehring will present from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22, in the Special Collections Reading Room in Mullins Library (MULN 130). A welcome reception will begin at 3 p.m. with the program following at 3:30 p.m.

The third and last lecture in the series will present Kevin Brockmeier of Little Rock, who has published two novels for young readers, a collection of short stories and two novels for adults. Brockmeier has received the Borders Original Voices Award, the Chicago Tribune’s Nelson Algren Award, an Italo Calvino Short Fiction Award, a James Michener-Paul Engle Fellowship, three O. Henry Awards, the PEN USA Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a National Endowment for the Arts grant. Brockmeier will read from his recent work, followed by a question and answer session with the audience, from 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, in Giffels Auditorium in Old Main. A welcome reception will begin at 3 p.m. with the program following at 3:30 p.m.

American Archives Month is a collaborative effort by professional organizations around the nation to raise awareness of the value of archival materials and to encourage persons and organizations to preserve records of enduring historical value. The special collections department of the University of Arkansas Libraries was created in 1967 to foster research and writing in the history and culture of Arkansas and the surrounding region. It is an archival repository of more than 12,000 linear feet of documents in the Manuscripts Collection, more than 28,000 cataloged titles in the Arkansas Collection (which houses books by Castoro, Trees Nehring, Brockmeier and other Arkansas authors) and the Rare Books Collection, and more than 150,000 photographs, broadsides and maps.

Tom Dillard, head of special collections, said, “Archives Month serves to remind us that history does not document itself. Authors like Laura, Radine and Kevin give a fictional voice to Arkansas for contemporary and future generations to discover; archives like special collections preserve and document historical documents and records to give that voice an authentic and wide-ranging depth.”