AUSTIN, TX (March 1, 2006)
What: Monique Truong and Tayari Jones reading
When: 7 p.m., Thursday, March 9, 2006
Where: Life Science Library, MAI 220, UT Tower/Main Building
Cost: Free and open to the public. Parking available in the San Antonio Garage (2420 San Antonio) will be validated for attendees
The University of Texas Libraries will host a reading by two up-and-coming literary stars in the Life Science Library at The University of Texas on March 9.
Monique Truong and Tayari Jones will read from their work in an event co-sponsored by Austin independent bookstore BookWoman, the Center for Asian American Studies, the Center for African and African American Studies and the Center for Women's and Gender Studies.
Both writers are participating in the The Association of Writers & Writing Programs conference that is taking place in Austin March 8-11.
Monique Truong is the author of "The Book of Salt," a national bestseller and winner of the 2003 Bard Fiction Prize, which revolves around the fictional account of a Vietnamese cook working for Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas.
Truong was born in Saigon in 1968 and moved to the U.S. at age six. She graduated from Yale University and the Columbia University School of Law.
Tayari Jones was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and graduated from Spelman College, The University of Iowa, and Arizona State University.
Jones's first novel, "Leaving Atlanta," is a coming of age tale set against the backdrop of the city's infamous child murders of 1979-81, and was awarded the Hurston/Wright Award for Debut Fiction. Her second novel, "The Untelling," published in 2005, is the story of a family struggling to cope in the aftermath of a fatal auto accident.
The readings will take place at 7 p.m. Parking will be available at the San Antonio garage (2420 San Antonio Street) and will be validated for attendees.
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