Erin McGraw, author of four notable fiction books, will give a free public reading at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 27, in the Mountainlair Gold Ballroom at West Virginia University.

The event is hosted by the Department of English in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. A reception and book signing will follow the reading.

Were all looking forward to Erins reading,said James Harms, director of creative writing at WVU .Shes not only an excellent writer but a compelling and moving reader. The energy she brings to her work is unparalleled.

McGraws most recent work,The Good Life,was published in 2004 by Houghton-Mifflin.Lies of the Saintswas selected as a New York Times Notable Book in 1996. Other books by McGraw includeThe Baby Tree(2002) andBodies at Sea(1989).

Several fiction and nonfiction articles by McGraw have been published in magazines such as The Atlantic Monthly, Good Housekeeping, The Kenyon Review and The Gettysburg Review.

McGraw is currently completing work on a novel set in 1924 Hollywood entitledThe Seamstress of Hollywood Boulevard,which will be published by Houghton-Mifflin in 2008.

McGraw, a former Stanford Stegner Fellow, teaches creative writing and American literature at Ohio State University. She also reviews fiction for The Raleigh News&Observer and The Southern Review.

For more information, contact Harms at 304-293-3107, ext. 33451 or James.Harms@mail.wvu.edu .