Senior Fellows Honors Program Hosts Acclaimed Author Kiese Laymon

AUSTIN, Texas--Sept. 24, 2015––On Thursday Oct. 8, 2015, Senior Fellows, the honors program of The University of Texas at Austin Moody College of Communication, will host a talk by novelist and essayist Kiese Laymon, award-winning author of “Long Division” and “How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America.”  
 
As our national conversation on race grows more divisive, abstract and sensational, writer Kiese Laymon offers richly human stories of African-American life in post-racial America. In this talk, he’ll read and discuss essays from his recent collection “How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America.”
 
A self-described black southern writer, Kiese Laymon was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi, and is now an associate professor at Vassar College. His debut novel, “Long Division,” won the 2014 Saroyan International Writing Award and was named one of the Best of 2013 by Buzzfeed, Salon, Guernica, the Chicago Tribune and others.  His stories, essays and articles have appeared in Esquire, ESPN, Colorlines, NPR, Gawker, The Los Angeles Times, Guernica and The Guardian. Three essays in "How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America" have been included in the Best American series, the Best of Net award, and the Atlantic's Best Essays of 2013.
 
 
WHEN: 12:30 p.m. — 1:45 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 8, 2105  
 
WHERE: Belo Center for New Media (BMC) 5.102
 
This event is sponsored by the Senior Fellows Honors Program of the Moody College of Communication. 
 

About The University of Texas at Austin Moody College of Communication

One of the nation's foremost institutions for the study of advertising and public relations, communication sciences and disorders, communication studies, journalism and radio-TV-film, The University of Texas at Austin Moody College of Communication is preparing students to thrive in an era of media convergence. Serving more than 4,700 undergraduate and graduate students, the Moody College is nationally recognized for its faculty members, research and student media. For more information about the Moody College, visit moody.utexas.edu.

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CONTACTS: Dave Junker, (512) 773-0673; Lauren Phillips, (512) 471-2182   

Lauren Phillips
Public Affairs Representative