Acclaimed novelist to read from her work on Feb. 25

Rosellen Brown, called 'one of our most talented writers' by fellow novelist Annie Dillard, will be a featured guest at Grand Valley State University. The public is invited to hear the nationally acclaimed author read from her work.

The event takes place at 7 p.m. on February 25 at Grand Valley's Cook-DeWitt Center, Allendale Campus. A reception and book-signing session will follow. There is no admission charge; parking is free.

Brown is the author of five novels including the New York Times bestseller 'Before and After' (1992), which was translated into 23 languages and made into a film starring Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson. Her latest novel, 'Half a Heart,' and three previous books, 'Civil Wars,' 'Tender Mercies' and 'The Autobiography of My Mother,' received acclaim from book critics at The New York Times Book Review, Newsday, Time magazine, People, and many other reviewers and authors.

Brown is also the author of three collections of poetry and numerous essays and stories. She has published widely in magazines and her short stories have appeared frequently in 'O. Henry Prize Stories,' 'Best American Short Stories,' and 'Pushcart Prizes.' One is included in the recently published bestseller, 'Best Short Stories of the Century,' edited by John Updike.

Recognition of Brown's work includes awards from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, among others, and being selected as one of Ms. Magazine's 12 'Women of the Year' in 1984. She currently teaches in the graduate creative writing program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.