Author John Irving to read from his work Oct. 13

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. ― John Irving, the American author of worldwide critical acclaim, will read from his work-in-progress, a novel titled “In One Person,” in Mead Chapel at Middlebury College on Wednesday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m.

Irving’s 12th and most recent novel, “Last Night in Twisted River,” will be for sale at the event. The author will sign copies after his reading.

“Setting Free the Bears,” Irving’s first novel, was published in 1968. He has been nominated for the National Book Award three times, winning once in 1980 for the novel “The World According to Garp.” He also received an O. Henry Award in 1981 for the short story “Interior Space.” In 1992, Irving was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla. In 2000, he won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for “The Cider House Rules,” a film with seven Academy Award nominations. In 2001, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

“John Irving is one of the most consistently interesting and powerful of contemporary novelists in the United States,” said Jay Parini, author and D. E. Axinn Professor of English and Creative Writing at Middlebury College. “He took readers around the planet by storm with ‘The World According to Garp,’ one of the most important books of the postwar era.  He has consistently challenged, entertained, and sometimes outraged readers.  But they love him, too.  Irving is, like his hero Charles Dickens, a great storyteller, and he tells stories that matter.”

For more information, contact Karin Hanta, director of Chellis House, Women’s Resource Center, at khanta@middlebury.edu or 802-443-5937.