Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series Features Michael Thomas Nov. 11

PITTSBURGH—The Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series will host a lecture by novelist Michael Thomas, this year’s Fred R. Brown Literary Award winner, at 8:30 p.m. Nov. 11 in the University of Pittsburgh Frick Fine Arts Auditorium, 650 Schenley Dr., Oakland. The event is free and open to the public. 

Thomas’ debut novel, Man Gone Down (Grove Press, 2006), was selected as one of the New York Times Book Review’s top five novels of the year and was a New York Times and a San Francisco Chronicle Notable Book winner. The book also won the 2009 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, which is often described as the “largest and most international” literary prize in the world, after the Nobel. Thomas’ forthcoming memoir, The Broken King, is due out in 2011 and is about four generations of men in his family. 

Born and raised in Boston, Thomas received his bachelor’s degree from Hunter College and his MFA from Warren Wilson College. Currently, he is a full-time professor of English at Hunter College. 

The Fred R. Brown Literary Award recognizes fiction writers in the early stages of their careers. It carries a financial honorarium and is underwritten by Pitt alumni Fred R. (CAS ’71) and Melanie (CGS ’86, KGSB ’90, and KGSB ’93) Brown of Bethel Park, Pa. 

This event is sponsored by Pitt’s Book Center, University of Pittsburgh Press, and Pitt’s Department of English. 

For more information, call 412- 624-6508, or visit creativewriting.pitt.edu. 

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