October 21, 2014

Two authors will visit UCF to read from their works and talk about the writing process.

Jim Ray Daniels, who has published poetry and fiction about the rust-belt working class, will be on campus Tuesday, Oct. 21. He is the prize-winning author/editor of more than 30 books as well as an indie screenwriter.

His free presentation will be 3-4:15 p.m. in the College of Health & Public Affairs, Room 119. Daniels is the Thomas Stockham Baker University Professor of English at Carnegie Mellon University.

A screening of his latest short film also will be a separate event.

“Mr. Pleasant” follows one day in the life of 1980s college student Red, who finds that “getting out” of working-class Detroit isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The free movie will be shown at 4:30 p.m. in Nicholson School of Communication Room 145. Daniels will be on hand for a Q&A after the 40-minute film.

Author Marya Hornbacher, a Pulitzer Prize winner, will present her program 3-4:15 p.m. Nov. 18 in the College of Health & Public Affairs, Room 119.

Hornbacher will read from her work and discuss the power of memoir. She is the author of one novel and four nonfiction books on themes of mental illness and mental health, including The New York Times bestseller “Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia.” She teaches in the graduate creative writing program at Northwestern University.

The programs are hosted by the Cypress Dome Society.