Frostburg State University's Center for Creative Writing is pleased to announce the visiting environmental writer for the fall semester. Rick Bass, the author of 24 books of fiction and non-fiction including his first short story collection, The Watch, which won the PEN/Nelson Algren Award, and his 2002 collection, The Hermit's Story, which was a Los Angeles Times Best Book of the Year, will read on Thursday, December 3 at 7:30 p.m. in the Lyric Theater on 20 E. Main Street in Frostburg. Bass has received the Pushcart Prize, the O. Henry Award and his short stories have been collected in The Best American Short Stories. His most recent publication is his memoir Why I Came West.

Frostburg professor of Creative Writing Barbara Hurd says about Bass's visit: "what a fabulous opportunity. He's one of the leading environmental writers in this country, a passionate and sure-footed guide to combining art and activism. We'll be studying his work in two of my courses this semester, and his presence here in early December will only deepen students' understanding of the importance of his work. That we can get such a nationally-known writer here at all is a sign of the increased visibility of our creative writing and environmental programs. I hope the whole campus comes out for his reading. They won't be disappointed." Bass received his B.S. in petroleum geology from Utah State University in 1979 and currently lives in the Yaak Valley in northwest Montana. He serves on the board of the Yaak Valley Forest Council and Round River Conservation Studies.

Bass's reading, sponsored by the Frostburg Center for Creative Writing, Maryland State Arts Council and the Allegany Arts Council, is free and open to the public. A book signing and reception will follow. For more information, please call the Department of English at 301-687-4221 or the Frostburg Center for Creative Writing at 301-687-4024.