FREDERICKSBURG-BASED NOVELIST TO GIVE READING FROM NEW BOOK, 'DOWN SAND MOUNTAIN,' NOV. 17 AT GERMANNA'S SEALY AUDITORIUM

On Nov. 17, at Germanna's Fredericksburg Campus, University of Mary Washington professor novelist Steve Watkins will give a reading of his new work, "Down Sand Mountain," a coming of age story set in the '60s, published in October 2008 by Candlewick Press.

The free reading will take place from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Nov. 17 at Germanna's Sealy Auditorium.

From Watkins' bio:

Steve is also author of a short story collection, My Chaos Theory (2006, Southern Methodist University Press), which was a finalist for the Paterson Fiction Prize, and an Honorable Mention for the Library of Virginia Fiction Award.
He also wrote the award-winning non-fiction book The Black O: Racism and Redemption in an American Corporate Empire, published in 1997 by the University of Georgia Press, which tells the story of the largest employment discrimination class action lawsuit in U.S. history.

A graduate of Florida State University, Steve teaches journalism, creative writing, and Vietnam War literature at the University of Mary Washington. He also teaches Ashtanga yoga, and works as an investigator and advocate for abused and neglected children through the child advocacy organization CASA. He lives in Fredericksburg with his wife Janet, and four daughters–Maggie, Eva, Claire, and Lili. Steve and Janet are co-directors of the religious education program at the Fredericksburg Unitarian Universalist Church.

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