·         The DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts is celebrating its 20th year with a new monthly format that features prominent authors year-round.

·         All DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts events are free and open to the public.

·         Award-winning authors Ron Rash and Bonnie Jo Campbell are the Celebration’s featured authors in March.

The DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts, which is celebrating its 20th Anniversary during the 2022-23 academic year with a new year-round format, will host a free Virtual Reading with authors Ron Rash and Bonnie Jo Campbell from 12-1 p.m. CT on Mon., March 20, via Zoom.

The DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts spotlights a variety of local, regional and nationally known authors, and includes a mix of both in-person and virtual events throughout the year. All events are free and open to the public.

To attend the Virtual Reading on March 20, register here.

About the authors: Ron Rash and Bonnie Jo Campbell

Ron Rash is the author of “Serena,” a 2009 PEN/Faulkner finalist and New York Times best-seller that was made into a motion picture starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, as well as  “Above the Waterfall” and four prize-winning novels: “The Cove,” “One Foot in Eden,” “Saints at the River” and “The World Made Straight.”

Rash has also authored four collections of poems and six collections of stories, among them “Burning Bright,” which won the 2010 Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, and “Chemistry and Other Stories,” which was a finalist for the 2007 PEN/Faulkner Award. He is a two-time recipient of the O. Henry Prize and has been featured in Best American Short Stories multiple times. Rash teaches at Western Carolina University.

Bonnie Jo Campbell is the author of the novels “Once Upon a River,” a national bestseller, and “Q Road.” Her critically acclaimed short fiction collections include “American Salvage,” which was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critic’s Circle Award; “Women and Other Animals,” which won the AWP prize for short fiction; and “Mothers, Tell Your Daughters.” Her story “The Smallest Man in the World” was awarded a Pushcart Prize, and her story “The Inventor, 1972″ was awarded the 2009 Eudora Welty Prize from Southern Review. She was a 2011 Guggenheim Fellow.

For more information about the DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts, visit cla.dmacc.edu or contact Marc Dickinson, DMACC English Professor and Coordinator of the DMACC Celebration of Literary Arts, at (515) 964-6221 or madickinson@dmacc.edu.

Select writings by Ron Rash

• Serena (novel excerpt)
• The Trusty
• Author website: ronrashwriter.com

Select writings by Bonnie Jo Campbell

• My Sister is in Pain
• The Solutions to Ben’s Problem
• Author website: bonniejocampbell.com

About DMACC

Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) is one of America’s top-rated two-year institutions of higher learning. DMACC is dedicated to changing lives by offering an accessible, affordable and outstanding educational experience to students from across Iowa and the nation. The College is proud to welcome students to a diverse and inclusive community. Situated in one of America’s most vibrant regions, DMACC offers 220 programs, certificates and transfer degrees, and annually serves nearly 60,000 students across the College’s six campuses and seven learning centers. DMACC’s talented graduates excel in the workforce and in life. For more information, please visit dmacc.edu.

(contributed press release and photos, DMACC)