Matthew Gavin Frank Submitted photo

Award-winning writer Matthew Gavin Frank will read from his work at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 4, in the Theodora J. Kalikow Education Center Lobby at the University of Maine at Farmington as the third reader of the season in the university’s celebrated Visiting Writers Series. The reading is free and open to the public and will be followed by a book signing with the author.

Reservations are required and guests must adhere to the University’s COVID safe practices, including wearing a mask at all times while inside campus buildings and social distancing when possible. Reservations can be made at: https://forms.gle/WnBMQM5ThTzVES2cA

Frank’s latest book, “Flight of the Diamond Smugglers” has been lauded as a blended masterpiece of lyric prose, journalism and historical research as it muses on the curious role that carrier pigeons play in South African diamond smuggling. He is also the author of “The Mad Feast: An Ecstatic Tour Through America’s Food,” “Preparing the Ghost: An Essay Concerning the Giant Squid and its First Photographer,” “Pot Farm,” and more. He earned his MFA from Arizona State University and currently teaches at Northern Michigan University.

“Flight of the Diamond Smugglers” is available for pre-purchase at Devaney, Doak & Garrett Booksellers and the UMF University Bookstore.

The UMF Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program invites students to work with faculty, who are practicing writers, in workshop-style classes to discover and develop their writing strengths in the genres of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Small classes, an emphasis on individual conferencing, and the development of a writing portfolio allow students to see themselves as artists and refine their writing under the guidance of accomplished and published faculty mentors.