UT creative writing director to speak at Lunch 4 Literacy in Oak Ridge

A creative writing director at the University of Tennessee will speak at Lunch 4 Literacy in Oak Ridge in March.

The popular annual event is co-sponsored by the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club and the Altrusa International Club of Oak Ridge. It will be held at Oak Ridge High School at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 24.

This year, the award-winning speaker is Margaret Lazarus Dean, an associate professor and director of creative writing in the Department of English at the University of Tennessee.

Lazarus Dean’s first novel, “The Time It Takes to Fall,” was the recipient of an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Her second book, “Leaving Orbit,” documents the last days of the space shuttle program and was named one of the top 10 books of 2015 by The New York Times, among many other top 10 lists. Most recently, she co-authored “Endurance” with astronaut Scott Kelly, a memoir of his year living on the International Space Station. “Endurance” spent five weeks on The New York Times bestseller list. Currently, she teaches fiction and creative nonfiction in the graduate and undergraduate programs at the University of Tennessee.

Luncheon tickets are $45 before February 15 and $55 after. Tickets and copies of both “Endurance” and “Leaving Orbit” are available at the Ferrell Shop, Southern Bliss, Mac’s Pharmacy, and many members of the Breakfast Rotary and Altrusa clubs. Sponsorships and tables still available. For more information, contact Kelly Callison at [email protected].

This press release was submitted by Naomi Asher.