Science Fiction Novelist Alan DeNiro to Present a Reading of His Works

Free public event to be held Sept. 27 at The College of Wooster’s Kauke Hall

WOOSTER, Ohio — Science fiction novelist Alan DeNiro will present a reading of his works on Monday, Sept. 27, at The College of Wooster. The event, which is free and open to the public, begins at 4 p.m. in Room 244 of Kauke Hall (400 E. University St.). Refreshments will be available following the reading, along with a book-signing by the writer and a chance to talk with him individually about his work.

Born in Erie, Pa., in 1973, DeNiro earned a B.A. in English from Wooster and an MFA in Poetry-Writing from The University of Virginia. He has published two chapbooks of poetry, The Black Hare and Atari Ecologues, as well as a collection of short stories, Skinny Dipping in the Lake of the Dead, about which Booklist wrote: “Maybe DeNiro is the future of alternate history: in ‘Our Byzantium,’ a college town is invaded by horse-and-chariot-led soldiers who demolish cars, wheelchairs, and other machines; reestablish Greek as the lingua franca; and otherwise conquer…Refreshing, imaginative, funny-scary stuff.”

DeNiro’s novel, Total Oblivion, More or Less, which was released last November, received even wider praise. Kirkus Review described it as a “fast-paced, suspenseful dystopian picaresque, part Huck Finn and part bizarro-world Swiss Family Robinson." Booklist wrote, “There aren’t many writers who take weirdness as seriously as DeNiro does, and fewer still who can extract so much grounded emotion, gut-dropping humor, and rousing adventure from it.” Indeed, DeNiro’s fiction goes beyond “normal” science fiction just as it goes beyond the traditional “realistic” novel. Hannah Tinti, co-founder and editor-in-chief of One Story magazine, said, “Alan DeNiro lifts the modern family drama and sets it down in the middle of a wildly inventive post-apocalyptic landscape. The insulated life of Middle America may be a thing of the past, but DeNiro finds a way to lead readers into a future full of humor, imagination, and hope.”

Additional information about DeNiro’s reading is available by phone (330-263-2575) or e-mail.