UNCA Creative Writing Program has named Charles Frazier, author of the best-selling novel "Cold Mountain," the 2000 P.B. Parris visiting writer. Frazier will give a reading of his work at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 13, in UNCA's Owen Conference Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Set in North Carolina, the highly acclaimed "Cold Mountain" depicts the story of a wounded Confederate soldier named Inman. Inman deserts a Raleigh hospital and treks across North Carolina toward his home at Cold Mountain. During the journey, he dodges deserter hunters and daydreams of his beloved Ada, who struggles to survive alone on her war-torn farm. The story is loosely based on Frazier's great-great uncle, W.P. Inman, whose Civil War odyssey became the core of the novel.

"Cold Mountain," which won the 1997 National Book Award and spent more than a year on the New York Times Bestseller List, is Frazier's first novel.

Frazier was born in 1950 and grew up in Western North Carolina. He earned a bachelor's degree at UNC-Chapel Hill, a master's degree from Appalachian State and a Ph.D. in 20th century American literature from the University of South Carolina. He has taught at the University of Colorado-Boulder and at North Carolina State University.

Frazier's visit is made possible by an endowment established by the friends of P.B. Parris, a recently retired UNCA creative writing professor and author of "Waltzing in the Attic."

For more information, call the UNCA Literature Department at 828/251-6411.