UNCA’s fall 2001 Writers at Home reading series kicks off at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 16, at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe, 55 Haywood St., downtown Asheville with readings by local authors Jeff Rackham and George Singleton. Writers at Home is part of the Great Smokies Writing Program, a consortium of the Western North Carolina writers’ community and UNC Asheville’s Creative Writing Program. The program is free and open to the public.

Rackham, UNCA professor of literature and language, is the author of the just-released novel "The Rag and Bone Shop" by Zoland Books. Based on actual events, it is a fictional exploration of the final decades of Charles Dickens’ secret life with a mistress half his age. Rackham has also written several books about writing and has published short fiction and literary criticism in a number of journals.

Singleton’s first collection of short stories, "These People Are Us," was published by Black Belt Press in March. His stories have appeared in a wide variety of magazines, including "The Atlantic Monthly" and "Harpers." Singleton teaches fiction writing at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities in Greenville, S.C. and was recently featured on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition.

For more information, call UNCA’s Literature and Language Department at 828/251-6411.