Sarah Addison Allen will read April 15

UNC Asheville's Literature Club will host an evening with New York Times best-selling author Sarah Addison Allen at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15, at UNC Asheville's Laurel Forum. Allen, a 1994 graduate of UNC Asheville, will read from her second novel "The Sugar Queen," which will be released in paperback this month. A book signing will follow her talk. The event is free and open to the public.

A native of Asheville, Allen began writing professionally upon graduation. She sold a few stories and penned romance novels for Harlequin under the pen name Katie Gallagher. Her big break came in 2007 with the publication of her first mainstream novel, "Garden Spells," a modern fairytale about an enchanted apple tree and the family of North Carolina women who tend it. Booklist called Allen's accomplished debut "spellbindingly charming" and the novel became a New York Times best seller, a BookSense pick and a Barnes & Noble Recommends selection. Her second novel, "The Sugar Queen," tells the tale of a young woman with family secrets and secret passions that change her life forever. Allen is currently at work on her third novel, which will be released next year.

For more information, call UNC Asheville's Literature & Language Department at 828/251-6411.