TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Author Joy Williams will give a reading Thursday, Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bama Theatre, 600 Greensboro Ave., as part of The University of Alabama’s Bankhead Visiting Writers Series.

Williams is the author of four novels, two collections of short stories and a collection of essays. Her first novel, “State of Grace,” was a National Book Award nominee, and her most recent novel, “The Quick and the Dead,” was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Her most recent work, “Ill Nature: Rants and Reflections on Humanity and Other Animals” is a collection of essays that was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism. Among her many honors are the Rea Award for the short story and the Strauss Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

The reading is free and open to the public. A reception will follow.

The Bankhead Visiting Writers Series is made possible by an endowment from the Bankhead Foundation, The University of Alabama’s Program in Creative Writing, the department of English and the College of Arts and Sciences. For more information, contact UA’s creative writing program at 205/348-0766.

The College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the “USA Today” Academic All American Team.

The University of Alabama is a top-quality, student-centered, research university. In keeping with its vision to be the university of choice for the best and brightest students and to offer an excellent education to all its students, UA is in the midst of a planned, steady enrollment growth with a goal of reaching 28,000 students by 2010. The state’s flagship university, UA is an academic community united in its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all Alabamians.