Bestselling author Jess Walter will read from his newest novel, So Far Gone. Set in contemporary times and featuring a protagonist named Rhys Kinnick who has "gone off the grid" (harpercollins.com), So Far Gone follows Rhys as he emerges from his chosen path of solitude to rescue his missing daughter and "save his sweet, precocious grandchildren from the members of a dangerous militia." Ann Patchett, bestselling author of Tom Lake and The Dutch House, praises So Far Gone as "a warm, funny, loving novel out of so many horrible parts...an American original," while Lauren Groff, bestselling author of Matrix, says, "So Far Gone speaks directly into the profoundly troubled soul of our fractured, embittered country; miraculously, it does so with gentle wryness and angry love."

Jess Walter is the author of seven previous novels, including the bestsellers The Cold Millions and Beautiful Ruins, the National Book Award Finalist The Zero, and Citizen Vince, winner of the Edgar Award for best novel. His short fiction, collected in The Angel of Rome and We Live in Water, has won the O. Henry Prize, the Pushcart Prize and appeared three times in Best American Short Stories. He lives in his hometown of Spokane, Washington.

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Readings at Prairie Lights are sponsored by the Writing University.}