Jalen Cliatt ’18

As part of the Writing: A Life event, Tom McAllister will be visiting Lebanon Valley College.

Starting on March 26, the Temple professor will be speaking on behalf of the LVC Colloquium and will finish out his visit by offering a generative workshop to students on March 27.

“I’m especially pleased to welcome Tom McAllister to LVC this spring,” Dr. Holly Wendt, assistant director of English and director of Creative Writing, said. “I read McAllister’s first novel, The Young Widower’s Handbook, and loved it.”

McAllister is the author of the memoir “Bury me in Jersey” and the novel “The Young Widower’s Handbook”. The latter was featured on Barnes & Noble’s Discover Great New Writers list for spring 2017.

In addition, McAllister has written a variety of fiction and non-fiction short stories that have been featured in multiple online collections, and he is the non-fiction editor for the Barrelhouse literary magazine. McAllister will be debuting his newest novel, “How to be Safe” during a reading at LVC prior to its April release.

“It’s striking, powerful and yet not without heart and hope, and I’m excited that our campus gets what is essentially a sneak preview of the book,” Wendt said. “ There will be copies available at the LVC reading before the book is in stores.”

Students interested in purchasing the book can attend the reading in the Bishop Library Atrium at 7 p.m. McAllister will be speaking at the desire colloquium from 4-5 p.m. on March 26, and his generative workshop will be offered from 3:30-5 p.m. on March 27.