Utah Tech University’s Department of English is hosting a reading with Rod Miller, four-time winner of the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award. Miller is the author of dozens of books, including novels, short story collections and volumes of cowboy-themed verse set in the American West.
The event is scheduled to take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on April 6 in the Zion Room on the fifth floor of Holland Centennial Commons on the UT campus. Miller will read from his novels “A Thousand Dead Horses” and “With a Kiss I Die” as well as several poems. A book signing will follow.
Born and raised in Utah, Miller crafts his tales around actual people and historic events, including the notorious Mountain Meadows Massacre, which took place in southwestern Utah.
“Doing research is one of the most enjoyable aspects of writing,” Miller said. “Understanding how people thought and felt and talked in times past, as well as learning details of how things were accomplished, provides seasoning and adds flavor to stories. I believe it is important to give readers a taste of the complex, layered, realistic Old West rather than relying on the mythical, formulaic picture presented in so much of Western literature.”
Miller’s writing has appeared in several national publications, including “True West,” “American Cowboy,” “Western Horseman” and “Cowboys & Indians.” In 2012, the League of Utah Writers named him Writer of the Year.
“Rod Miller is a versatile and accomplished author,” Dr. Stephen B. Armstrong, a professor of English at UT, said. “On the day he visits our campus, he’s going to meet with our creative writing students to discuss his writing process and his experiences with publishers. Then he’s going to engage members of the local community with a fabulous reading.”
UT’s College of Humanities & Social Sciences and the University’s Humanities Center are co-sponsoring the event. Admission is free and open to the public, with food provided.
To learn more about Rod Miller, check out www.writerRodMiller.com. For questions about the reading, contact Stephen B. Armstrong at stephen.armstrong@utahtech.edu.