The first Public Forum event of the fall semester, “An Evening of Stories,” will take place from 7-8 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25, in the Performance Space in the Emery Community Arts Center on the campus of the University of Maine at Farmington.

The event features readings by creative writing faculty members Amy Neswald and Lewis Robinson, local author Shannon Bowring and UMF students Milo Gaudette and Manu Ritchie. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A and a reception with light refreshments.

Amy Neswald is a fiction writer and screenwriter with a deep interest in telling stories across mediums. Her work has appeared in The Rumpus, The Normal School, Bat City Review, and Green Mountain Review, among others. Her debut novel-in-stories “I Know You Love Me, Too,” is a recipient of the New American Fiction Prize and a finalist for a Maine Literary Award. Her screenplays and short films have been awarded several accolades and have screened internationally. Prior to moving to rural Maine, she had a long career as a wigmaster for Broadway shows.

Lewis Robinson is the author of the novel “Water Dogs” (Random House, 2009), a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and “Officer Friendly and Other Stories” (HarperCollins, 2003), winner of a Whiting Award and the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award, and the forthcoming novel “The Islanders” (Islandport, Sept 2024). His short fiction and essays have appeared in Sports Illustrated, Tin House, The Baffler, The New York Times Book Review and on NPR’s program Selected Shorts.

Shannon Bowring’s award-winning work has appeared in numerous journals, including “Best Small Fictions,” and has been nominated for Pushcart and Best of the Net prizes. She is the recipient of the 2022 Julia Peterkin Literary Award for Flash Fiction and was selected by Deesha Philyaw as a finalist for the Fractured Lit Anthology II Contest. Her debut novel, “The Road to Dalton,” was selected as an NPR Best Book in 2023 and won the Maine Literary Book Award for Fiction in 2024. The sequel to The Road to Dalton, “WHERE THE FOREST MEETS THE RIVER,” will be published on Sept. 3, by Europa Editions.

Milo Gaudette is a senior creative writing student from Camden. He writes about dragons and stoners and queer love like they were always meant to exist together. Milo has recently become the president of UMF’s Writers’ Guild and is looking forward to seeing where that will lead.

Manu Ritchie, from Eliot tries in her work to capture the world the way it is. Her primary focus is character-driven realistic fiction set in small towns, and she loves playing with concepts such as intergenerational relationships, Catholicism, and love in all its forms. Manu is a part of the Honors Program, a recipient of the 2023 Maud L. Park scholarship for excellence in English, and interned/works part time as a creative assistant at Taffy Film Company.

This event is free and open to the public.

The UMF Public Forum presents thematic panel discussions and readings that explore creative and academic topics while engaging perspectives from UMF faculty, students and members of the Farmington community. In addition to An Evening of Stories, this semester’s event series will include a presentation on “Mental Health at Home, School and in the Community” on Oct. 9 and “The Literary, Cultural and Psychological Importance of Video Games” on Nov. 13.

A nationally recognized public liberal arts college known for its commitment to the creative arts, teacher preparation, the health arts and sciences, the environment, business and public service, UMF provides a challenging yet supportive environment to prepare students for both careers and further study.

Check out other upcoming entertainment events!