FARMINGTON — The University of Maine at Farmington will present best-selling author Andre Dubus III, author of “House of Sand and Fog,” as the first writer in its fall 2010-11 Visiting Writers Series.

Dubus also wrote “The Garden of Last Days” and “Bluesman.” He has a collection of short fiction called “The Cage Keeper and Other Stories,” and is scheduled to release his memoir, “Townie,” in February.

He will read from his work at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 23, in The Landing in the UMF Olsen Student Center. The reading is free and open to the public and will be followed by a signing.

“House of Sand and Fog” was a finalist for fiction for the National Book Award and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Booksense Book of the Year award. It was a No. 1 New York Times best-seller and an Oprah’s Book Club selection, was made into an Academy Award-nominated film and has been published in 20 languages.

Dubus teaches at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and has also taught writing at Harvard University, Tufts University and Emerson College. He is a member of PEN American Center and has been a panelist for the National Book Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.