by Warren Wilson Library Director Christine Nugent, guest writer

Russell Banks, prolific writer of fiction including his 2011 novel, “Lost Memory of Skin,” will deliver the annual Harwood-Cole Memorial Lecture Nov. 17 at Warren Wilson College.

The lecture, free and open to the public, begins at 4 p.m. in Canon Lounge of the Gladfelter Student Center, preceded by a 3 p.m. reception featuring The Dixie Darlings. The event is sponsored by The Friends of the Pew Learning Center and Ellison Library.

Banks has received numerous awards and literary honors, including the prestigious Merrill Award, the John Dos Passos Award and the Literary Award from the American Academy of Arts & Letters. Twice he has been a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize and three times for the PEN/Faulkner award. He also is the winner of the 2011 Common Wealth Award for Literature.

A native New Englander who began his writing career as a poet, Banks has taught at several colleges and universities, including Columbia University, Sarah Lawrence College, University of New Hampshire, New England College, New York University and Princeton University. His most recent works include the nonfiction book “Dreaming up America.”