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Nov. 8: VCU Cabell First Novelist recipient speaks and takes questions

November 1, 2012

Justin Torres will be honored on campus as the 2012 recipient of the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, which honors an outstanding debut novel published during a calendar year. His winning book, "We the Animals," is a powerful coming-of-age novel about three brothers growing up with the chaotic and destructive love of their working-class parents.  

Torres, who is getting national attention for this book, will be on campus Nov. 8 for a reading at 7 p.m. at the Grace Street Theater, 934 West Grace Street. After his reading, Torres will discuss the journey of his novel from its original idea to the published book. A book sale, signing and reception will follow. The event is free and open to all, but audience members are asked to register. Registration assists us in planning and facilitates seating. 
  • Register online
  • To register by telephone or to ask about special accommodations, please call Gregory G. Kimbrell at (804) 828-0593.
  • Parking: West Broad Street and West Main Street decks

Torres was one of three finalists for the prize, now in its eleventh year. The other finalists were Alexi Zentner for "Touch" and Peter Mountford for "A Young Man's Guide to Late Capitalism."

Published in August 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, "We the Animals" is narrated by the youngest sibling in a voice that is both compelling and urgent and prose that is brutally honest and beautifully poetic. Composed in short, disjointed chapters, the novel swiftly moves through six years in the tumultuous childhood of the three brothers as they claw their way toward adulthood. More

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