BOONE—Award-winning author Jill McCorkle will be the guest speaker Sept. 26 at an annual fundraising dinner to benefit the Carol Grotnes Belk Library and Information Commons at Appalachian State University.

The event begins with a reception at 7:15 p.m. at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts followed by dinner at 7:45 p.m. Tickets are $65 each. The event is sponsored by the Carol Grotnes Belk Library and Information Commons Advisory Board.

The deadline to purchase tickets is Friday, Sept. 12. For more information, contact Lynn Patterson at 828-262-2087 or pattersondl@appstate.edu.

McCorkle is a native of Lumberton. At age 26 she made publishing history by having her first two novels published simultaneously. Five of her books have been selected by The New York Times Book Review for its Notable Books of the Year list.

Her five novels and three story collections take a humorous look at Southern women and their relationships. McCorkle is also a successful short story writer. Her collections include “Crash Diet,” “Final Vinyl Days: And Other Stories” and “Creatures of Habit.”

Drawing upon the oral tradition of southern literature, McCorkle writes about the complexities and frailties of human relationships. As Greg Johnson observed in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, McCorkle “has a deft comic touch and is a keen observer of Southern manners, in all their complexity and frequent absurdity; her vision is also similarly humane, revealing the foibles of her characters but withholding harsh judgments or violent epiphanies.”

McCorkle says “Tending to Virginia” is one of her favorite works. The novel follows three generations of women as the youngest endures a difficult pregnancy. The character at the center of McCorkle’s fifth novel, “Carolina Moon,” is Quee Purdy. Quee is the colorful proprietress of a smoking cessation clinic who takes it upon herself to fix the love lives of her clientele while nursing her own heartaches.

Her other novels are “The Cheerleader,” “July 7th” and “Ferris Beach.”

Proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit the University Library Student Assistant Scholarship endowment. The fund was created in 2007 to support the education of the 150 student assistants who perform vital library tasks. Without these student assistants, the university library could not fully operate.

The library awarded three $500 scholarships for the fall semester.

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