Join us for the eighth event in our Novel Night series, a monthly celebration of all things prose! Here’s how it works: two published authors will read from their books and there’ll be an audience Q & A. We’ll then have an open mic for writers who have signed up to read from their unpublished short stories or novels. And finally, we’ll have “Book Talk,” in which an intrepid Malvern staff member will introduce you to one of our favorite prose titles and invite questions from the audience. Also worth noting: there will be snacks!

This month Donna Birdwell will be reading from her new novel, Way of the Serpent, and Steven Metze will be reading from The Zombie Monologues.

Donna Dechen Birdwell is an anthropologist whose curiosity about what makes human beings tick propelled her to travel widely, listening to the stories of many different cultures and eventually coming up with a few of her own. As a writer, her intention is to take readers on a lively adventure and leave them with something to think about. Donna is an artist, poet, and photographer as well as a novelist. She holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from Southern Methodist University and previously taught at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. She now writes, paints, and photographs in Austin.

Steven E. Metze is the author of The Zombie Monologues, as well as numerous role-playing-game and miniatures war game rulebooks and sourcebooks, including Über RPG Steampunk. He is a member of Mensa and the Writer’s League of Texas. He graduated from West Point and continues to serve with over 26 years of military service, including 10 years as a military journalist, and also has an MFA in Film and Video production. He is currently publishing a serial web comic at www.godsoftheaether.com based on his steampunk novel, Gods of the Aether.