FOREST CITY, December 22 , 2017 –  FOREST CITY, January 2, 2018 –  Waldorf University’s Distinguished Visiting Writer Series presents Fiction Writer K.L. Cook on Tuesday, February 13, from 7-8 p.m. in the Salveson Ballroom on campus.
 
Cook is the author of three award-winning books of fiction, including Love Songs for the Quarantined, which won the Spokane Prize for Short Fiction. His stories often feature characters from the rough-and-tumble area in west Texas where he grew up, and they have appeared widely in literary journals, being selected for Best American Mystery Stories and Best of the West.
 
Cook is no stranger to Iowa, having lived in Ames for more than five years, teaching at Iowa State University in the MFA Program in Creative Writing and Environment. He is particularly aware of regions and how they shape people. In his stories, characters are rooted in places, and they are all the more fascinating because of those places.
 
As one critic puts it, “Cook is the best kind of storyteller—he creates compelling characters and dives deeply through the wreckage of their lives.”  
 
Tim Bascom, assistant professor of English and director of the Distinguished Visiting Writer Series for Waldorf University, added: "One thing you can count on with Kenny is that he will open your eyes to the rich nuances of human relationship. This is an author who will not only entertain but leave you amazed by new, unexpected insights."
 
The event, hosted by the Waldorf Creative Writing Program, is free and open to the public.
 
About Waldorf University
Based in Forest City, Iowa, Waldorf University is a liberal arts institution that delivers engaging learning experiences through innovative residential and online instruction while providing students associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees and certificates in organizational leadership, criminal justice, fire science, theater, education, biology and more. Visit Waldorf.edu to learn more.