Fiction writer Allan Gurganus, an Iowa Writers’ Workshop alumnus and visiting faculty member, will present a fiction lecture at 8 p.m. today in the Frank Conroy Reading Room of the Dey House.

The lecture is titled “Fiction as History, and Vice Versa.” Admission is free.

The author is best known for Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All,” his début novel in 1989.

His other works include White People, Plays Well With Others, and The Practical Heart.

Gurganus has been said by critics to be a “Mark Twain of our age,” known for his folkloric storytelling and his self-branding style. After graduation, Gurganus taught at prestigious schools such as Duke and Stanford. He now resides in North Carolina.

— by Eric Hawkinson