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Visiting Writer Is One-Man Multimedia Showcase

Mark Winegardner, who was hand-picked to write two sequels to Mario Puzo’s The Godfather and has published a number of other novels and short stories, will give a reading of new short fiction on Feb. 23 at The University of Texas at Dallas.

The reading will be followed by a question-and-answer session on topics including fiction, writing, video games, graphic novels, digital arts and media, the future of publishing and, of course, The Godfather.  The event is scheduled for 8 p.m. in Jonsson Performance Hall.

“Mark is a good fit for us here at UT Dallas because of his wide-ranging talents and success in crossing various genre and technological barriers,” said Matt Bondurant, assistant professor of creative writing at the University.

Winegardner’s The Godfather Returns and The Godfather’s Revenge were published in 2004 and 2006 respectively.  He had already been the author of the novels Crooked River Burning and Veracruz Blues. He has also published a short story collection, That’s True of Everybody, as well as several nonfiction books and articles and essays in magazines such as DetailsGQ and Sports Illustrated.

He has just finished a graphic novel for DC Comics imprint Vertigo called Bastard Child Kelly.  He co-wrote the script for The Godfather video game (Electronic Arts).  Winegardner is currently the Burroway Chair of English & Distinguished Research Professor at Florida State University.

“There aren’t many other people in this country that have written highly respected literary novels, short stories, articles and essays in popular magazines, as well as a major studio video game, a graphic novel, and two books in a trilogy of New York Times bestsellers that sold millions of copies around the world,”  Bondurant said.

Full story available from the UT Dallas News Center.