LEWISTON, Me-  Franco-American authors are coming to the University of Southern Maine Lewiston Auburn College, scheduled in a series of programs beginning on Monday, September 23, 2019, and four additional dates, on November 25, 2019, February 24, March 23 and April 27, 2020.

Franco-American Collection at the University of Southern Maine Lewiston Auburn College (LAC) Board members (from left) George Blouin, Doris Bonneau, Denis Ledoux and Juliana L’Heureux. Ledoux is program chair leading the Franco-American authors series.

“Meet A Franco-American Author“, was organized by Denis Ledoux, a writer who lives in Lisbon and a Board member with the USM LAC Franco-American Collection. Ledoux is the president and owner of The Memoir Network, (professional support for writers and authors) and is the FAC program chair person.

“I am delighted about the opportunity to bring five distinguished Franco-American writers to meet the community and to welcome students who we are encouraging to attend, ” said Ledoux.  This series is free and open to the public.

This is an impressive line-up of superb writers!

Franco-American authors reading series begins on September 23, 2019, at USM LAC in Lewiston. Denis Ledoux is the chair person leading the series.

On September 23, 2019, the FAC will host Ernest Hébert of Keene, New Hampshire, whose inaugural novel Dogs of March, the first in a series of six books that take place in the fictional town of Darby, New Hampshire, created a stir when it was published in 1979. Hébert is retired from the creative writing faculty at Dartmouth College after a distinguished career.

On November 25, 2019, the FAC presents Suzanne Pelletier, who is well known in the area as a poet and community supporter. She will read from her previous book of poetry Immigrant Dream, as well as from her second book, This Unheeded Eden. Pelletier has been active on the boards of many area organizations.

February 24, 2020, is scheduled for Steven Riel, currently editor-in-chief of the Franco-American literary e-journal Résonance. He is the the author of numerous poetry collections, was selected as a 2016 Fellow by the Lambda Literary Foundation and was named the 2005 Robert Fraser Distinguished Visiting Poet at Bucks County (PA) Community College. He holds an MFA in poetry.

On March 23, 2020, the FAC will bring Ron Curie, Jr, to its audience. Currie’s first book, God is Dead, was published in 2007, earning Currie the Young Lions Fiction Award from the New York Public Library, as well as the Metcalf award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Critics praised the book’s daring mix of dark humor and earnest sentiment.

Closing the series on April 27, 2020, is David Vermette, a Franco-American researcher and writer who has studied the history and identity of the descendants of the French in North America. His flagship book, A Distinct Alien Race: The Untold Story of Franco-Americans, is the product of more than 25 years of passionate inquiry into everything concerning the descendants of North American French people’s history and identity.

Each presenter will read and speak for 30 minutes and then entertain questions for 15-20 minutes. Moreover, each has graciously agreed to remain for informal conversations with audience members. Writers will also make books available for sale for you to stock your Franco library.

Information on becoming a member of the Franco-American Collection will also be available. The FAC is among the most vibrant of Franco organizations in the state and welcomes your support and participation.

All programs will be held on Mondays at 7 PM in Room 170 at Lewiston-Auburn College, at the University of Southern Maine, 51 Westminster Street, Lewiston, ME 04240.

Light refreshments will be served. The reading series is sponsored, in part, by Quebec.

The Franco-American Collection (Franco-Americaine) reading series is sponsored in part by Quebec.

Denis Ledoux has been helping people to write their personal and family stories since 1988. He holds an M.A.Ed. and is a writer, editor, teacher, writing coach and co-author. His memoir-based The Memoir Network has trained personal historians internationally to use his method and materials. They offer the Turning Memories® workshops and programs in their own communities in five English-speaking countries around the world.

Be sue to check the on line information about the Franco-American Collection at USM Lewiston Auburn College, at this site here.