Newport, RI – Rhode Island native Ann Hood – the best-selling author of 14 novels, three memoirs and books for young adults – will offer a personal glimpse into her reading habits, her writing hang-ups and how to conquer the blank page when she hosts an afternoon conversation, free and open to the public, on Saturday, Oct. 13 at Salve Regina University.

Hood, founding director of The Newport MFA – Salve’s low-residency terminal degree program in creative writing – will present “The Writing Life” from 1-3 p.m. in the Bazarsky Lecture Hall, located in the O’Hare Academic Building on Ochre Point Avenue. Those interested in attending this free event are asked to reserve their seat at salve.edu/newport-mfa.

“Ann Hood is larger than life,” says Jen McClanaghan, associate professor and writer in residence at Salve who also serves as The Newport MFA program director. “During our last event, I found myself laughing and crying and laughing again in the span of a few minutes. The audience was rapt – we all felt this sense of having been so lucky to be there.”

Hood is the editor of Knitting Yarns: Writers on Knitting and the bestselling author of The Book That Matters Most, The Knitting Circle, The Red Thread, Comfort, and An Italian Wife, among other works. She is the recipient of two Pushcart Prizes, a Best American Spiritual Writing Award, a Best American Food Writing Award, a Best American Travel Writing Award, and the Paul Bowles Prize for Short Fiction.

Her new book, Kitchen Yarns: Notes on Love, Life and Food, is due out in December.

The Newport MFA offers aspiring writers the opportunity to pursue the terminal degree in their field by attending eight-day residencies in Newport twice a year. The program immerses students in the creative life through an intensive study of the craft of writing guided by dedicated faculty. Residencies consist of daily workshops, craft lectures, manuscript consultations, and keynote readings, initiating students into the writing life as well as the business of publishing and editing. Students spend the months between residencies writing and reflecting in an individualized mentorship with eminent writers.

For more information, call the Office of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education at (800) 637-0002 or email graduate_studies@salve.edu.