Mary Miller signs a book at Off Square Books Wednesday. Photo: Clara Turnage, The Daily Mississippian.
Young author Mary Miller came to Off Square Books last night to meet with fans and sign her first novel, “The Last Days of California.”
This was a return of sorts for the Mississippi native; however, she will be joining the Oxford community again soon. This fall Miller will join a plethora of authors who make up the prestigious John and Renée Grisham Writer-in-Residence program.
“I’m so excited,” Miller said. “I’ve taught creative writing before but I’ve never taught it to college kids. Having gotten two master’s degrees, I couldn’t be more excited to implement what I’ve learned.”
The John and Renée Grisham Writer-in-Residence program selects one writer each year and gives them the opportunity to live, teach and write just off of the University of Mississippi campus. An author is invited based on the strength and ingenuity of his or her writing. Each Writer-in-Residence teaches one class a semester and is given liberal amounts of time to endeavor on current writing projects. Many choose to become involved in the masters in fine arts programs, though it is not required.
Miller’s spot on the program was well earned, according to the professors in the audience.
“Her first book was fantastic,” said Chris Offutt, assistant professor of English and screenwriting. “That was the main thing, just the quality of the stories in her first book. It’s the strength of her prose more than anything. It’s hard to find someone who’s first book was really good and they have a relationship with the South.”
Tom Franklin, associate professor at the university and 2001 Writer-in-Residence, was in attendance last night to meet Miller and hear the excerpt.
“I’m reading her novel now and loving it,” Franklin remarked. “Her stories are amazing and she’s got a great trajectory going. Five years from now we probably couldn’t get her; we’re lucky to have her now.”
Keiran Lyon, MFA graduate student, attended the book signing last night.
“I’m actually currently reading her short story collection, ‘Big World,’” Lyon said. “She takes tiny things, like someone making a sandwich, and makes it really heartbreaking. If you aren’t paying attention you’ll miss something like that. It’s really incredible.”
When asked what prompted the program to choose Miller, Beth Ann Fennelly, director of the MFA program, stated, “A lot of us are big fans of Mary Miller’s book of short stories called ‘Big World.’ It’s a lot of interesting collections. They sometimes flirt with a little bit of magical realism. They were just really compelling and in a really fresh voice. That was what brought her to our attention.”
Ole Miss is certainly excited and lucky to have a rising young author for this year’s Writer-in-Residence. “Everyone loved her work,” Franklin explained. “She’s a good person as well as a good writer.”
— Clara Turnage
scturna1@go.olemiss.edu
