MSU Texas' James Hoggard Reading Series will host acclaimed writer Sandra Scofield at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 19, at the Wichita Falls Museum of Art at MSU Texas.

Scofield has written seven novels, a memoir, a book of essays about family, and a book of stories. Her novel Beyond Deserving was a finalist for the National Book Award, was named one of the Notable Books of the Year in 1991 by The New York Times, and won both a New American Writing Award and an American Book Award. Her other novels include Gringa, More Than Allies, Walking Dunes, Opal on Dry Ground, A Chance to See Egypt, and Plain Seeing.

Scofield's work also includes two craft books for writers, The Scene Book and The Last Draft: A Novelist's Guide to Revision.

A native Texan, Scofield has lived in Oregon and Montana the last 40 years. She has taught in public schools and at the university level. Since 2006, she has been on the faculty of the Solstice MFA low-residency program at Pine Manor College in Massachusetts, and she has taught at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival since 1993.

Scofield is also an avid painter. She has been married to Bill Ferguson since 1975.

James Hoggard retired in 2013 as the Perkins-Prothro Distinguished Professor of English after teaching at MSU Texas since 1966. Assistant Professor of English John Schulze said naming the series for Hoggard was an appropriate way to honor his contributions to MSU Texas, Wichita Falls, and the broader literary community. This event is free and open to the public. It is supported by the Bryan L. Lawrence Endowment; the Department of English, Humanities, & Philosophy; and the Prothro-Yeager College of Humanities and Social Sciences. For more information, contact Schulze at john.schulze@msutexas.edu.