On March 29 at 7:00 pm, award-winning author, Paul Shepherd will be sharing selections from his book, “More Like Not Running Away” to the community. This free event is hosted by the Department of English and will take place in the Dover Campus Center’s Ritch Banquet Hall. Each year, the English Department invites visiting authors to spend time with students and the community sharing their works and their wisdom on the writing process.

“Paul has strong ties to North Carolina, and, historically, we like to bring North Carolina writers to campus,” noted Dr. Chris Davis, event spokesperson. “Over the years, we've had visits from Fred Chappell, Lee Smith, Robert Morgan, Jill McCorkle, and Ron Rash.  Although Paul is not as recognized as those authors, we feel that he will be, given time.”

In this debut novel, Shepherd shares the struggles, the joys and the pain that can bind fathers and sons together. It is an emotional story rich with characters on a journey into the depths of searching for one’s self. Readers will travel across America as these characters face the dangerous conflicts of running away from troubled lives and running into an unknown future. Messages of spiritual dilemmas, anger, insanity and redemption offer real world insights into the minds of the readers.

The Gardner-Webb community is excited about the Shepherd visit since many are quite familiar with this novel. “’More Like Not Running Away’ is being read by all Gardner-Webb English 102 students and many students in English 101 and other American Literature courses,” added Davis.

Shepherd is a Writer in Residence and former Kingsbury Fellow at Florida State University, where he earned a PhD with distinction. His 2004 debut novel has earned him numerous awards and honors for fiction writing. Shepherd currently lives in Florida, working part-time with a family ministries program. He also spends his time with Rainbow Rehab, a nonprofit construction company that focuses on renovating homes for low-income homeowners.