Award winning writer George Saunders (CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, Pastoralia, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip) read from his latest collection of short stories, Tenth of December, as the latest speaker for St. Francis College's Walt Whitman Writers Series on Monday, April 14.

A MacArthur Genius Grant fellow, Saunders was also named by Time Magazine as one of its 100 most influential people and been profiled in the New Yorker and the New York Times Magazine. He is a regular contributor to the New Yorker and GQ and teaches writing at Syracuse University.

The Walt Whitman Series is a continuation of St. Francis College's commitment to supporting Brooklyn's literary community. In addition to visits by these authors, the College also offers the biennial $50,000 St. Francis College Literary Prize and helps sponsor and host events for the Brooklyn Book Festival; giving students, faculty and the entire Brooklyn community a front row seat to some of the best and most diverse professional writers at work today.

Saunders is the tenth writer to visit St. Francis for the Walt Whitman Series which continues to bring top contemporary authors to Brooklyn Heights to share their work and writing experiences with students, faculty and the entire Brooklyn community. Previous authors include James Salter, Colum, McCann, Ben Marcus, Dinaw Mengestu, Kate Christensen, Julie Orringer, Jonathan Lethem, Darcey Steinke, and Rick Moody.

Junot Diaz is the next writer, scheduled to appear in October 2014.