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Created: October 08 2012

Robert Olen Butler, author of The Hot Country The Florida Center for the Book will present a special literary event featuring Robert Olen Butler, author of The Hot Country, at 2 p.m. on October 17 at the Broward County Main Library, 100 S. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301.

Robert Olen Butler is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 12 novels, including Hell and A Small Hotel. He is also the author of six short story collections and a book on the creative process, From Where You Dream. He has twice won a National Magazine Award for Fiction and has received two Pushcart Prizes. His works have been translated into 19 languages, including Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, Polish, Japanese, Serbian, Farsi, Czech, Estonian and Greek. He was also a charter recipient of the Tu Do Chinh Kien Award given by the Vietnam Veterans of America for “outstanding contributions to American culture by a Vietnam veteran.” Over the past 15 years he has lectured in universities, appeared at conferences, and met with writers groups in 17 countries as a Literary Envoy for the U. S. State Department

Butler currently teaches creative writing at Florida State University. In Fall 2001, under the auspices of the University's website, he did something no other writer has done before or since - he revealed his writing process in real time on 17 two-hour webcasts. Additionally, he gave running commentary on his artistic choices and spent 30 minutes during each episode answering emailed questions from live viewers. The popular series can be found found on iTunes under the title Inside Creative Writing.

The afternoon's program will include light refreshments, and books will be available for sale and signing. For more information about this free library program, call 954-357-7386.

Florida Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, brings readers and writers together, promotes books, reading and libraries and celebrates the literary heritage of Florida.

The award-winning Broward County Libraries Division, founded in 1974, is the ninth largest library system in the nation by population served and one of the busiest, with more than 9 million walk-in customers visiting its 37 locations annually. The library has more than 3.4 million items and 2,000 computers for public use and offers hundreds of events and programs to meet the needs of the Broward County's diverse community. The library continues its strong emphasis on literacy, after-school programs and electronic access. In addition to our comprehensive web site, www.broward.org/library,  which provides information about library activities, links to online catalogs, reference information and databases, customers can visit BCL WoW – Broward County Library Without Walls – for free eBooks, music, audiobooks, apps and more. Customers may also follow Libraries on Facebook and Twitter. Libraries Division also administers the services, programs, collections and exhibits of the Historical Commission.