New York Times reviewer Rand Richards Cooper wrote “what makes Russo a supremely enjoyable novelist is the big swing he takes at small-town America: His sprawling novels keep large ensemble casts in play, making room for the hopes and delusions of even the most minor characters.”

Russo’s most recent publication is The Whore’s Child and Other Stories (Knopf, 2002). His novels include Mohawk (Random House, 1994), The Risk Poo, (Random House, 1994), Straight Man (Knopf, 1998) and Nobody’s Fool (Random House, 1997), which was made into a movie starring Paul Newman and Bruce Willis.  Publisher’s Weekly called Empire Falls Russo’s “biggest, boldest novel yet,” in which the author “subjects a full cross-section of a crumbling Maine mill town to piercing, compassionate scrutiny, capturing misfits, malefactors and misguided honest citizens alike in the steady beam of his prose.”

A native of Gloversville, N.Y., Russo is an alumnus of the University of Arizona Creative Writing Program and has taught at the University of Southern Illinois, the Iowa Writer’s Workshop and Colby College. His many screenplays include Nobody’s Fool and Twilight.

Each fall, Writers Harvest invites writers to fight hunger and poverty by reading from their works at bookstores, college campuses and community centers around the country. SOS distributes 100 percent of event donations to statewide anti-hunger and anti-poverty efforts. Since its inception in 1992, SOS’s Writers Harvest has raised more than $800,000 for the fight against hunger.

Another highlight for your story planning is the fact that Frank Glazer, an artist in residence at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and a pianist of international stature, has two concerts on tap during November.

In addition, the month holds one must-cover in literature at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, a reading by Camden’s own Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, Richard Russo (Empire Falls).

Full press releases will follow for most of these events.

• Stage: The Robinson Players, one of the oldest student theater companies in the nation, continues an ambitious year with three November productions. David Ives wrote two of them: The Red Address, which started in October and closes Nov. 3, and All In The Timing, a collection of absurdist one-acts (Nov. 15-17). Also this month the “Rob Players” present Love Changes Everything, an original cabaret of popular love songs from such Broadway hits as West Side Story, South Pacific and My Fair Lady (Nov. 8-9).

• Meanwhile, the Department of Theater and Rhetoric at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ has its own fish to fry. Professor Paul Kuritz directs Oscar Wilde’s sparkling comedy of manners, Lady Windermere’s Fan (Nov. 1-3, 8-10). Starting later in the month (Nov. 19 and 21, Dec. 5-6) is Sex and Death, a collection of one-acts written by Diana Amsterdam and directed by students in Kuritz’s directing class. Finally, the department’s dance program offers showcase performances of work by two visiting big-name choreographers: New York’s Ben Munisteri on Nov. 1, and from Boston, Sara Sweet Rabidoux on Nov. 15.

• Literature: Richard Russo, the Camden author who won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize in fiction for his novel Empire Falls, reads from his work on Nov. 14. This Annual Writers Harvest event is sponsored by ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and the national anti-hunger organization SOS.

• Another compelling event in the humanities is a talk on Nov. 11 by Marcus Borg, best-selling author and a professor of religion and culture at Oregon University. His talk is likely to be an attention-getter: The Bible: Instrument of Oppression or Liberation?

• Music: With two concerts in November by Frank Glazer, who is well into his 80s, the time is ripe for a long-overdue major Glazer profile. On Nov. 9, the pianist is joined by his New England Piano Quartette colleague Curtis Macomber for a program of Beethoven violin sonatas. On the 20th, it’s just Glazer with music by Schumann, Beethoven, Debussy and Liszt.

• Two student ensembles have their autumn concerts this month, too. The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Orchestra performs music by Haydn, Brahms, Stravinsky and Pärt on Nov. 1. On Nov. 15-16, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Choir sings a cantata from Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio” and Mozart’s “Solemn Vespers of the Confessor” with orchestral accompaniment.

• Visual Arts: November is the month for lectures by visiting artists, notably Maine’s own Joel Babb (Nov. 7), who is exhibiting Maine landscapes at the college through the end of the year. Others discussing their work are Alyssa Hinton, who uses mixed media to explore the folklore and history surrounding her Native American roots and has the exhibit Spiritual Archaeology at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ (Nov. 10); and Pheobe Farris, a Purdue University professor of art, design and women’s studies, with a survey of contemporary female Native American artists (Nov. 15).

The play’s the thing when it comes to November’s public arts and entertainment events at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College. Two productions are planned by the college’s theater program (as well as two by the dance program), and there are two by the student theatrical troupe, the Robinson Players. Other performance highlights for November include two concerts by artist-in-residence Frank Glazer, a pianist of international stature. The month also holds a reading by Camden’s own Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, Richard Russo.

The Robinson Players, one of the oldest student theater companies in the nation, continue an ambitious year with two November productions. David Ives wrote All In The Timing, a collection of absurdist one-acts (Nov. 15-17). Also this month the “Rob Players” present Love Changes Everything, an original cabaret of popular love songs from such Broadway hits as West Side Story, South Pacific and My Fair Lady (Nov. 8-9).

Meanwhile, the Department of Theater and Rhetoric at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ has its own fish to fry. Professor Paul Kuritz directs Oscar Wilde’s sparkling comedy of manners, Lady Windermere’s Fan, at the Gannett Theater through Nov. 10 (read more about it here). Starting later in the month (Nov. 19 and 21, Dec. 5-6) is Sex and Death, a collection of one-acts written by Diana Amsterdam and directed by students in Kuritz’s directing class.

Finally, students in the department’s dance program offer a showcase performance of work by visiting choreographer Sara Sweet Rabidoux on Nov. 15.

On the music front, Glazer is joined on Nov. 9 by his New England Piano Quartette colleague Curtis Macomber for a program of Beethoven violin sonatas. On the 20th, it’s just Glazer with music by Schumann, Beethoven, Debussy and Liszt.

On Nov. 15-16, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College Choir sings a cantata from Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Mozart’s Solemn Vespers of the Confessor with orchestral accompaniment.

In literature, Russo, who won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize in fiction for his novel Empire Falls, reads from his work on Nov. 14. This Annual Writers Harvest event is sponsored by ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and the national anti-hunger organization SOS.

Another compelling event in the humanities is a talk on Nov. 11 by Marcus Borg, best-selling author and a professor of religion and culture at Oregon University. His talk is likely to be an attention-getter: The Bible: Instrument of Oppression or Liberation?

In the visual arts, in addition to a lecture by Maine landscapist Joel Babb on Nov. 7, two lectures concern Native American artists: Alyssa Hinton, who uses mixed media to explore the folklore and history surrounding her Native American roots and has the exhibit Spiritual Archaeology at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, talks about her work on Nov. 10; and Pheobe Farris, a Purdue University professor of art, design and women’s studies, offers a survey of contemporary female Native American artists on the 15th.