Author of ‘The Book of Duels’ makes appearance in Yuma

Michael Garriga, a creative writing professor and author of the short story collection “The Book of Duels,” will discuss writing and give a public reading of his work in two appearances today at Arizona Western College.

Garriga, who teaches at Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio, is visiting AWC’s main campus in Yuma as part of the college’s Distinguished Vising Writer Series.

Garriga will discuss his work, fiction and the writing craft from 1:40 p.m. to 2:55 p.m. in room BA 111 at the Yuma campus. He will then give a reading of his work at 6:30 p.m. at the AWC Theater on the same campus.

Both events are free and open to the public.

In “The Book of Duels,” his debut fiction collection published in 2014, Garriga retells the stories of duels among historical, biblical and mythical figures, narrating the confrontations from the points of view of the adversaries themselves and witnesses. One of the 33 stories in the collection was selected for inclusion in The Best Small Fictions anthology.

Garriga holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi, a master’s degree from the University of Louisville and doctorate from Florida State University.

Apart from his teaching responsibilities, he is cofounder and editor of Fiction Southeast, an online journal dedicated to short fiction.