Distinguished author Matthew Ferrence will offer a reading as part of this year’s Mary E. Rolling Reading Series. The reading, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, November 13th in Paterno Library’s Foster Auditorium on the University Park campus.

Ferrence is the author of three books, most recently I Hate It Here, Please Vote for Me: Essays on Rural Political Decay (2024, West Virginia University Press), which focuses on his 2020 political campaign and insights gained on the political landscape of rural America. His other books, Appalachia North and All-American Redneck, also focus on rural American politics. Ferrence's essays have appeared in literary magazines across North America, including The Fiddlehead, Gettysburg Review, and Best American Travel Writing 2018.

As a lifelong Appalachian, Matthew Ferrence lives and teaches writing and literature at Allegheny College, which sits where Appalachia meets the Rust Belt.

The Mary E. Rolling Reading Series is a program offered by Penn State’s Creative Writing Program in English. The series receives support from the College of the Liberal Arts; the Department of English; the Joseph L. Grucci Poetry Endowment; the Mary E. Rolling Lectureship in Creative Writing; and University Libraries. A full list of readings in the 2025-26 series can be found at creativewriting.psu.edu