Noted author Claire Keegan '92, will give a reading of her work as part of Loyola's year-long Centennial celebration.

Keegan, who was born and raised in Ireland, completed her undergraduate studies at Loyola University New Orleans and subsequently earned a master's of arts at The University of Wales and a master's of philosophy at Trinity College, Dublin.

Her first collection of stories, Antarctica, was a Los Angeles Times Book of the Year. Her second, Walk the Blue Fields, was published in 2007. Her stories have won several awards including the Hugh Leonard Bursary, the Macaulay Fellowship, the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Martin Healy Prize, the Olive Cook Award, the Kilkenny Prize, and the Tom Gallon Award. She also received the Francis MacManus Award on two occasions and the 2009 Davy Byrnes Irish Writing Award for her novella, Foster.

In addition to the public reading, Keegan will meet with creative writing faculty and students. This event is sponsored by the College of Humanities and Natural Sciences and the Walker Percy Center for Writing and Publishing.