Catawba College’s English department is sponsoring a reading by fiction writer Luke Whisnant on Tuesday, Feb. 13, at 7:30 p.m. in Tom Smith Auditorium, Ketner Hall.

Whisnant is the author of “Watching TV with the Red Chinese,” a novel; “Street,” a chapbook of poems; and “Down in the Flood,” a collection of stories.

His fiction and poetry have been published in the U.S. in Esquire, Arts & Letters, American Short Fiction, Southern Poetry Review, The Dos Passos Review and others, and in France and Portugal. His work also appears in the anthologies “Racing Home” and “This Is Where We Live: Stories by 25 Contemporary NC Writers.”

Three of his stories have been reprinted in “New Stories from the South: The Year’s Best,” and he has been included three times on The Best American Short Stories “Distinguished Story List.” An associate professor of English at East Carolina University, he is a two-time recipient of the department’s Bertie Fearing Excellence in Teaching Award.

The reading is free and open to the public.

Writers’ Workshop contests

The Writers’ Workshop of Asheville is sponsoring a number of contests.

Electronic submission for all contests may be sent to prez@twwoa.org, with name of contest in the subject. Entry fee is payable online at register@twwoa.org.

Do not send via FedEx, certified mail, etc.

Words of Love: First prize: $300; second, $200; third, $100; 10 honorable mentions. Postmarked by March 30. Send in a heart-felt letter, poem or story of 5,000 words or less. Winners will be chosen for creativity of work.

Your name, address, phone and title of work should appear on a separate cover sheet. The entry fee per submission is $20; $15 for Workshop members. Multiple entries are accepted. Enclose legal size, self-sealing, self-addressed, stamped envelope for critique and list of winners.

Make check or money order payable to The Writers’ Workshop and mail to: W.O.L. Contest, 387 Beaucatcher Road, Asheville, NC 28805.

19th annual poetry: First prize, $300; second, $200; third, $100; 10 honorable mentions Deadline: Postmarked by May 30.

All work must be unpublished. Each poem should not exceed two pages. Multiple entries are accepted. Your name, address, phone and title of work should appear on a separate cover sheet. The entry fee is $20; $15 for Workshop members; for every three poems. All entries receive comments from the judges. Enclose self-sealing SASE for comments and winners’ list, and mail to: Poetry Contest, 387 Beaucatcher Road, Asheville, NC 28805.

Hard Times: First prize, $300; second, $200; third, $100; 10 honorable mentions. Deadline: Postmarked by July 30.

Write about a difficult experience in your life, how you overcame it, and how you were changed by it. Winning stories will be chosen for originality and creative writing style. Stories should be previously unpublished, and should not exceed 5,000 words (double-spaced, 12 point font).

Multiple entries are accepted. Your name, address, phone and title of work should appear on a cover sheet. Enclose a self-sealing SASE for critique and list of winners, and the reading fee of $20; $15 for Workshop members per entry. Make check or money order payable to Writers’ Workshop, and send to: Hard Times Contest, 387 Beaucatcher Road, Asheville, NC 28805.

Short Fiction: First prize, $350; second, $250; third, $100; 10 honorable mentions. Deadline: Postmarked by Sept. 30.

Submit a short story of no more than 5,000 words. Multiple entries are accepted. All work must be unpublished. Pages should be paper clipped, with your name, address, phone and title of work on a cover sheet. Double-space and use 12 point font. The entry fee is $20 per story, $15 for Workshop members. Enclose legal size, self-sealing SASE for critique and winners.

Make check or money order payable to The Writers’ Workshop, and mail to: Fiction Contest, 387 Beaucatcher Road, Asheville, NC 28805.