Award-Winning Author Mary Troy to Give Public Reading at Lyon College Oct. 16

Acclaimed fiction writer Mary Troy, recipient of the 2025 Leila Lenore Heasley Prize for Fiction at Lyon College, will give a public reading at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 16, in the Bevens Music Room of the Brown Chapel and Fine Arts Building on the Lyon College campus, 2300 Highland Rd., Batesville, Arkansas.

Admission to the reading is free and open to the public.

Troy is the author of six celebrated books of fiction, including the novels “Swimming on Hwy N” and “Beauties,” as well as short story collections “In the Sky Lord,” “The Alibi Café and Other Stories,” “Cookie Lily,” and “Joe Baker Is Dead.” Her work has earned national acclaim, including the USA Book Award for Literary Fiction, the Devil’s Kitchen Reading Award, and the Nelson Algren Award.

Her stories have appeared widely in literary journals and have been reviewed in publications such as The New York Times Sunday Book Review.

Troy taught for more than two decades in the MFA program at the University of Missouri–St. Louis and served for ten years as editor of Natural Bridge: A Journal of Contemporary Literature. She has also received the University of Missouri System Award for Leadership and the Missouri Governor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

“The Heasley Prize celebrates writers whose work enriches American literature,” said Dr. Terrell Tebbetts, Martha Heasley Cox Chair in American Literature at Lyon College. “Mary’s fiction is both powerful and graceful, and we are honored to welcome her to Batesville as this year’s recipient.”

The Leila Lenore Heasley Prize for Fiction is an endowed award presented annually to an outstanding writer in recognition of significant contributions to American literature. Previous recipients include Ron Rash, Alice McDermott, and Lee Smith.

For more information about the Heasley Prize event, contact Lyon College Marketing and Communications at communications@lyon.edu