CANTON -- An author who explores the complexities of being gay and Indian-American in his award-wining short story collection will visit SUNY Canton as part of the popular Living Writers Series.

Rahul Mehta will appear at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, in the Richard W. Miller Campus Center’s Kingston Theater. The event is free and open to the public.

Mehta will discuss his debut short-story collection, “Quarantine,” which won a Lambda Literary Award and the Asian American Literary Award for fiction. It was also named by the American Library Association as one of the top 10 LGBT books of 2011.

“Mehta's stories are beautiful, insightful and timely,” said SUNY Canton Assistant Professor of English Phil K. LaMarche. “His work traverses the themes of cultural, sexual and gender identity, while providing insight on the experience of immigration and the challenges of living between two worlds. I welcome the community to celebrate LGBT History Month by joining us for this event.”

Mehta’s work has appeared in the Kenyon Review, the Sun, New Stories from the South, the New York Times Magazine, the International Herald Tribune and Elle India. He lives in Philadelphia and teaches at the University of the Arts.

LaMarche created the Living Writers Series in 2012 to coincide with his Living Writers Course. Students enrolled in the class read the books by the authors scheduled to visit the college.

The final guest of the Living Writers Series’ fall installment will be poet Jennifer Foerster, who will appear at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, in the Richard W. Miller Campus Center’s Kingston Theater.

For more information about the Living Writers Series, visit www.canton.edu/writers.