Join us Friday, June 21st, at 7:00 PM at New Dominion Bookshop (404 E Main St.) for a reading by novelist Helon Habila and a performance by musical artist Orion Faruque. This event is free and open to the public.

Helon Habila is the author of Travelers and three previous novels, including Oil on Water, which was shortlisted for the Orion Book Award and the PEN Open Book Award, and one book of nonfiction, The Chibok Girls. He studied literature at the University of Jos in Nigeria and creative writing at the University of East Anglia, UK. He was named the first Chinua Achebe Fellow at Bard College. During his fellowship, he wrote and taught at Bard. He teaches creative writing at George Mason University and lives in Centreville, Virginia, with his wife and two children. Find out more at helonhabila.com.

Orion Faruque, a Charlottesville native, is the songwriter and arranger for the band Orion and the Melted Crayons. After he pursued a BS in music production at McNally Smith College of Music and graduated from the St. Paul School in 2014, he moved to Asheville, NC, to run a destination studio, write material, and work as a producer. His unique view on songwriting visits themes of nature, coming of age, and the visceral elements of life, while highlighting the joy to be found in each emotion. Orion has relocated back to Charlottesville, where he is an artist, a producer, an educator, and a session player. Find out more about his band here, and listen to their work on Spotify.

Helon Habila Photo Credit: Heike Steinweg