Ole Miss Alumnus, Celebrated Artist William Dunlap Releases Book on April 1

William Dunlap (photo courtesy Facebook)

University of Mississippi alum, William Dunlap, is a celebrated artist whose works have been featured in prestigious collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lauren Rogers Museum and United States Embassies to name a few through out the world.

William Dunlap (photo courtesy Facebook)

Beginning on April 1 until May 26, he will showcase his works, dating from the 1970s, in an exhibition titled “Look At It – Think About It” at American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center. This 30,000 square-foot center sits atop the Embassy Row in Washington D.C.

There, William Dunlap will also release a book, “Short Mean Fiction,” published by Nautilus Publishing Company located on 426 South Lamar Boulevard in Oxford, Mississippi. He will appear in Oxford on April 21 to sign the book – just in time for Visit Oxford’s annual Double Decker Arts Fest, presented by Caterpillar.

For the fellow Ole Miss alumni and supporters, Dunlap provided a list of his book signing tour.

• April 1 and 2: Katzen Arts Center – Washington D.C. at 6 p.m.
• April 17: McIntyre Books, Ferrington Village – Chapel Hill, North Carolina at 3 p.m.
• April 19: Burke’s Bookstore – Memphis, Tennessee at 5 p.m.
• April 20: Reeds Gum Tree Books – Tupelo, Mississippi at 12 p.m.
• April 21: Off Square Books – Oxford, Mississippi at 5:30 p.m.
• April 24: Purple Parrot restaurant in association with Main Street Books – Hattiesburg, Mississippi at 3 p.m.
• April 27: Greg Thompson Fine Art – Little Rock, Arkansas
• May 17: Lemuria – Jackson, Mississippi at 5 p.m.
• May 19: Lauren Rogers Museum – Laurel, Mississippi

Dunlap said there are “more signings planned in locations as diverse as Starkville, Mississippi and Ho Chi Minh city, Paris and Jakarta, Indonesia, Miami, Los Angeles and Pass Christian.”

This book, “Short Mean Fiction,” is inspired by Dunlap’s four decades’ worth of sketches and journal entries.

“The drawings scattered throughout this volume are not illustrations, but live in the same place – the sketchbooks – where I first wrote the stories, forgot them, then found them again. To my mind, that’s what can be trusted,” Dunlap said, “For what it’s worth, for better or worse, and to my utter surprise, there are many more where these came from.”

The book has several short but haunting stories, richly supplemented by quick but detailed sketches. To his many admirers across the world, this book is akin to stepping into the artist’s mind to see how his imagination works.

Nautilus Publishing is honored to publish “Short Mean Fiction.”

Carroll Chiles Moore, associate publisher at Nautilus Publishing, said, “Bill Dunlap’s creativity and talent has earned him fantastic nationwide recognition. We jumped at the opportunity to work with him and be a part of producing such a great book. Short Mean Fiction is an excellent quick read. As free-form and delightful as Dunlap’s art, this book is a perfect way to engage with his work.”

Moore said that working with Dunlap has been a pleasure. “We are excited about ‘Short Mean Fiction’s’ debut. We know readers will enjoy it as thoroughly as we have,” she said.

Callie Daniels Bryant is the senior managing editor at HottyToddy.com. She can be reached at callie.daniels@hottytoddy.com.

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