A partnership between the Georgia Southern University Department of Writing and Linguistics the Statesboro Friends of the Library is bringing best-selling authors Brock Clarke and Kevin Wilson for two nights of public readings.

The pair will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Statesboro Library Community Room and again at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Georgia Southern Information Technology Building, Auditorium 1004. Both events are free and open to the public.

Clarke is the author of "An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England," which was a national bestseller described by The New York Times as "wildly, unpredictably funny." People Magazine called it "funny, profound ..." The story begins as Sam Pulsifer is finishing a 10-year prison term for accidentally burning down Emily Dickinson's house. At 28, the husband and father begins creating a new life but must prove his innocence when the homes of other famous New England writers begin going up in flames.

In Clarke's most recent novel, "Exley," readers join Miller Le Ray on the trail of Frederick Exley, a famous but notoriously obnoxious writer, who might hold the key to Le Ray bringing back his missing father. National Public Radio calls Exley "remarkable ... the literary equivalent of a half-court shot."

"The Family Fang" by Kevin Wilson, was called "inventive and hilarious" by The New York Times. The Wall Street Journal said it "packs a wallop," and People named it a Top Ten Book of the Year. The debut novel tells the tale of performance artists Caleb and Camille Fang, whose work lies in subverting normality, including having their children star unwillingly in the madcap pieces. Years later, the grown kids come home to find their quirky parents planning a final performance that has everyone rethinking family relationships.

Wilson has also authored a collection of short stories called "Tunneling to the Center of the Earth." Kirkus Reviews said: "A Southern writer with a bent sense of humor ... Weird and wonderful stories from a writer who has that most elusive of gifts: new ideas."

The Department of Writing and Linguistics at Georgia Southern University is the only free-standing writing department in Georgia and one of only a few in the nation. This shared author event with the Friends of the Library is an outgrowth of The Write Place Statesboro writing festival, which began as a partnership of the two organizations with Statesboro Magazine, the Statesboro Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Averitt Center for the Arts.

The Write Place 2013 will take place Wednesday, Nov. 13, through Saturday, Nov. 16, with activities for writers and readers of all ages.