McNeese State University will present fiction writer Jeanne Leiby in a free reading at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10, in the Business Conference Center. She is this year’s Ada Vincent Visiting Writer, presented by the Master of Fine Arts in creative writing program.

Leiby, a native of Detroit, is currently associate professor of English at Louisiana State University and editor of the Southern Review. Her fiction has appeared in the New Orleans Review, the Greensboro Review, the Indiana Review, Fiction, and elsewhere. Her short story collection, “Downriver,” was published by Carolina Wren Press and received the 2006 Doris Bakwin Award. Her work has been described as gritty, rich and unforgettable. Leiby previously taught creative writing at the University of Central Florida, where she was editor of the Florida Review.

The reading is open to the public.