Coastal Carolina University English professor Jason Ockert will be reading from his new novel "Wasp Box" on Thursday, April 23, at 4:30 p.m. in the James J. Johnson Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

"Wasp Box" is the story of a solider returning to his home in New York. He unknowingly transports a new species of deadly parasitic wasps, setting off a frightening chain of events affecting the whole community. The book examines the choices we make in the face of danger, the limits of personal strength and the value of family loyalty as the familiar world unravels.

Ockert earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Florida and a master's degree from Syracuse University. He has published two collections of short stories, "Neighbors of Nothing" and "Rabbit Punches." "Wasp Box" is his first novel. He was the winner of the Dzanc Short Story Collection Contest, the Mary Roberts Rinehart Award and the Shirley Jackson Award.

Ockert's work has appeared in several journals and anthologies, including "New Stories from the South," "Best American Mystery Stories," The Oxford American, The Iowa Review, One Story and McSweeney's.  He teaches writing at Coastal Carolina University.

The Johnson Auditorium is located in the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration, Room 116, located at 119 Chanticleer Drive E. on the Conway campus.

For more information, contact Cara Blue Adams in CCU's Department of English at 843-349-2532.