University of Iowa Writers' Workshop alumna Leslie Jamison will read from her debut novel, "The Gin Room," at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 4, in Prairie Lights Books at 15 S. Dubuque St. in downtown Iowa City. The free "Live from Prairie Lights" event will be streamed live and archived on the Writing University Web site, http://www.writinguniversity.org/.

After three decades of dissolute living, Tilly is visited unexpectedly by her niece, Stella and a powerful but fragile bond develops between them. The book has won rave reviews for Jamison's insights and the beauty of her prose.

Jamison's work has been published in "Best New American Voices 2008," A Public Space and the Black Warrior Review. She is cuurently pursuing at doctorate at Yale University.