Author to discuss 'Suicide Collectors' tonight

It didn't take David Oppegaard long after leaving St. Olaf to find success as a writer.

His debut novel, The Suicide Collectors, has been named a finalist for the 2008 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. The Bram Stoker Awards, presented each year by the Horror Writer's Association, honor outstanding work in the horror field. Past award winners include household names like Stephen King, J.K. Rowling and M. Night Shyamalan.

Oppegaard will return to St. Olaf College Wednesday, April 15, for a reading and book signing that will begin at 7 p.m. in Buntrock Commons, Viking Theater. Copies of his book will be available for purchase at the event, which is free and open to the public.

Released in December, The Suicide Collectors describes an earth that has been plagued by the Despair for five years. Most of the world's population has committed suicide, and the few who remain struggle to stay alive. Mysterious, shadowy figures called the Collectors inevitably show up to take away the bodies of the dead. The story focuses on a Florida man named Norman who kills one of the Collectors that arrives to take away the body of his wife. His unprecedented action prompts Norman and a neighbor to set out for Seattle, where it's rumored that a scientist is working on a cure for the Despair.

In a starred review of the novel, Publisher's Weekly notes that "eloquent prose and haunting characters lift Oppegaard's astonishing debut." The Washington Post and Kirkus Reviews also praised his work. Oppegaard shares his thoughts on the premise of The Suicide Collectors, his advice for aspiring writers, and one thing he thinks every St. Olaf student should do.

Read an interview with the author at stolaf.edu ...