The Distinguished Visitors in Creative Writing Series, curated by faculty of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Arizona, presents a reading by Josh Riedel and Thomas Dai.

Josh Riedel is the author of the novel Please Report Your Bug Here, called a “sharp literary thriller” by The New York Times and selected as an Amazon Editors’ Pick in “Best Science Fiction & Fantasy.” The recipient of fellowships from MacDowell and Yaddo, his short stories and essays have appeared in Esquire, Electric Literature, Slate, Joyland, and One Story, among others. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Thomas Dai is the author of the essay collection Take My Name but Say It Slow (W. W. Norton, 2025). He has been awarded fellowships from Lambda Literary, PLAYA, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Recent essays have appeared or are forthcoming in Electric Literature, The Georgia Review, Longreads, and many other publications, and Thomas currently serves as an associate editor for the feminist theory journal differences. He holds an MFA from the University of Arizona and a PhD in American Studies from Brown University. Born and raised in East Tennessee, Thomas now lives in the Inland Pacific Northwest, where he is an assistant professor of English at the University of Idaho.

In addition to the in-person reading, most Reading & Lecture Series events are streamed live on our website.