Bruce Sterling, American science fiction author whose work helped to define the steampunk genre, will read from and talk about his work at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 17, in a free reading at Prairie Lights Books in downtown Iowa City. The reading also will be streamed live on the University of Iowa Writing University website.

This event is cosponsored by the UI Obermann Center for Advanced Studies.

Sterling helped launch the steampunk genre when he co-authored The Difference Engine with William Gibson. He is the author of essays, short stories, and novels including Schismatrix, Islands in the Net, Heavy Weather, Holy Fire, Distraction, Zeitgeist, The Zenith Angle, Kiosk, The Caryatids, and the e-book Love Is Strange: A Paranormal Romance. His nonfiction includes Tomorrow Now: Envisioning the Next Fifty Years and Shaping Things. His blog, Beyond the Beyond, is published by Wired magazine.

He is the founder and co-editor of Veridian Design Movement, and is also "visionary in residence" at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles and Professor of Internet Studies and science fiction at the European Graduate School in Switzerland.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all UI-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to attend this reading, call Jan Weissmiller at Prairie Lights in advance at 319-337-2681.

For a UI arts calendar and details about upcoming events visit the Arts Iowa website.