A North Dakota author will discuss her experiences growing up gay as part of LGBTQ Pride Month at NDSU.

Author Melanie Hoffert will present “Loving and leaving the places we love: A talk about growing up gay in rural North Dakota – and writing about it” scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 6:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union Arikara room. She will read from and discuss her book, “Prairie Silence: A Rural Expatriate’s Journey to Reconcile Love, Home and Faith,” which details her personal journey to finally “tell the state of North Dakota” she is gay.

Hoffert grew up on a farm near Wyndmere, N.D., and lives and works in Minneapolis. Her work has been published in several literary journals and she earned a master’s degree in creative writing from Hamline University.

The event is free and open to the public.

Hoffert’s book will be available for purchase following the event, with signing offered by the author.

NDSU LGBTQ Pride Month is sponsored by the Equity and Diversity Center with support from Compass Program Foundation, Gay + Straight Alliance and Pride Network. For more information on LGBTQ Pride Month activities at NDSU, visit  www.ndsu.edu/edcenter. 

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation’s top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.