Mark Kurlansky began his career as a playwright, but, unhappy with the direction New York theater was taking, he turned to journalism in the mid-1970s, an early interest — he had been an editor on his high school newspaper. From 1976 to 1991 he worked as a  foreign correspondent for The International Herald Tribune, The Chicago Tribune, The Miami Herald, and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Based in Paris and then Mexico, he reported on Europe, West Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America, Latin America and the Caribbean.

He comes to Nevada courtesy of the Reynolds School of Journalism in a collaborative partnership with Nevada Humanities and with the support of the John Ben Snow Trust, the Hilliard Endowment, College of Liberal Arts, the Basque Studies Program and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Warren Lerude, professor of journalism emeritus and a long-time friend of Laxalt's, founded the program with the former dean of the Reynolds School. Lerude says, "The Laxalt Writer Program was created shortly after Bob's death in 2001 to inspire new generations of writers and to honor Bob's extraordinary contributions toward journalism and literature.

"Bob Laxalt wrote 17 books, including the iconic Sweet Promised Land, published in 1957 and heralded by newspapers and critics around the world for its powerful poignancy in discussing immigration to America through the story of his father, Dominique, returning to his native Basque country roots, only to learn that in his 50 years as a sheepherder in the Sierra Nevada his true country was America."

Each year, the faculty honors the finest student writer at the Reynolds School of Journalism with the Robert Laxalt Memorial Award. This year's honoree is Andrew Church.

The event, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Oct. 9, in the Joe Crowley Student Union Theater, is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Reynolds School of Journalism, (775) 784-6531.

For more information please see the website