'The Cove' author Ron Rash at Wingate University

Prize-winning author Ron Rash will discuss his soon-to-be-released novel, "The Cove," at 7 p.m. Friday, March 30, as part of a Wingate University fund-raising event.

Tickets for the event, at the Rolling Hills Country Club in Monroe, are $50. That includes a dinner buffet and book signing. Proceeds benefit Friends of the Ethel K. Smith Library. More information: c.inge@wingate.edu or 704-233-8091.

Rash's newest novel is set in and around Mars Hill during World War I. It explores a community's prejudices as it tells the story Laurel Shelton, ostracized and lonely until a mute stranger appears near her isolated farm.

"The Cove," isn't out until April 10, but it's already winning high praise, including four starred reviews -- in the Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly.