On Oct. 7 at 7 pm Lake Tahoe Community College will host a reading by Jason Schossler, winner of the 2010 Melissa Lanitis Gregory Poetry Prize. The reading will launch the release of “Mud Cakes,” Schossler’s first poetry collection.

The event, part of the LTCC Writers’ Series, will take place in the library of the South Lake Tahoe college. It is free and open to the public.

“Mud Cakes” is an examination of growing up in Middle America at a time when spiritual guidance comes from Luke Skywalker and KISS. Schossler’s collection shows how one boy uses modern mythology to navigate the deterioration of his family.

“We received fabulous submissions,” Kim Wyatt, owner and publisher of Bona Fide Books, said in a press release, “but I found myself returning to the little boy in these poems.”

Bona Fide received more than 100 submissions.

Local artist Melissa Gregory, who died in 2009, inspired Wyatt to start a small press, and the prize is given in her honor. The annual award includes publication, $500, and a reading at Lake Tahoe.

While in the area, Schossler will also conduct workshops for students at South Tahoe High School and Wooster High School in Reno.

Schossler is the recipient of the Edwin Markham Poetry Prize and the 2010 Emerging Writer award from Grist. His poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and he has fellowships from the Ragdale Foundation, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Oberpfälzer Künstlerhaus. He lives in Philadelphia, where he teaches writing at Temple University.

“Mud Cakes” will be available online through Bona Fide Books and Amazon starting Oct. 7.