Megan Giddings to Headline No Man’s Land Reading Series at OPSU

Goodwell, Okla.—Oklahoma Panhandle State University is excited to host Megan Giddings, an award-winning author known for her genre-defying fiction, as the featured guest in this semester’s No Man’s Land Reading Series. Join Giddings on Thursday, April 24th, from 7-9 PM in the Library Auditorium.

Organized by the Department of English, the No Man’s Land Reading Series is a yearly event that brings acclaimed writers to the OPSU campus to engage with students, faculty, and the broader community.

Giddings is an acclaimed novelist and an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Her debut novel, Lakewood, explores themes of race, bodily autonomy, and medical ethics through a speculative lens. It was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and was a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize in the Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Speculative Fiction category. It was also named a Michigan Notable Book in 2021.

Her second novel, The Women Could Fly, blends dystopian fiction with sharp feminist commentary. Set in a world where women are monitored for signs of witchcraft, the novel critiques patriarchy and state control with nuance and lyrical prose. It was selected as a New York Times Editors’ Choice and named one of the best fantasy novels of 2022 by The Washington Post.

Giddings’ work has been praised for its bold exploration of identity, power, and resistance, often through a speculative or surreal lens. She is known for combining literary fiction with elements of science fiction and magical realism, creating imaginative and emotionally resonant narratives. Her essays and short stories have appeared in publications such as The Paris Review, Catapult, The Rumpus, and The Offing.

Her third novel, Meet Me at the Crossroad, set to be released on June 3, 2025, is already generating early buzz as a powerful meditation on grief, memory, and ancestral legacy.

This event is free, open to the public, and sponsored by The Masonic Grant and the OPSU Humanities Cultural Committee. The evening will feature a reading by the author, followed by an audience Q&A session. Guests will also enjoy free food and beverages provided at the event.