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SALISBURY — Who doesn’t love a good novel? Apparently, millions of us do. That’s why North Carolina author Wiley Cash became a four-time New York Times bestseller and winner of countless literary awards including the Southern Book Prize, American Library Association Book of the Year and the Thomas Wolfe Book Prize.

His novels — “A Land More Kind Than Home,” “This Dark Road to Mercy,” “The Last Ballad,” and “When Ghosts Come Home” — are chock full of powerful emotion, gripping suspense and heartwarming humanity, catapulting him to a coveted place among this country’s finest writers.

His fiction has also been adapted for stage and screen, and his short stories and essays have appeared in numerous publications, including Our State Magazine.

The exciting news is, Cash has a fifth novel in the works. Come hear about it, as well as his insights as to why our state’s rich history and character provide such unique fodder for great storytelling when The English-Speaking Union hosts him for its Feb. 15 dinner program.

Cash received his B.A. from UNC-Asheville, M.A. from UNC-Greensboro, and Ph.D. from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. He currently teaches creative writing and literature at UNC-Asheville, founded an online community called “This is Working” to nurture budding writers, is married to photographer wife Mallory, and has two daughters.

The event will take place at the Country Club of Salisbury with cocktails at 6:30 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m., and the program at 8 p.m. Cost is $50 per person with first-timers permitted to attend without joining the organization. Reservation cut-off is Feb. 12. For more information, contact ESU president Gerry Wood at gerry@oldyorkllc.com.