Matt Bell, author of the newly released novel "A Tree or a Person or a Wall," will begin his book tour at Northern Michigan University. He will give a reading at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22, in 1322 Jamrich Hall. The public is invited.

Bell also wrote the novels "Scrapper" and "In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods." The latter was a finalist for the Young Lions Fiction Award, was honored as a Michigan Notable Book and an Indies Choice Adult Debut Book of the Year, and won the Paula Anderson Book Award. He is also the author of fictional works "How They Were Found" and "Cataclysm Baby," and a non-fiction book about the classic video game Baldur's Gate II.

Born in Michigan, Bell now teaches creative writing at Arizona State University.