Ava Chuppe
Staff Writer
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As part of the spring reading series, the creative writing program hosted author and former faculty member James Han Mattson on March 3.

Mattson is the author of the novels “The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves” and “Reprieve,” and he discussed the latter novel at the Faculty Hall event. This was the first in-person reading since fall 2019.

Carrie Jerrell, coordinator of the creative writing program, said Mattson joined the reading lineup several months in advance.

“He left the University on good terms, and we knew he was going to have a book coming out,” Jerrell said. “We asked him ahead of time if he would be willing to come back and read from it.”

Jerrell said she wanted to choose a time when Mattson could safely come back in person.

“That’s why we pushed it later in the spring rather than having it last fall when the book was first released,” Jerrell said. “We were hoping we could have the event on campus so people could come in person, and also so he could come back to Murray and see friends.”

Mattson worked on the novel while he taught at Murray State from 2018 to 2020. He said he owed much of his inspiration to students and faculty.

“It was just being in the environment of eager creative writers,” Mattson said. “As a fiction writer, a lot of times, you’re isolated. Having a good community of fiction writers, not only faculty-wise but student-wise, was enough inspiration in itself.”

Aside from the book’s recognition from well-known organizations like The LA Times, The Chicago Tribune, Entertainment Weekly and TODAY, “Reprieve” received a positive review from The New York Times.

“Insightful and gripping … On the surface, ‘Reprieve’ is a story about an attack at a haunted house, but Mattson also is investigating questions of identity and power, namely who in this story controls fears and who is subject to them,” the review read.

The story is set in Quigley House, a full-contact haunted house, in 1990s Nebraska. Participants in the haunted house are challenged to make it through all six rooms and gather all of the planted envelopes to win a large sum of money. However, Quigley House is turned on its head when a real murder occurs.

Mattson was born in Seoul, Korea, and raised in North Dakota. In addition to Murray State, he has taught at the University of Iowa, the University of Cape Town, the University of Maryland, George Washington University and the University of California at Berkeley. In 2009, he moved back to Korea and reunited with his birth family after decades of separation.

Jerrell said Mattson’s book explores important themes like race, identity and socioeconomic conflict.

“Each of the characters who is a participant in the haunted house has a really interesting backstory that they’re all bringing into this house together,” Jerrell said. “The novel explores how these people interact with each other and how the setting of a haunted house may bring out certain aspects of what we believe.”

While writing a novel about a haunted house, Mattson was also working on a novel set in Thailand. When he realized the two narratives were thematically related, he fused them together to create the idea for “Reprieve.”

Mattson sold television rights for “Reprieve” to Hulu. The streaming service is currently negotiating with comedian Kevin Hart’s production company, HartBeat Productions, on making a television series adaptation of the book.

“There’s a whole lot of things that go into making a TV series, and it wouldn’t be for a while, if it does get made,” Mattson said. “The option has been sold, so they have the option to make it. If they exercise the option, that’s when the production begins.”

In the meantime, “Reprieve” is available for purchase on Amazon and in bookstores.

The next event in the Reading Series will showcase current creative writing faculty members Gwendolyn Edward and TJ Martinson. It will be held March 31 at 7 p.m. in the gallery of Waterfield Library.

Jerrell said she encourages students to attend future readings and to follow @murraystateenglish and @murraystatecreativewriting on Instagram for updates.