SMU students and faculty gathered to hear two award-winning authors read sections of their books Tuesday afternoon in the DeGolyer Library.

Part of the Gilbert Lecture series and hosted by the SMU press, the event began with a reception in the lobby of DeGolyer, where students and staff mingled with authors Mary Troy and Debra Monroe.

Inside the Stanley Marcus Reading Room, author Mary Troy read from her book “Cookie Lily.” Troy said “Cookie Lily” is based loosely on experiences she encountered or heard about while living in Hawaii.

Debra Monroe read from her book, “Shambles,” which discusses, through the characters, the differences between self-help and charity.

After hearing from both authors, listeners asked questions about how each formulates and revises their own work.

Both authors agreed that methods of revising depend on the person. Sometimes, a writer will revise each page over and over, and sometimes a story needs to be revised in its entirety.

“Sometimes I have the ending or beginning already in my head – but never both at the same time,” Monroe said.

The faculty in attendance asked questions directed at helping young writers who are just starting out and hope to be published in the future. Several opinions were given, and Monroe summed the discussion up by saying to young writers, “Just write the best book you have in you.”

The next Gilbert Lecture Series event is scheduled for March 21, 2006 at 6 p.m. It will feature Kirsten Silva Gruesz and her work, “The Gulf of Mexico as Cultural Contact Zone.”