What:       The 13th annual Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference, hosted by the

                 University of North Texas’ Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of

                Journalism. This year’s conference has the theme of “The Power of Words”

                and will feature Sebastian Junger, most famous for his best-selling book

                “The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea,” as a keynote speaker.

When:      July 21 (Friday)-July 23 (Sunday)

Where:     Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center, 1800 Highway 26 East

                 in Grapevine, Texas

Cost:        Registration is $225 for students and $425 for others and includes all speaker sessions and

                several meals. Registration will close when the conference is full. Participants may register online.

More information:

               Contact the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism at 940-565-4564 or

               maybornconferenceinfo@unt.edu.

DENTON (UNT), Texas - In 1997, a then-unknown author named Sebastian Junger captured international attention with his debut book, "The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea." Junger vividly described a confluence of storms off the shore of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and the struggle of a small fishing vessel's crew during the storm. His book was turned into an Academy Award-nominated film of the same name in 2000.

Junger will be a keynote speaker at 2017 Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference. Hosted by the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism at the University of North Texas, the 13th annual conference will be held July 21-23 (Friday-Sunday) at the Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center in Grapevine, Texas. This year's theme is "The Power of Words."

Conference speakers will "present the impact of writing in its simplest form and show how the words we use can having a lasting and transformative effect on the world around us," said Neil Foote, a Mayborn school faculty member and one of the conference's directors.

Conference director Michael Mooney, a Mayborn school alumnus and best-selling author, said that even with the popularity of images, videos and a sounds on social media "it is the power of words, the ability to craft a narrative and tell a story that provides the context, the depth and understanding that helps inform and engage us."

After the success of "The Perfect Storm," Junger wrote four other books, including 2016's "Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging," which follows troops as they return home from war. Junger also created four documentary films focusing on soldiers in Afghanistan. One of the films, "Restrepo," was nominated for a Best Documentary Academy Award.

In addition to Junger, the keynote speakers for this year's conference are Katherine Boo, a staff writer at "The New Yorker" and author of the best seller "Behind the Beautiful Forevers," and Charles Johnson, a MacArthur Fellowship recipient and author of "Middle Passage."

Other conference speakers include:

●Shane Bauer, senior reporter at "Mother Jones," whose work focused on the Middle East and North Africa as well as criminal justice in the U.S. He recently received a National Magazine Award for "My Four Months as a Private Prison Guard," which documented problems with the private corrections business.

●Dallas-based writer Sarah Hepola, whose essays on culture have appeared in "Glamour," "The Guardian," New York Times magazine and Salon, among others. She is also the author of "Blackout: Remembering The Things I Drank To Forget," a New York Times best seller.

●Wright Thompson, one of the nation's foremost sports journalists and a frequent contributor to the Best American Sports Writing Series. A senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN’s magazine, Thompson is well known for writing about the University of Mississippi’s undefeated 1962 football season, which occurred amid violence and rioting as the university integrated. The article inspired a "30 for 30" documentary, narrated by Thompson, that aired on ESPN.

Conference registration fees are $225 for students and $425 for others and includes all speaker sessions and several meals. Registration will close when the conference is full. Participants may register online.The Friday and Saturday keynote events are open to guests of those who have registered for the conference, and members of the general public, for separate fees.

Note to editors: Photos of the three keynote speakers for this year's conference may be downloaded here, here and here.