Critically acclaimed writer Jim Crace will read extracts from Harvest which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.
The book, which won the 2013 James Tait Black Memorial Prize, tells the story of a "trio of outsiders – two men and a dangerously magnetic woman" – who arrive in a remote English village on the woodland borders and set up a make-shift camp. "That same night, the local manor house is set on fire."
Harvest has been described by the Guardian as "a powerful allegory for our times" and free copies are being given to University of Brighton first-year students.
Crace, an award-winning English writer and author of Quarantine, which was judged Whitbread Novel of 1998, will discuss his works in a Q&A session.
The event, at 6pm in the Sallis Benney Theatre in Grand Parade, Brighton, is part of the University of Brighton's The Big Read campaign which aims to encourage all first year students to read a Man Booker-nominated novel.
Places at the event, which is open to all, are free and available on a first-come-first-served basis, though it is recommended to book a place.
There will also be a symposium led by Katy Shaw, Principal Lecturer in the School of Humanities, and the Centre for Research in Twenty-first century writing.