Sam Venable, humorist and long-time columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel, will be the guest speaker and honoree Thursday, October 15, at the University of Tennessee’s John C. Hodges Library. Venable recently donated his papers to the UT Libraries.

The Library Society of the University of Tennessee invites the public to spend an evening with Knoxville’s best-known jokester. A reception begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Jack E. Reese Galleria, followed by Venable’s remarks at 6:30 p.m. in the Lindsay Young Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is requested at s.lib.utk.edu/samvenable.

Venable began writing for the Knoxville News Sentinel in 1970. He was the newspaper’s outdoors editor for 15 years and metro columnist for almost 30 years. He retired in 2014, but he continues to write a twice-weekly column for the front page of the News Sentinel. He is the author of 12 books and the recipient of numerous journalism awards.