OF MICE AND MEN's James Franco to Talk PALO ALTO at Barnes & Noble, 5/14

OF MICE AND MEN star actor, director and screenwriter James Franco will visit Barnes & Noble at Union Square, NYC on Wednesday, May 14, 2014 from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. to discuss his collection of short stories, PALO ALTO: STORIES.

An event description reads: "James Franco grew up in Palo Alto, at the heart of Silicon Valley. Join the actor as he discusses his new movie about his childhood that also stars Emma Roberts, Nat Wolff, and Val Kilmer - that has already been praised as 'compelling and gutsy' by Vogue."

Barnes & Noble's synopsis follows: "James Franco's story collection traces the lives of a group of teenagers as they experiment with vices of all kinds, struggle with their families and one another, and succumb to self-destructive, often heartless nihilism. In 'Lockheed' a young woman's summer -- spent working a dull internship -- is suddenly upended by a spectacular incident of violence at a house party. In 'American History' a high school freshman attempts to impress a girl with a realistic portrayal of a slave owner during a classroom skit -- only to have his feigned bigotry avenged. In 'I Could Kill Someone,' a lonely teenager buys a gun with the aim of killing his high school tormentor, but begins to wonder about his bully's own inner life."

Franco has appeared on the big screen in 127 Hours, Milk, Pineapple Express, Oz the Great and Powerful, Spring Breakers, and the Spider-Man trilogy. He is currently making his Broadway debut opposite Chris O'Dowd in Of Mice and Men. Franco has written and directed several films, and his visual art has been featured in solo shows in Los Angeles and New York. His writing has appeared in Esquire, The Wall Street Journal, McSweeney's, and other publications. Franco has an MFA in creative writing from Brooklyn College.