Patrick Rothfuss’ debut novel, "The Name of the Wind," is climbing the charts and is now 11^th on the New York Times paperback/fiction list.

A 2000 alumnus and associate lecturer in English at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP), Patrick Rothfuss describes "The Name of the Wind" as the first in a fantasy trilogy about the life of Kvothe, a legendary magician. The 662-page novel, published through Daw/
Penguin Group, made its hardcover debut in March of 2007 and was released in paperback at the beginning of April of this year.

The book is available at the UWSP University Store in the Dreyfus University Center and other bookstores nationwide, as well as at Amazon.com.

Rothfuss has already written the majority of the remaining two books in the trilogy, which he wrote while a student at UWSP while earning a degree in English. He returned to UWSP to teach after two years of graduate school at Washington State University. After entering a piece of the novel as a short story, Rothfuss won the Writers of the Future contest in 2002, and event which eventually led to the book's publication.

In October of 2007, "The Name of the Wind" won the Quill Award for best fantasy novel. Since then, the American Library Association (ALA) recognized "The Name of the Wind" with an Alex Award, and both Publisher's Weekly and Amazon.com listed it as one of the best books of 2007.

To date, the foreign rights to the book have been sold in 24 foreign countries, including Japan, Russia, Germany, France, and the UK. Additionally, there are already plans in the works for versions of the trilogy to be adapted into films, games and graphic novels, says Rothfuss.

"I can't help but be stunned by the book’s early success," he said. "I always hoped that people would like it, but I never hoped that it would get this sort of recognition."

The second book of the Kvothe trilogy, "The Wise Man’s Fear," is due out in spring 2009.

At UWSP, Rothfuss is the adviser to the College Feminists and the Fencing Club and writes a regular column for UWSP campus newspaper, The Pointer. He resides in Stevens Point.

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