Paul Theroux is the dean of American travel writers: literate, wide-ranging, observant and more than a touch acerbic. His most recent book, Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, finds  him re-tracing the trip across Europe and Asia he took 35 years ago for The Great Railway Bazaar, the book that launched his travel career. Ghost Train to the Eastern Star will be released in paperback in two weeks.

In addition to his travel writings, Theroux is a prolific novelist. Several of his books have been adapted into films, including The Mosquito Coast and Saint Jack. He has also written criticism, children’s books and short-story collections.

Presented by the University of North Texas, the Mayborn Literary Non-fiction Conference promotes the art of narrative non-fiction — the writing of biographies, histories, crime stories and adventure tales. Theroux will deliver the keynote address Friday on “The World is Elsewhere: A Life in Search of Stories.”