Birmingham, Ala. - Students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) dressed as ghoulish zombies will converge on the UAB Commons this Thursday, Oct. 29 from noon to 12:30 p.m., as excitement builds for an upcoming lecture by humorist Max Brooks, author of the New York Times bestseller World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War and The Zombie Survival Guide. The students will walk around the UAB Commons dressed in tattered clothing and their faces covered in makeup to look like the undead.

The event was organized by a group of UAB students in preparation for Brooks' free, public lecture, which is set for 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29 in the Hill University Center Alumni Auditorium, 1400 University Blvd. The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, call the UAB Office of Student Involvement at 934-8225.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War tells the story of the world's desperate battle against the zombie threat with a series of first-person accounts, "as told to the author" by various characters around the world. The Zombie Survival Guide provides tips for succeeding against the hordes of the undead that may be stalking mankind.

Brooks has written for "Saturday Night Live," for which he won an Emmy. His new graphic novel, The Zombie Survival Guide: Recorded Attacks, is scheduled for release in October.

Visit Brooks' Web site at www.maxbrooks.com.