(Photo | Courtesy of Deschutes Public Library Foundation)
Through eight remarkable seasons, the Deschutes Public Library Foundation’s Author! Author! literary series introduced dozens of bestselling authors to Central Oregon for thought-provoking presentations and memorable discussions. The Foundation builds on this successful history in its ninth season with a new format: authors, in conversation with other authors, all presented online. The line-up promises to deliver diverse experiences and dynamic perspectives that speak to our times:
TAYARI JONES, in conversation with Elizabeth Gilbert | January 15 • 6pm
New York Times bestselling writer TAYARI JONES is the author of four novels. Her most recent release, An American Marriage, was an Oprah’s Book Club Selection and appeared on Barack Obama’s summer reading list as well as his year-end roundup. The novel received the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Aspen Words Literary Prize and an NAACP Image Award. Her third novel, Silver Sparrow, was added to the NEA Big Read library of classics in 2016. ELIZABETH GILBERT is a journalist and author. Her 2006 memoir Eat, Pray, Love has sold more than 12 million copies. Her most recent book is the novel City of Girls.
TA-NEHISI COATES, in conversation with Mitchell S. Jackson | February 7 • 4pm
TA-NEHISI COATES is a distinguished writer in residence at NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. He is the author of the bestselling books The Beautiful Struggle, We Were Eight Years in Power and Between the World and Me, which won the National Book Award in 2015. Coates is a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. He is also the current author of the Marvel comics The Black Panther and Captain America. MITCHELL S. JACKSON is the winner of a Whiting Award. His award-winning debut novel The Residue Years was followed by his nonfiction book Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family.
NICHOLAS KRISTOF and SHERYL WuDUNN in conversation | March 4 • 7pm
New York Times reporters NICHOLAS KRISTOF and SHERYL WuDUNN received a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of China’s Tiananmen Square movement. Kristof and WuDunn are the authors of three bestselling books together: China Wakes: The Struggle for the Soul of a Rising Power, Thunder from the East: Portrait of a Rising Asia and Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. Their most recent book, Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope, follows, in part, the lives of some of the people Kristof grew up with near Yamhill, Oregon.
“The Foundation’s commitment to bringing these conversations to Central Oregon is unwavering,” said Chantal Strobel, project director for the series. “We’re excited to be able to move in a direction that not only expands the number of authors — six in all — but also expands the reach of the series. By moving online at this critical moment, we hope to not only engage our devoted fans, but to also reach people who have not made it to an in-person presentation in the past.”
Tickets are just $25 per event, or $60 for the series. The first 100 people to purchase the series will receive a book signed by one of the authors. Money raised from ticket sales is used by the Foundation to support Deschutes Public Library programs and services that are not funded by tax dollars.
Tickets are available dplfoundation.org. The 2021 Author! Author! season is made possible by ticket sales and by these presenting sponsors: Echo Fund, The Robert D. & Dorothy S. O’Brien Memorial Fund of the Seattle Foundation, Lonza, Worthy Brewing, Hayden Homes, Central Oregon Radiology Associates, Brooks Resources, First Interstate Bank, RBC Wealth Management, Savory Spice Shop, Karnopp Petersen, Central Oregon Association of Realtors and Latino Outdoors.
dplfoundation.org • 541-312-1027