Join us for an evening with two-time
National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward. Hailed as “the new Toni Morrison” by
the American Booksellers Association, Jesmyn will discuss her life, her
literary vision and her unique perspectives on love and loss. Tracie D. Hall,
Executive Director of American Library Association, will join her in
conversation.
Jesmyn Ward is the critically
acclaimed author of fiction, nonfiction, and memoir, including bestselling
Sing, Unburied, Sing, Salvage the Bones, and the memoir Men We Reaped. Her many
honors include the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, a MacArthur
Genius Grant, and a Strauss Living Award. In 2017, she became the first woman
and first person of color to win the National Book Award for Fiction twice. The
standout writer of her generation, Ward’s stories are largely set on the Gulf
Coast of Mississippi, where she grew up and still lives. A professor of
creative writing at Tulane University, Ward’s latest book, Navigate Your Stars,
is an adaptation of her 2018 commencement address at Tulane that championed the
value of hard work.
Tracie D. Hall is an American
librarian, author, curator, and advocate for the arts. She is the first African
American woman to lead the American Library Association, where she's served as
Executive Director since 2020, and fights for social justice, access to
information, and universal broadband.
Link to
register: https://bit.ly/ILPJesmynWard
This event is made possible by
Illinois Libraries Present, a statewide collaboration among public libraries
offering premier events. ILP is funded in part by a grant awarded by the
Illinois State Library, a department of the Office of Secretary of State, using
funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the
provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).
ILP is committed to inclusion and
accessibility. To request accommodations, please email
illinoislibrariespresent@gmail.com.