National Book Awards Author Events

EXPLICIT. The Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao reads from and discusses his critically acclaimed new collection of stories, This is How You Lose Her. www.nationalbook.org

The beloved author of At the Bottom of the River reads from and discusses See Now Then, her first novel in 10 years. www.nationalbook.org

The acclaimed author of Lucky Girls reads from and discusses her most recent work, about a Bangladeshi Muslim woman whose online courtship leads to marriage in America. www.nationalbook.org

British author Martin Amis reads from and discusses his latest novel, Lionel Asbo. www.nationalbook.org

Ann Patchett is the author of six novels, including the New York Times Notable Book The Patron Saint of Liars, The Magician

Bosnian-American writer Aleksandar Hemon is the author of The Lazarus Project, which was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award, and three collections of short stories: The Question of Bruno; Nowhere Man, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award; and Love and Obstacles, a series of stories about coming of age in Communist Sarajevo. He is a Guggenheim fellow as well as the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation

Teju Cole is a Nigerian American photographer and art historian, and the author of two critically acclaimed books: the novella Every Day is for the Thief, about a Lagos homecoming; and the novel Open City, about a Nigerian immigrant in Manhattan. He has contributed to numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, and The Guardian. A professor and distinguished writer in residence at Bard College, Cole is currently at work on a narrative nonfiction work about Lagos. www.nationalbook.org

Born in the former Yugoslavia in 1985, T

A prolific writer of fiction, Russell Banks is the author of The Sweet Hereafter and Affliction, both of which were adapted into feature films, as well as The Darling, Cloudsplitter, Rule of the Bone, Continental Drift, the recent Lost Memory of Skin, and others. His poetry, essays, and short fiction have appeared in publications such as The New York Times Book Review, Vanity Fair, Esquire, and Harper

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie grew up in Nigeria. Her work has been translated into 30 languages and has appeared in various publications, including The O. Henry Prize Stories 2003, The New Yorker, Granta, Financial Times, and Zoetrope. Her novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, won the Orange Broadband Prize, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, was named a New York Times Notable Book, and was a People and Black Issues Book Review Best Book of the Year. Her first novel, Purple Hibiscus, won the Commonwealth Writers

In celebration of the centenary of the seminal American poet and National Book Award winner Elizabeth Bishop, the National Book Foundation presents a discussion of Bishop's life and legacy with poets Tina Chang and Vijay Seshadri, Joelle Biele, poet and editor, and Alice Quinn, former poetry editor of The New Yorker. Part of the 2011 Mad. Sq. Reads Series, Thursday, July 14, Madison Square Park at the Farragut Monument, New York City.

Jennifer Egan, Thu, March 31 at 6:30pm from BAMCafe, Brooklyn Academy of Music. Moderated by Deborah Treisman. Jennifer Egan has published short stories in many magazines, including The New Yorker, Harper’s, Granta, and McSweeney's. Her first novel, The Invisible Circus, came out in 1995 and was released as a movie starring Cameron Diaz in 2001. Her second novel, Look at Me, was a National Book Award finalist in 2001, and her third, The Keep, was a national bestseller. Her latest book, A Visit From the Goon Squad, won critical acclaim as a brilliant, all-absorbing novel. Also a journalist, Egan has written many cover stories for on topics ranging from young fashion models to the secret online lives of closeted gay teens. Her 2002 cover story on homeless children received the Carroll Kowal Journalism Award, and her 2008 story on bipolar children won an Outstanding Media Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two sons.

Ann Beattie has been included in four O. Henry Award collections and in John Updike’s Best American Short Stories of the Century. In 2000, she received the PEN Malamud Award for achievement in the short story form. In 2005, she received the Rea Award for the Short Story. In a review of her most recent novella, , Jay McInerney described Beattie as

Edmund White, Thu, Feb 10 at 6:30pm from BAMCafe, Brooklyn Academy of Music. Moderated by Michael Greenberg. An esteemed novelist and cultural critic, Edmund White is the author of many books, including the autobiographical novel A Boy’s Own Story, a biography of poet Arthur Rimbaud, a previous memoir, My Lives , and most recently, City Boy. White lives in New York City and teaches writing at Princeton University.

Elizabeth Strout, Thu, Jan 27 at 6:30pm from BAMCafe, Brooklyn Academy of Music. Moderated by Deborah Treisman. Elizabeth Strout is the winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for her novel Olive Kitteridge. She is also the author of two previous novels: Abide With Me, a national bestseller and Book Sense pick, and Amy and Isabelle, which won the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize and was a finalist for the PEN Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize in England. Her short stories have been published in a number of magazines, including The New Yorker. She was raised in small towns in New Hampshire and Maine and currently lives in New York City.

E.L. Doctorow reads from his novel Homer and Langley, and discusses his life as a writer, including why he left his job as Editor of Dial Press to write full-time, how writing one line lead to his latest novel, and he discusses the three things that will never fail you. The interview is followed by a Question and Answer session with moderator Daniel Menaker and the audience. Recorded in the BAM Lepercq Space as part of the Eat, Drink and Be Literary reading series. Presented in partnership with BAM. www.nationalbook.org

Wallace Shawn reads from his essays, and discusses his life as an actor and writer, followed by a Question and Answer session with moderator Daniel Menaker and the audience. Recorded in the BAM Lepercq Space as part of the Eat, Drink and Be Literary reading series. Presented in partnership with BAM. www.nationalbook.org

Germaine Greer reads from her latest book Shakespeare's Wife, and discusses her feminist views, followed by a Question and Answer session with moderator Katha Pollitt and the audience. Recorded in the BAM Lepercq Space as part of the Eat, Drink and Be Literary reading series. Presented in partnership with BAM. www.nationalbook.org

A.M. Homes reads the story May We Be Forgiven, which appeared in Granta 100, and discusses her writing life, followed by a Question and Answer session with moderator Aoibheann Sweeney and the audience. Recorded in the BAM Lepercq Space as part of the Eat, Drink and Be Literary reading series. Presented in partnership with BAM. www.nationalbook.org

Art Spiegelman, the creator of several critically-acclaimed comic books, including the best-selling In the Shadow of No Towers, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Holocaust narrative Maus, participates in a Question and Answer with moderator Daniel Menaker and the audience. Recorded in the BAM Lepercq Space as part of the Eat, Drink and Be Literary reading series. Presented in partnership with BAM. www.nationalbook.org

New York native Jimmy Breslin, a long-time investigative journalist, columnist and author, reads from his most recent book The Good Rat: A True Story. A Question and Answer with moderator Daniel Menaker and the audience follows. Recorded in the BAM Lepercq Space as part of the Eat, Drink and Be Literary reading series. Presented in partnership with BAM. www.nationalbook.org

Nathan Englander reads from his novel, The Ministry of Special Cases, followed by a Question and Answer with moderator Daniel Menaker and the audience. Recorded in the BAM Lepercq Space as part of the Eat, Drink and Be Literary reading series. Presented in partnership with BAM. www.nationalbook.org

Louise Erdrich reads from her story collection The Red Convertible: Selected and New Stories, 1978 to 2008, followed by a Question and Answer with moderator Aoibheann Sweeney and the audience. Recorded in the BAM Lepercq Space as part of the Eat, Drink and Be Literary reading series. Presented in partnership with BAM. www.nationalbook.org

Featuring Christopher Carduff, Benjamin Cheever, Edward Hirsch, Daniel Menaker and Stewart O'Nan. Recorded as part of Madison Square Park Conservancy's free series of summer readings by notable authors in historic Madison Square Park. The National Book Awards and some of Maxwell's most prominent friends and admirers celebrate his centenary year with a lively evening of discussion and reminiscence. www.nationalbook.org

Featuring Christopher Carduff, Benjamin Cheever, Edward Hirsch, Daniel Menaker and Stewart O'Nan. Recorded as part of Madison Square Park Conservancy's free series of summer readings by notable authors in historic Madison Square Park. The National Book Awards and some of Maxwell's most prominent friends and admirers celebrate his centenary year with a lively evening of discussion and reminiscence. www.nationalbook.org

Shalom Auslander reads from his memoir, Foreskin's Lament, followed by a Q and A session with moderator, Harold Augenbraum, executive director of the National Book Foundation, and the audience. Auslander discusses the abuse of religious authority he experienced as a child and how that informs his current professional and personal life and why he chose memior and not fiction to tell his story. Recorded in the BAM Lepercq Space as part of the Eat, Drink and Be Literary reading series. Presented in partnership with BAM. www.nationalbook.org

Poet Paul Muldoon reads from his poetry collection Horse Latitudes, followed by a Q and A session with moderator and poet, Edward Hirsch and the audience. Muldoon discusses what allows for the creation of great poetry, what it means to be a poet from Northern Ireland, and when he finds the time to write. Recorded in the BAM Lepercq Space as part of the Eat, Drink and Be Literary reading series. Presented in partnership with BAM. www.nationalbook.org

Peter Carey reads from his novel, His Illegal Self, followed by a Q and A session with moderator, Aoibheann Sweeney and the audience. Carey discusses the difficulty of writing American characters as an Australian, how class figures into his work, the difference between the U.S. and Australian class system, and how he begins work on a novel. Introduction by Harold Augenbraum, executive director of the National Book Foundation, presenter of the National Book Awards. Recorded in the BAM Lepercq Space as part of the Eat, Drink and Be Literary reading series. Presented in partnership with BAM. www.nationalbook.org

Author Deborah Eisenberg reads from her short story Revenge of the Dinosaurs, and during a question and answer session with moderator Aoibheann Sweeney (a former Eisenberg student) and the audience Eisenberg discusses her writing and revision process, teaching writing at a college level, and the impact of moving to New York from the Midwest. Introduction by Harold Augenbraum, executive director of the National Book Foundation, presenter of the National Book Awards. Recorded in the BAM Lepercq Space as part of the Eat, Drink and Be Literary reading series. Presented in partnership with BAM. www.nationalbook.org

Author George Saunders reads from his story Sea Oak and during a question and answer session with moderator Aoibheann Sweeney and the audience Saunders discusses (among other things) the writer's place in the political landscape, why he writes short stories versus novels, and the truthfulness found in fiction. Introduction by Harold Augenbraum, executive director of the National Book Foundation, presenter of the National Book Awards. Recorded in the BAM Lepercq Space as part of the Eat, Drink and Be Literary reading series. Presented in partnership with BAM. www.nationalbook.org

Sherman Alexie accepts the 2007 National Book Award in Young People's Literature for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Recorded November 14, 2007, at the National Book Awards Dinner and Ceremony in New York City. Includes the surprise announcement by Elizabeth Partridge, Chair of the YPL Judges Panel.

Robert Hass accepts the 2007 National Book Award in Poetry for Time and Materials. Recorded November 14, 2007, at the National Book Awards Dinner and Ceremony in New York City. Includes the surprise announcement by Charles Simic, Chair of the Poetry Judges Panel.

Tim Weiner accepts the 2007 National Book Award in Nonfiction for Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA. Recorded November 14, 2007, at the National Book Awards Dinner and Ceremony in New York City. Includes the surprise announcement by David Shields, Chair of the Nonfiction Judges Panel.

Cindy Johnson accepts the 2007 National Book Award in Fiction for Tree of Smoke in her husbands honor. Recorded November 14, 2007, at the National Book Awards Dinner and Ceremony in New York City. Includes the surprise announcement by Francine Prose, Chair of the Fiction Judges Panel.

Michael Cunningham presents Joan Didion with the National Book Foundation's life-time achievement award for American writers. Recorded November 14, 2007, at the National Book Awards Dinner and Ceremony in New York City.

Joan Didion accepts the National Book Foundation's life-time achievement award for American writers. Recorded November 14, 2007, at the National Book Awards Dinner and Ceremony in New York City.

Ira Glass, host and producer of This American Life, presents the National Book Foundations Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community to Terry Gross.

Terry Gross, host and executive producer of National Public Radios Fresh Air, accepts the National Book Foundations Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community.

Author Francine Prose reads from her new book Reading Like A Writer, followed by an interview with moderator Brigid Hughes. Introduction by Harold Augenbraum, executive director of the National Book Foundation, presenter of the National Book Awards. Recorded in the BAM Lepercq Space as part of the Eat, Drink and Be Literary reading series. Presented in partnership with BAM. www.nationalbook.org

Author Jonathan Franzen reads from his autobiography The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History, followed by an interview with moderator Brigid Hughes. Introduction by Harold Augenbraum, executive director of the National Book Foundation, presenter of the National Book Awards. Recorded in the BAM Lepercq Space as part of the Eat, Drink and Be Literary reading series. Presented in partnership with BAM. www.nationalbook.org

Gary Shteyngart reads from his novel, Absurdistan, followed by an interview with moderator Jessica Hagedorn. Introduction by Harold Augenbraum, executive director of the National Book Foundation, presenter of the National Book Awards. Recorded in the BAM Lepercq Space as part of the Eat, Drink and Be Literary reading series. Presented in partnership with BAM. www.nationalbook.org

Author Pete Hamill reads from his book Snow in August, followed by an interview with moderator Brigid Hughes. Introduction by Harold Augenbraum, executive director of the National Book Foundation, presenter of the National Book Awards. Recorded in the BAM Lepercq Space as part of the Eat, Drink and Be Literary reading series. Presented in partnership with BAM. www.nationalbook.org