UPDATE 10/10/22 This program has been CANCELED due to a family health emergency. ILP will update us if a new date can be scheduled–probably Spring 2023.

Join us Wednesday, October 12, 7–8 pm, for an evening with two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward as she discusses how her literary vision and personal experiences address urgent questions about racism and social injustice.  

This online event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. REGISTER HERE

Ward, hailed as “the new Toni Morrison” by the American Booksellers Association, is the author of fiction, nonfiction, and memoir, including the critically acclaimed novels Sing, Unburied, Sing and Salvage the Bones, and the memoir Men We Reaped. In 2017, she became the first woman and first person of color to win the National Book Award for Fiction twice. A professor of creative writing at Tulane University and contributing editor to Vanity Fair, Ward’s many honors include the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, a MacArthur Genius Grant, and a Strauss Living Award.

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.