Mortenson Featured in Maryville ‘Big Read’ Author Tent
9/24/09
The Maryville University Author Tent will host an impressive line-up of writers and a panel discussion during The Big Read book festival, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Oct. 10, at Clayton High School, 1 Mark Twain Circle. Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time, will be the keynote speaker.
Mortenson will appear from 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. in the Maryville Author Tent. A humanitarian and international peace-maker, Mortenson was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by members of the U.S. Congress in January 2009 for his work in Pakistan.
Maryville is especially pleased to host Mortenson as part of The Big Read since his book is this year’s selection for Maryville Reads, an initiative to engage the campus community in a dialogue about issues of diversity, social justice and multiculturalism. Mortenson is also scheduled to appear locally on April 20, 2010, as part of the Maryville University Presents St. Louis Speakers Series.
Additional authors scheduled to appear in the Maryville Author Tent include (all from 9:30-10:45 a.m.): Dan Begley, Ms. Taken Identity; Carol Shopley, Movers and Shakers; and Byron Kerman, Sex, Drugs, and Gefilte Fish.
Also in the Maryville Author Tent are authors Elizabeth and Charles Schmitz, Seven Golden Anniversaries: How to Marry the Wrong Guy (1-1:50 p.m.); and Adam Crane, The Soloist (2-2:45 p.m.).
Ed Silva will moderate a panel discussion, from 3-4 p.m., on “Great Fiction,” with authors Stewart O’Nan, Songs for the Missing; Curtis Sittenfeld, An American Wife; and Laura Moriarty, While I’m Falling.
Admission to all author appearances is free. Seating is limited and filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Book signings immediately follow each event.
The Big Read is an annual program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and Arts Midwest. The event features publishers, book-sellers, national authors, readings, book signings, workshops, demonstrations and an interactive children’s station.
Founded in 1872, Maryville University is a four-year, private university located in west St. Louis County. Ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of America’s Best Colleges in the Masters-Midwest category, Maryville University students may choose from 50 academic programs, including degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels. Among recent graduates, 94 percent are employed or attending graduate school. More than 15,000 Maryville alumni work and live in the St. Louis region.