Acclaimed novelist Michael Chabon will read from his work at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 8 in Stanley Russ Hall Room 103. A discussion and book signing will follow the reading. The event is free and open to the public.
Chabon received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001 for his novel ?The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,? which was also named one of the Notable Books of 2000 by the American Library Association. His other novels include: ?The Mysteries of Pittsburgh? and ?Wonder Boys,? which was made into a critically-acclaimed film starring Michael Douglas and Tobey Maguire.
Chabon?s most recent novel, ?Summerland,? for young adults, casts back to an adolescent boy?s technicolor world of baseball and fantasy, and he has also authored a novella, ?The Final Solution,? and two collections of short stories: ?A Model World and Other Stories? and ?Werewolves in Their Youth.?
Chabon has also written articles and essays, and a number of screenplays, including the screenplay for Spiderman 2. His story ?Son of the Wolfman? was chose for a 1999 O. Henry selection and for a National Magazine Award. Chabon is also an accomplished editor of short fiction. Some of the collections he put together include ?McSweeney?s Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories? and ?The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist? (Volumes 1 and 2).
Chabon has lectured widely on topics including the art and craft of writing, the tradition of Jewish fiction, and Vladimir Nabokov. He has spoken to the creative teams at Pixar Animation Studios about fantasy and childhood and to the employees of Industrial Light and Magic about the art of storytelling.
Chabon received a master?s of fine arts in creative writing at University of California at Irvine. He lives in Berkeley with his wife and their children.
Chabon?s philosophy behind his success as a novelist is based on three requirements: talent, luck, and discipline. As he says, ?Discipline is the one element of those things that you can control, and so that is the one you have to focus on controlling, and you just have to hope and trust in the other two.?
Chabon?s appearance is part of the Central Arkansas Writing Arts Series and is sponsored by UCA?s Department of Writing and Speech.
While on campus, he will be meeting with UCA writing students in a workshop and discussion setting. For more information, contact Terry Wright, Associate Dean, College of Fine Arts and Communication, at (501) 450-3295.
