Delving into the very personal is at the heart of the 2015 Writers’ Workshop Series, which will explore a range of journeys—of professional growth, political power, and revenge—through the work of four strong storytellers this fall.
Williston Northampton School’s popular lecture series, conceived by authors Madeleine Blais P ’00, ’04 and Elinor Lipman P ’00, is celebrating its 18th year of hosting inspiring and inventive writers on campus.
Lectures are always free, open to the public, and take place in Williston’s Dodge Room in the Reed Campus Center at 7:00 p.m.
The 2015 series begins with acclaimed journalist and award-winning biographer David Maraniss, who will speak about his most recent work, Once in A Great City: A Detroit Story, on September 24. Mr. Maraniss has been nominated in the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting for the Washington Post, and has written acclaimed biographies on Barack Obama, Vince Lombardi, and Bill Clinton, among others. His latest book explores his hometown during the rapid changes of the 1960s.
Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning documentary filmmaker Ian Cheney continues the series on September 29. Mr. Cheney, a co-founder of FoodCorps, will talk about his forthcoming feature documentary, “BlueSpace,” which dives into the waterways around New York City and the issues in the often disfunctional relationship between people and their environment.
Debra Monroe returns on November 3 for her second visit to Williston. Ms. Monroe, an English professor at Texas State University, will speak about My Unsentimental Education, her memoir about life in her hometown of Spooner, Wisconsin.
Novelist John Katzenbach P’00, ’04, who is also a returning Writers’ Workshop speaker, concludes the 2015 series on November 9. Mr. Katzenbach will speak about his newest work, The Dead Student, which explores limits of justice, obsession, and revenge. Mr. Katzenbach is the author of 13 psychological thrillers, several of which have been turned into feature films, and an acclaimed non-fiction book.
The Writers’ Workshop Series was created as a forum for fiction and non-fiction writers, playwrights, journalists, and poets to speak to Williston students and to the general public. During the series, which takes place each fall, four well-established storytellers visit campus to give public lectures and offer hands-on instruction with students.