“It has to be something I’m obsessed with.”

When it comes to picking the subject of one of his acclaimed biographies, fascination is always a factor for author and journalist David Maraniss. Speaking to fellow author Jeff Pearlman, Mr. Maraniss said that each new book “insinuates itself into my life and in a sense takes over.”

“Formats change but two things remain eternal, or so I hope,” he noted during the interview. “The human need to understand ourselves through story and the essential need to search for truth and separate fact from misinformation.”

The author and Washington Post associate editor will lead off the 2015 Writers’ Workshop Series at the Williston Northampton School with a public lecture on September 24 in the Dodge Room, Reed Campus Center.

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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.

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