A nationally acclaimed author, known for his gripping non-fiction, will speak at the Williston Northampton School as part of both a long-running lecture series—and a new winter challenge by the head of school.

Tracy Kidder P’92, ’97, a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner, will visit Williston on February 13 at 8:30 a.m. for a special all-school assembly in the Phillips Stevens Chapel.

Mr. Kidder is the fifth speaker in the annual Sara Wattles Perry ’77 Memorial Book Talk series, which has previously featured lectures by William Kamkwamba, co-author of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, Greg Mortenson, John Bul Dau, and Luma Mufleh.

Mr. Kidder, a graduate of Harvard University, is the author of My Detachment, Mountains Beyond Mountains, Home Town, Old Friends, Among Schoolchildren, House, and The Soul of a New Machine.

One of his most recent works, Strength in What Remains, about a man who escapes civil war in Burundi and finds refuge in New York City, was selected by Williston’s Head of School, Robert W. Hill III, as the first in the new Head of School’s Winter Reading Challenge series.

In his message to students about the challenge, Mr. Hill noted that Strength in What Remains, was a compelling story that perfectly exemplified the Williston theme of “doing good well.”

He urged students to curl up with the book over the winter break, and use it to keep as a doorway to becoming lifelong learners. He also noted that the challenge fit perfectly into the spirit of the Sara Wattles Perry ’77 series, where the aim is to engage community members in reading, active listening, and engaging conversation with an author.

“Tracy Kidder is a renowned author and we are so fortunate to have him here on February 13,” noted Mr. Hill.  “His book, Strength in What Remains, is a profoundly compelling story.”