At this event, a prominent author or public figure shares insights from their work, and each attending student receives a copy of a publication written by the featured guest. The event is supported by the family of the late former Chancellor's Scholar Keith Kelroy.
This year's guest is the author David Wright Faladé, who is a professor of English at the University of Illinois and the Mary Ellen von der Heyden Fellow at the New York Public Library’s Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers. He is the co-author of the young adult novel Away Running and the nonfiction book Fire on the Beach: Recovering the Lost Story of Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers, which was a New Yorker notable selection and a St. Louis-Dispatch Best Book of 2001. The recipient of the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Award, he has written for the New Yorker, the Village Voice, the Southern Review, Newsday, and more.
On Wednesday, November 9, we will provide dinner at the Illini Union plus feature Prof. Faladé's remarks. He will also sign the copies of the books that you will pick up at the Honors House (see below).
We are limiting this year's attendance to a maximum of 110 students, which should permit all students who currently need the Kelroy requirement to attend. Seniors and juniors will be given priority, with interested sophomores and freshmen admitted to the event if space permits.
*If you are committed to attend the event, please stop by the Campus Honors House anytime to pick up your free copy of Prof. Faladé's book entitled Black Cloud Rising. There may also be other programming prior to this event (discussion groups, etc.), which will be posted in NewsBytes and other locations.*
