EVENT: 'Celebration of Books' at OSU-Tulsa
DATE: September 29-30
The worlds of mystery, comedy, drama and adventure will collide for an extraordinary event next month in Tulsa.
More than 70 writers, artists and musicians, including award-winning novelists Alexander McCall Smith and Pat Conroy, are set to participate in the Celebration of Books, Sept. 29-30, at Oklahoma State University-Tulsa.
“The Celebration is about building community through books,” said Teresa Miller, founder and executive director of the Center. “So many longtime friends like Earl Hamner and Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey are returning to OSU-Tulsa this year. I think of them as honorary Oklahomans and of the festival itself as a reunion that’s open to everyone.”
The Celebration is the premier event for the university’s Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers, which will host a weekend of panel discussions, writing workshops, presentations, live interviews and book signings at OSU-Tulsa.
Best-selling writer McCall Smith, author of the internationally acclaimed “No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” series, will kick off the Celebration at the Chapman Music Hall in Tulsa’s Performing Arts Center, Friday, September 29, at 7 p.m. McCall Smith will receive the Ambassador’s Award, which honors authors of international stature whose works reach beyond cultural boundaries.
Pat Conroy, whose best-selling novels include “Beach Music” and “The Prince of Tides,” will also be honored Friday night with the Homecoming Award, an honor reserved for writers originally from the south and southwest who have distinguished the region through their writing.
Saturday’s panel discussions, interviews, feature presentations and art exhibit will take place from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at OSU-Tulsa. Celebration highlights will include a book launch for Pulitzer winner Doug Marlette’s “Magic Time,” special appearances by “Mystic River” author Dennis Lehane and humorist David Rakoff; a one-on-one interview with Gail Collins, editor of the New York Times Opinion Page; an all-star panel discussion on Pixar’s animated film “CARS;” a discussion of Oklahoma music with veteran “Tulsa World” reporter John Wooley; a poetry reading by acclaimed poet Joy Harjo; and a commentary on “Brokeback Mountain” with S.E. Hinton and Joseph Kestner.
Tickets for the festival, including “An Evening with Pat Conroy and Alexander McCall Smith,” are $65 for the general public, $55 for patron members of the Center and $25 for full-time students. Tickets to “An Evening with Pat Conroy and Alexander McCall Smith” may also be purchased separately for $20. Tickets are available by calling 918-596-7111 or by visiting www.myticketoffice.com.
OSU-Tulsa is located at 700 North Greenwood Avenue, near I-244 and Detroit Avenue.
For a complete schedule of events, visit www.poetsandwriters.okstate.edu.