EVENT: Celebration of Books
DATE: October 1-2 at OSU-Tulsa
More than 60 nationally known authors, including award-winning novelist Amy Tan, are set to participate in the Celebration of Books, October 1-2, at Oklahoma State University-Tulsa.
Tan, whose novel, “The Joy Luck Club,” spent eight months on the New York Times bestseller list, will kick off the Celebration at the Brady Theater, Friday, October 1, at 7 p.m. Tan will receive the Ambassador’s Award, which honors authors of international stature whose works reach beyond cultural boundaries.
The Celebration is the premier event for the university’s Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers and will also host a weekend of panel discussions, writing workshops, presentations, live interviews and book signings at OSU-Tulsa.
Celebration highlights will include a one-on-one public interview with best-selling writer Donald Westlake, who received an Academy Award nomination for his screen adaptation of Jim Thompson’s “The Grifters,” and a “Celebration of Words and Ideas” with Emmy winning essayist Roger Rosenblatt.
Teresa Miller, novelist and executive director of the Center, emphasizes that in addition to showcasing visiting authors, the Celebration will also focus on Oklahoma authors.
“Many people, even Oklahomans, cling to the ‘Grapes of Wrath’ image of our state,” Miller says. “But Oklahoma has a distinguished literary heritage, and we’ll be celebrating that at the book festival.”
Oklahoma native S.E. Hinton, whose award winning novels include “The Outsiders,” “Tex” and “Rumble Fish,” will be holding the first Oklahoma signing for her new adult novel, “Hawkes Harbor,” at the event. She will also participate in an on-the-spot interview with veteran “Tulsa World” reporter John Wooley.
Another best-selling Oklahoma author, Billie Letts, will make a special appearance during Saturday’s panel discussion, “Oklahoma Reads Oklahoma—Celebrating Billie Letts.” Letts novel, “Where The Heart Is,” was an Oprah Book Club Selection.
The Celebration will also present a special panel on Oklahoma historian Angie Debo, who will be honored with a Literary Landmark at the OSU’s Edmon Low Library in Stillwater on October 1st.
Though the Celebration is for book-lovers as well as writers, there will be three special workshops especially geared to writers: “Writing from Life,” with Susan Wittig Albert; “Conflict and Effective Plots” with Jewell Parker Rhodes; and “Crossing Genres” with Crescent Dragonwagon. There will also be a New York publishing forum with editor Jamie Raab and literary agent Mary Evans.
The registration fee for the Celebration of Books, including “An Evening with Amy Tan,” is $75. Tickets to “An Evening with Amy Tan” can also be purchased separately for $20 each by calling the Brady Theater at (918) 582-7239 or by visiting Steve’s Books, Barnes and Noble on 41st Street, or Borders on 21st Street in Tulsa.
To make reservations to attend the entire Celebration or for more information, contact Teresa Miller at (918) 594-8215. Visit www.poetsandwriters.oksate.edu for a complete listing of authors, panel topics and featured presentations.