Authors, Books, & Writing Programs

The American Southwest occupies a central place in the country’s literary imagination. Join Lisbeth Strimple Fuisz, a lecturer in the English department at Georgetown University, in spirited lectures and informal discussions about four compelling novels that offer rich and varied portraits of the region and the people who inhabit it. This session discusses Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver.

London is a writer's city where poets, playwrights, and novelists have long found welcome and inspiration. A British social historian and an emeritus professor of English delve into the literary contributions and the distinctive London worlds of writers from Lord Byron to Virginia Woolf.

The American Southwest occupies a central place in the country’s literary imagination. Join Lisbeth Strimple Fuisz, a lecturer in the English department at Georgetown University, in spirited lectures and informal discussions about four compelling novels that offer rich and varied portraits of the region and the people who inhabit it. This session discusses All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy.

Spend a day exploring the life and works of Nobel laureate, writer, and educator Toni Morrison with Michele L. Simms-Burton, founding board member of the Toni Morrison Society. She traces the creative and personal arc that spans Morrison’s formative years at Howard University to her status as an internationally acclaimed literary figure.

Beyond their compelling stories, dystopian tales like The Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner, and Brave New World offer something more for economist Brian O’Roark: perfect settings for an economic analysis. Join him to discover some entertaining insights that we can learn from fictional societies gone wrong.

Looking for that elusive spark of inspiration to write a hit screenplay or book, design an effective marketing campaign, or start a successful company? Learn why technology entrepreneur Allen Gannett says to stop waiting and discover that creative ideas are not just the province of so-called geniuses, but within the reach of everyone.

Have we gotten the principles of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution all wrong? Constitutional law professor Kermit Roosevelt challenges the conventional view that these hallowed documents established our core values and tell us who we are.

Classicist Frederick Winter examines the continuing influence of Plato’s utopian vision of the state and how a re-examination of this key Western text provides important insights into our own era of political transformation.

Join Lisbeth Strimple Fuisz of Georgetown University in spirited lectures and informal discussions about four compelling novels that explore stories set in Spain, India, the Dominican Republic, and the world of classical Greek mythology.

MEMBERS-ONLY PROGRAM: Drawing on his new book The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson offers a vivid portrait of London and Winston Churchill during the Blitz, detailing how the prime minister taught the British people “the art of being fearless.” Ticket includes a copy of The Splendid and the Vile.

You have a trove of wonderful family memories, but documenting them to share with the people you love can be a challenging undertaking. Bring your own mementos to inspire your work in this practical day led by writing coach Mathina Calliope, who provides the tools and guidance you need to move from daunted to accomplished.