Point Park to Host Prague Writers' Festival October 18-19 Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Point Park University will host the Prague Writers' Festival in Pittsburgh, October 18-19, 2013. The event will feature international writers, poets, historians and journalists.
The Writers' Festival takes place annually each spring in Prague. The precursor to the Prague Writers' Festival was founded by American poet Michael March and originally focused on poetry readings. Since then it has expanded in its scope, featuring international writers and many genres. Past participants have included Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Salman Rushdie, Irvine Welsh, William Styron, Derek Walcott and Nadine Gordimer.
Featured Authors and Presenters
The Pittsburgh gathering of the Festival will feature author E.L. Doctorow in a world premiere reading from his latest novel Andrew's Brain due to be published in 2014.
Author of Ragtime, Loon Lake, Homer & Langley and Billy Bathgate, Doctorow has won numerous awards and honors, including the PEN/Faulkner Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize.
In addition, the Festival will feature Anita Desai, an Indian novelist and the Emerita John E. Burchard professor of humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Eda Kriseova, author of Vaclav Havel: The Authorized Biography; and, Egyptian writer, playwright and columnist Hamdy El-Gazzar, author of Our Revolution: Stories to Fit in the Palm of Your Hand.
According to Channa Newman, Ph.D., professor and director of the global cultural studies program at Point Park and the director of international programs for the Prague Writers' Festival, "This exceptional event is a wonderful occasion to introduce the Prague Writers' Festival to a new audience, and to showcase Point Park University and Pittsburgh. It will also offer our community a rare opportunity to interact with internationally known writers in a personal and meaningful way."
Entitled "Birth of Nations/The Pursuit of Happiness," the two-day event will also include an opening reception hosted by Point Park president Paul Hennigan for Festival participants, representatives of Point Park University, state, city and civic leaders.
Event Details and Registration
The opening event will be held on Friday, October 18 at 7 p.m. The second reading will be held on Saturday, October 19 at 7:30 p.m. In addition, special sessions and conversations with authors and historians will be held during the two days.
For more details on the Festival, contact Lynn Monahan, School of Arts and Sciences director of academic administration, at 412-392-3938 or lmonahan@pointpark.edu.
To register for the event, use this online registration form.
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