Ayad Akhtar
Minneapolis Central Library - Pohlad Hall, 2nd Floor
I started to understand that for me, art was no longer about self-expression but about creative engagement with the world.
—Ayad Akhtar
Pulitzer Prize Winner
Ayad Akhtar is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Edith Wharton Citation of Merit for Fiction, and an award in literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, among other honors. Both a novelist and playwright, Akhtar is known for his books American Dervish and Homeland Elegies, and his plays McNeal, Junk, Disgraced, The Who & The What, and The Invisible Hand.
Akhtar’s latest novel, The Radiance, opens with a writer involved in a mysterious accident along a country road. When the hit-and-run shatters more than his body, the ensuing revelations paint a provocative portrait of academic and cultural warfare, erotic entanglement, and family secrets. Abraham Verghese calls the novel “a work of genius” and “so original it will linger with me for a long time.” Moving between rural America and Europe, Islam and Christianity, the intimate and the metaphysical, The Radiance is an exploration of our current American moment and beyond—asking not only what is broken, but what radiance remains.
Akhtar’s work has been published and performed in more than two dozen languages. His previous novel, Homeland Elegies, was listed as one of the best books of 2020 by multiple publications, in addition to winning the American Book Award and being shortlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal. In 2021, Akhtar was named the New York State Author by the New York State Writers Institute.
This event is FREE and open to the public, but registration is required. Use the links at the top of the page to register for either the in-person event or virtual option.
This event takes place at the Minneapolis Central Library in Pohlad Hall on the 2nd Floor. Pohlad Hall doors open at 6 p.m. for general admission seating. Registrants must check in for seating by 6:20 p.m. After this time, any open seats will be released to our standby queue.
Order the author's featured book from bookselling partner Magers and Quinn. The book will also be on sale in the event lobby, and a book signing will take place following the talk.
Using your Hennepin County Library card, download the author's past titles through the Libby App or search the catalog for pick up locations.
In-Person Event: Accessible and companion seating are available at all Talk of the Stacks events. Check with a staff member or volunteer upon arrival to request this seating. Assistive Listening Devices will also be available at the event check-in table. For all other requests, including ASL interpretation services, please email FriendsEvents@hclib.org at least two weeks prior to your event.
Virtual Option: Closed captioning is provided for all virtual Talk of the Stacks events. To use closed captioning during a virtual program, click the "CC" icon and select "Show Subtitles."
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