NC Literary Festival Author Spotlight: Junot DÃaz
March 21, 2014
With the North Carolina Literary Festival less than two weeks away, it's time to start thinking about who you'll want to hear. Meet Junot DÃaz, one of our keynote authors.
The list of DÃaz's awards and accolades could fill all five of the high-resolution MicroTile walls in the James B. Hunt Jr. Library, and rightfully so. Along with the Pulitzer Prize, DÃaz has won the National Book Critics Circle Award and has been honored with a MacArthur Genius Fellowship, Dayton Literary Peace Prize, Guggenheim Fellowship, PEN/O. Henry Award, and more.
The New York Times has called DÃaz's voice one of the most distinctive and magnetic ¦ in contemporary fiction: limber, streetwise, caffeinated and wonderfully eclectic. In an interview with DÃaz, Sam Anderson writes that DÃaz's receptivity to all the possible sources of inspiration is what makes DÃaz's work ¦ so distinctively rich. DÃaz draws from every aspect of his history and our entire literary tradition to create vibrant characters who survive on many different borders, both physically and emotionally.
DÃaz's first book Drown was published to critical acclaim, featuring themes of absent fathers, immigrating from the Dominican Republic, and DÃaz's hallmark character Yunior ”a nerdy, quirky teenager. The stories of Drown set the stage for DÃaz's later work, including his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and This is How You Lose Her . If you're looking for heartbreaking and inspiring reading from one of the most acclaimed writers in the country, pick up any one of DÃaz's books.
We are honored to welcome DÃaz to the North Carolina Literary Festival where he will read and hold a book signing at 7:00-9:00pm on Friday, April 4th, at the Hunt Library ”1070 Partners Way, Raleigh .
While the Festival is free and open to the public, space is limited, and we ask that you reserve tickets for two of our authors, Junot DÃaz and Richard Ford. For free tickets to see Junot DÃaz , please visit this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/junot-diaz-north-carolina-literary-festival-keynote-author-tickets-10912606901 . Richard Ford tickets can be reserved here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/richard-ford-north-carolina-literary-festival-keynote-author-tickets-10913896759 . You may also reserve tickets at Quail Ridge Books & Music .
For more information about the programs of the Literary Festival and to download the full schedule of events, please visit the Festival website .