Great Brown Nonfiction Writers' Lecture Series 2011-12
Series Poster
Series Organizer: Elizabeth Taylor, Senior Lecturer, Nonfiction Writing Program
A. J. Jacobs ’90
(Personal Journalism)
Wednesday, October 5, 6:30 p.m.
My Life as an Experiment: I came, I saw, I became part of the story.
Brown/RISD Hillel, 80 Brown Street, 2nd floor
Brown Emerging Writers' panel
Wednesday, November 9, 6:30 p.m.
Kevin Roose '09 (Cultural Analysis)
Lindsay Harrison '08 (Memoir)
Brian Christian '06 (Science/Culture)
Brown/RISD Hillel, 80 Brown Street, 2nd floor
David Rohde ’90
(Investigative Journalism)
Monday, February 13, 2012, 6:30 p.m.
The Art of Reporting: From investigative stories to columns, the irreplaceable value of 'ground truth.'
Brown/RISD Hillel, 80 Brown Street, 2nd floor
Pico Iyer
Monday, May 7, 2012, 6:30 p.m.
Casey Shearer Memorial Lecture
Writing--and Rewriting--Our New Global Swirl
Location: Granoff Center, Martinos Auditorium, 154 Angell Street
Andre Dubus, III
New Lecture Date: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 4:00 p.m
'Townie': A Memoir
Location: Barker Room 315, 70 Brown Street
This event is made possible by the Center for Race and Ethnicity. Co-sponsored by the Shane Family Program Fund and the Nonfiction Writing Program, Department of English.
2010-11
Reading With Your Eyes Closed: Audiences, Stories, and Where They Come Together
Monday, October 18, 6:00 p.m.
Andrew Losowsky
John Nicholas Brown Center Library, 357 Benefit Street
This event is made possible by the Shane Family Program Fund and the Nonfiction Writing Program, Department of English. Co-sponsored by the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage.
Making Public Radio More Public
Thursday, November 4, 4:00 p.m.
Jake Shapiro, Executive Director, Public Radio Exchange
Salomon 203, Main Green
This event is made possible by the Shane Family Program Fund and the Nonfiction Writing Program, Department of English.
The Past Is Not Dead. It Isn't Even Past: The Power of Creative Nonfiction
Monday, November 22, 6:30 p.m.
Marion Winik, '78, lecturer
Brown/RISD Hillel, 80 Brown Street
This event is made possible by the Shane Family Program Fund and the Nonfiction Writing Program, Department of English.
Telling Personal Stories: Memior as More than Self-Journalism
Thursday, February 3, 2011, 6:00 p.m.
Ariel Sabar, '93
Brown/RISD Hillel, 80 Brown Street
This event is made possible by the Shane Family Program Fund and the Nonfiction Writing Program, Department of English.
Brown Degree Days: Science Writers' Panel
Monday, February 28, 2011, 6:30 p.m.
Rachel Aviv, '04
Molly Birnbaum, '05
Casey Schwartz, '04
Brown/RISD Hillel, 80 Brown Street
This event is made possible by the Shane Family Program Fund and the Nonfiction Writing Program, Department of English. Co-sponsored by the Dean of the College, Committee on Science and Technology Studies, and the Public Health Program.
Casey Shearer Memorial Lecture
Friday, April 8, 2011, 6:30 p.m.
Curt Ellis
Film documentarian on environmental economic issues
Stuart Theatre, Waterman St.
2009-10
Great Brown Nonfiction Writers Lecture Series 2009-10
Series PosterSeries Organizer: Elizabeth Taylor, Senior Lecturer, Nonfiction Writing Program
The Art of Literary Memoir and Biography
Wednesday, October 7, 6:30 p.m.
Susan Cheever '65, Writer and Teacher
Smith-Buonanno 106, 95 Cushing Street, Pembroke Campus
Literary Investigative Journalism
Wednesday, November 11, 6:30 p.m.
David Shenk '88
Smith-Buonanno 106, 95 Cushing Street, Pembroke Campus
Literary Nonfiction: Reality Hunger: A Manifesto
Wednesday, March 17, 6:30 p.m.
David Shields '78
Salomon 001, main green
NPR National Political Reporting
Thursday, April 8, 6:30 p.m.
Mara Liasson '77
Salomon 101
.preview.jpg)
The Rise of the New Taliban
Monday, November 16, 4:00 p.m.
David Rohde '90, Reporter, The New York TimesList Art Center, Room 120, 64 College St.
This event is made possible by the Shane Family Program Fund and the Nonfiction Writing Program, Department of English.
Author Meet & Greet
Wednesday, February 24, 11:00 a.m.
Susan Jane Gilman '86, author
Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven
70 Brown St. Lounge, Rm. 219
Lessons Learned from Three Decades of Challenging the Conventional Wisdom
Tuesday, April 20, 6:30 p.m.
Walt Bogdanich, Assistant Editor for Investigations, The New York Times
Smith-Buonanno Hall 106
This event is made possible by the Shane Family Program Fund and the Nonfiction Writing Program, Department of English.
Narrative for Complex Social Issues
Thursday, April 29, 6:30 p.m.
Susan Eaton, Director, Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, Harvard Law School
Brown/RISD Hillel, 80 Brown St., 2nd floor
This event is made possible by the Shane Family Program Fund and the Nonfiction Writing Program, Department of English.
2008-09
True Stories
Tuesday, November 11, 4:00 p.m.
Caroline Dworin, Writer, The New York Times
Barker Presentation Room 315, 70 Brown St.
This event is funded by a Salomon Grant (Dean of the College) and the Nonfiction Writing Program, Department of English.
Turning the Seams Inside Out: Fun with Conspicuous Editing
Thursday, December 4, 4:00 p.m.
Nick van der Kolk, Creator and Senior Producer for alt.NPR's Love and Radio podcast
Barker Presentation Room 315, 70 Brown St.
This event is funded by a Salomon Grant (Dean of the College) and the Nonfiction Writing Program, Department of English.
At the End of the Road: Reporting in the Seams
Tuesday, March 10, 7:00 p.m.
C.J. Chivers, Foreign Correspondent, The New York Times
Brown/RISD Hillel, 80 Brown Street
This event is made possible by the Shane Family Program Fund and is sponsored by the Nonfiction Writing Program in the Department of English.
Narrative Journalism: Reporting, Organizing, Writing and Ethics
Tuesday, April 7, 4:00 p.m.
David Finkel, Reporter, The Washington Post
Brown/RISD Hillel, 80 Brown Street
This event is made possible by the Shane Family Program Fund and is sponsored by the Nonfiction Writing Program in the Department of English.
Readings by Nonfiction Writing Program Award Winners 2008-2009
Tuesday, April 28, 4:00 p.m.
Brown Bookstore
Casey Shearer Memorial Award for Excellence in Creative Nonfiction:
1st Place: Kevin B. Roose, The Workers are Few, from The Unlikely Disciple
2nd Place: Noam Dorr, Wouldn't It
Honorable Mention: Sandra E. Allen, The Problem With the Writer
Honorable Mention: Rachel Z. Arndt, So Much Can Happen When You Don't Speak the Language
Barbara Banks Brodsky Prize for Excellence in Real World Writing:
Sandra E. Allen, A Story About Bobby
David Rome Prize for Best Lyric Essay:
Emily A. Silverman, 120/80
.preview.png)
Nonfiction Writing Program Faculty Reading
Monday, May 4, 6:30 p.m.
Nonfiction Writing Faculty will read from their most recent books. Book signing to follow.
Brown/RISD Hillel, 80 Brown Street
This event is made possible by the Shane Family Program Fund and is sponsored by the Nonfiction Writing Program in the Department of English.
2007-08
Great Nonfiction Writers Lecture Series 2007-08
Series Poster
Series Organizer: Elizabeth Taylor, Director, Nonfiction Writing Program
Historical Memoir: "My Confederate Kinfolk"
Wednesday, October 10, 6:30 p.m.
Thulani Davis, New York University
MacMillan 117
Personal Nonfiction: The Paradise of Bombs, a Private History of Awe
Wednesday, November 14, 6:30 p.m.
Scott Russell Sanders '67, Indiana University
Salomon 001
Science Narrative: Galileo's Daughter, Longitude
Wednesday, February 20, 6:30 p.m.
Dava Sobel
Salomon 001
Book signing to follow
Film Documentary: An Inconvenient Truth
Monday, May 5, 6:30 p.m.
Davis Guggenheim '86
Salomon 101
Covering the Legacy of War
Tuesday, December 4, 4:00 p.m.
Jimmie Briggs
Barker Presentation Room 315
English Department
70 Brown St.
This event is made possible by the Shane Family Program Fund, and is co-sponsored by: Africana Studies Department and Rites and Reason Theatre, the Watson Institute for International Studies, and the Third World Center
A Life of Investigative Journalism
Wednesday, March 12, 6:30 p.m.
Tracy Breton, Brown University and The Providence Journal
Brown/RISD Hillel
80 Brown St.
This event is made possible by the Shane Family Program Fund and is sponsored by the Nonfiction Writing Program in the Department of English.
Writing About Science and Nature
Wednesday, April 9, 6:00 p.m.
Chet Raymo, Professor Emeritus of Physics, Stonehill College
Brown/RISD Hillel
80 Brown St.
This event is made possible by the Shane Family Program Fund and is sponsored by the Nonfiction Writing Program in the Department of English.
Writing About People and Place
Tuesday, April 22, 4:00 p.m.
Dan Barry, New York Times Columnist, memoir writer, and formerProvidence Journal reporter
Barker Presentation Room 315, 70 Brown St.
Book signing to follow
This event is made possible by the Shane Family Program Fund and is sponsored by the Nonfiction Writing Program in the Department of English.
Readings by 2007-2008 Nonfiction Award Winners
Tuesday, May 6, 4 p.m.
Nonfiction Award Winners
Flynn Berry, Winner, Barbara Banks Brodsky Prize for Excellence in Real World Writing
Robert Moor, First Prize Winner, Casey Shearer Memorial Award for Excellence in Creative Nonfiction
Brittany Harwood, Second Prize Winner, Casey Shearer Memorial Award for Excellence in Creative Nonfiction
Brown Bookstore
2006-07
2007 Casey Shearer Memorial Awards for Excellence in Creative Nonfiction
Winners Read at the Brown Bookstore
Wednesday, May 2, 4 pm
1st Place
Alexander Eichler '08
"Silent Night"
2nd place
Molly Young '08
"Pages from the Goncourt Journals"
Honorable Mention
Lindsay Harrison '08
"Apnea"
Lecture Series
| Date & Time | Lecture Title | Lecturer | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday November 20 7:00 p.m. |
This I Believe and the Art of Citizen Storytelling | Jay Allison, National Public Radio | Smith Buonanno, Room 106 |
| Tuesday March 13 4:00 p.m. |
The Journalism of Empathy | Isabel Wilkerson, journalist and author | 70 Brown Street, Barker Presentation Room 315 |
| Wednesday March 21 6:30 p.m. |
The Penny and the Well: A Quarter Mile Along -- 20 Years As a Book Reviewer | Richard Eder, Boston Globe and The Times | Glenn & Darcy Weiner Center, 80 Brown St. |
Brown Writers' Symposium
July 23-26, 2006
Note: Prior to Fall 2006, the Nonfiction Writing Program was called the Expository Writing Program.
2005-06
Great Writers Lecture Series
The Great Writers Lecture Series presents four of the most celebrated nonfiction writers of our time, brought to Brown by the Expository Writing Program in the Department of English. The program uniquely links academic writing with all forms of nonfiction: literary journalism, memoir, lyric essay, and the narrative of science, history, and travel.
| Date & Time | Lecture Title | Lecturer | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday October 5 6:30 p.m. |
Writing the Bi-cultural Memoir | Judith Ortiz Cofer, Department of English, University of Georgia | Salomon 001 |
| Wednesday November 16 6:30 p.m. |
Writing the Science Narrative Einstein Lecture |
Alan Lightman, Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Salomon 001 |
| Wednesday February 15 6:30 p.m. |
Writing the Lyric Essay | John D'Agata, Nonfiction Writing Program, Department of English, University of Iowa | MacMillan Hall 117 |
| Tuesday April 11 6:30 p.m. |
Writing the Political Memoir Casey Shearer Memorial Lecture |
Marian Wright Edelman, Founder and President, Children's Defense Fund | Salomon 101 |
The Great Writers Lecture Series is made possible through generous contributions from the Charles K. Colver Lectureship and Publication Fund, the Zucker Family Endowment, the Goldway/Shearer family, the Dean of the College, the Department of Physics, the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, the Literary Arts Program, the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research, the Department of Modern Culture and Media, the Department of Comparative Literature, the Africana Studies Department, and the Department of Hispanic Studies.
Brown Writers' Symposium, July, 2005
Events prior to 2005
Alumni Symposium, Writing Beyond Brown, November 20, 2004. Sponsored by the Writing|Rhetoric Fellows Program; Co-sponsored by the English Department's Expository Writing Program and the Career Development Center.
Conference, Creative Nonfiction: Revitalizing Expository Writing, October 3, 2003
Open Lecture, Thomas Mallon, "A Narrative on Narrative," April 8, 2003. Mallon is an author of historical fiction and creative nonfiction. His latest book is Mrs Paine's garage: and the murder of John F. Kennedy
Open Lecture, Joe Richman and Jay Allison, "Radio Documentaries," November 21, 2002. Co-sponsored by the Department of Modern Culture & Media. Richman is an independent radio documentary producer. Allison is an independent broadcast producer and journalist.
Open Lecture, Jill Ker Conway, "Writing Your Life," March 4, 2002. Co-sponsored by Sarah Doyle Women's Center. Ker Conway is an historian, memoirist, and scholar of women's autobiography. A former president of Smith College, she now is a Visiting Professor in the Science, Technololgy and Society Program of MIT.
Reading, Joan L. Richards, "Angles of Reflection," March 15, 2001. Co-sponsored by Department of History and The Chaplain's Office. Richards is a professor in the Department of History, Brown University
Reading and Discussion, Susanna Kaysen. Nov. 17, 2000. Co-sponsored by Sarah Doyle Women's Center. Kaysen is author ofGirl, Interrupted and a lecturer in the Creative Writing Program at Boston University.