Brown County Public Library is joining more than 200 other libraries in Illinois to kick off Season 3 of Illinois Libraries Present, a collaborative effort featuring virtual events with bestselling and award-winning authors and esteemed speakers. The season opens with Colson Whitehead, a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a #1 New York Times bestselling author. The Power of Story with Colson Whitehead will take place via Zoom on Wednesday, September 6, at 7 pm.

     Whitehead is only the fourth author to win two Pulitzer Prizes for fiction. His novel, The Underground Railroad, a #1 New York Times bestseller, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2017, as well as the National Book Award and the Carnegie Medal for Fiction. Whitehead was awarded his second Pulitzer Prize in 2020 for The Nickel Boys.

     Crook Manifesto, Whitehead’s latest release and the second book in the Harlem Trilogy, was published in July 2023. It’s a darkly funny tale of a city under siege, but also a sneakily searching portrait of the meaning of family. The author’s other books include Harlem Shuffle, The Noble Hustle, Zone One, Sag Harbor, The Intuitionist, John Henry Days, Apex Hides the Hurt, and a collection of essays.

     Whitehead received a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the  Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, among others. In 2023, President Biden awarded Whitehead a National Endowment for the Humanities Medal.

     Colson Whitehead will be joined in conversation with award-winning author Tochi Onyebuchi. His books include Goliath, Riot Baby, the Beasts Made of Night series, the War Girls series, and (S)kinfolk.

     The event with Colson Whitehead is made possible by Illinois Libraries Present (ILP), a statewide collaboration among public libraries offering premier events.

The Power of Story with Colson Whitehead will begin at 7 pm on Wednesday, September 6, 2023. The event is free on Zoom and open to the public, but registration is required.