Navigate Your Stars: A Conversation with Jesmyn Ward

This program will be held VIRTUALLY ONLY.

Zoom registration link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gjXCG1DtSlaQHLfDF8aWbQ

Hailed as “the new Toni Morrison” by the American Booksellers Association, Jesmyn Ward discusses how her literary vision and personal experiences address urgent questions about racism and social injustice. Her latest book, Navigate Your Stars, is an adaptation of her 2018 commencement address at Tulane University that championed the value of hard work. 

A professor of creative writing at Tulane University and contributing editor to Vanity Fair, Ward’s many honors include the Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, a MacArthur Genius Grant, and a Strauss Living Award. In 2017, she became the first woman and first person of color to win the National Book Award for Fiction twice. The standout writer of her generation, Ward’s stories are largely set on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, where she grew up and still lives.

This event is made possible by Illinois Libraries Present, a statewide collaboration among public libraries offering premier events. ILP is funded in part by a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library, a department of the Office of Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). ILP is committed to inclusion and accessibility. To request accommodations, please email illinoislibrariespresent@gmail.com.