Gustavus Adolphus College will welcome author Jamie Ford to campus Tuesday, Sept. 14 for a free, public lecture. Ford, the author of this year’s Reading in Common book, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, will speak at 7 p.m. in Alumni Hall.
In addition to Ford’s appearance on campus, he will also appear in front of alumni and friends of the College from 7-8:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13 at Open Book in downtown Minneapolis. Ford’s appearance at Open Book is being sponsored by the Gustavus Alumni Association and Gustavus Library Associates.
Ford is the great grandson of Nevada mining pioneer Min Chung, who emigrated from Kaiping, China, to San Francisco in 1865, where he adopted the western name “Ford.” He is an award-winning short-story writer, an alumnus of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, and a survivor of Orson Scott Card’s Literary Book Camp. Having grown up near Seattle’s Chinatown, Ford now makes his home in Montana with his wife and three children.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is a national bestseller. It was also named the #1 Book Club Pick for Fall 2009/Winter 2010 by the American Booksellers Association. The book has been translated into 23 languages. Ford’s next novel, Whispers of a Thunder God, is scheduled to hit bookshelves in 2011.
In its 11th year of existence at Gustavus, the Reading in Common program is designed to have all first-year students read a chosen book during the summer before arriving on campus. The students then meet with faculty members and upper-class students during New Student Orientation to discuss themes in the book.
Following Ford’s lecture, there will be a question and answer session and a book signing. For more information about Ford’s appearance on campus or the Reading in Common program at Gustavus, contact Director of Student Activities Megan Ruble at mruble@gustavus.edu or 507-933-7597.
To RSVP for the Twin Cities event on Monday, Sept. 13, contact the Gustavus Alumni Relations Office at 1-800-487-8437 or alumni@gustavus.edu.
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