Literature & Fiction
Many of our Literature & Fiction speakers have been honored with top accolades in their field, including Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes, PEN/Faulkner Awards, and National Book Critics Circle Awards. Whether giving a speech to a small group of dedicated university students, a lecture to a community library, or an innovative keynote address to a major corporation, our literary legends never fail to engage audiences with stories of their craft, their inspiration, and their unique perspective on the world.
Annie Barrows
Bestselling Novelist of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Children's Book Author
Dan Chaon
National Book Award finalist and bestselling author of literary novels and short story collections
Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Bestselling novelist and co-founder of The Camellia Network, assisting foster care youth
Jennifer Egan
Critically Acclaimed Novelist and Author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Visit from the Goon Squad
Nathan Englander
Author of What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank and The Ministry of Special Cases
Patricia Reilly Giff
Two-time Newbery Honor winning author of such beloved novels as Lily's Crossing and Pictures of Hollis Woods
Adam Haslett
Award-Winning Short Story Author and Novelist, Notable for His Fictionalized Account of the Financial Crisis
Matthew Holm
Co-creator of two critically-acclaimed and award-winning graphic novel series for children, Babymouse and Squish
Norton Juster
Author of the Beloved Children's Classic The Phantom Tollbooth and Highly-Acclaimed Books for all Ages
Trudy Ludwig
Nationally Acclaimed Children's Author and Advocate Who Speaks About Social Issues Including Bullying and Cyberbullying that Children Deal with Everyday
Yann Martel
Winner of the Man Booker Prize-Winning Life of Pi and New York Times bestseller Beatrice and Virgil
Jay McInerney
Bestselling Author of the Gen-X Classic, Bright Lights, Big City, and Passionate Oenophile
Gary Paulsen
Prolific Three-Time Newbery Honor Winner, Hailed as "One of the Best Loved Writers Alive" by The New York Times
Lisa Sanders, M.D.
Assistant Clinical Professor at the Yale University School of Medicine and Clinician Educator in Yale's Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Program
Esmeralda Santiago
Essayist, Award-Winning Screenwriter and Author of the Bestselling novel Conquistadora
Darin Strauss
Bestselling novelist and author of the acclaimed memoir Half a Life, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography
Isabel Wilkerson
Pulitzer Prize Winner and author of the critically acclaimed bestseller, The Warmth of Other Suns
Markus Zusak
New York Times Bestselling Author of The Book Thief, a Book Club Favorite and Beloved Novel Embraced by Readers of All Ages
