Contact:
- Beth Montee, WSU Vancouver, Office of Campus Advancement, 360/546-9600, montee@vancouver.wsu.edu
- Pamela Smith Hill, WSU Vancouver, College of Liberal Arts, 360/546-9677, hillpam@vancouver.wsu.edu
VANCOUVER, Wash.—Award-winning children's book author Carmen T. Bernier-Grand will open this year's Professional Writing Series on the Washington State University Vancouver campus. The event is open to the public.
Scheduled at 7 p.m. on Feb.2 in the Multimedia Building Auditorium (Room 6), Bernier-Grand's presentation will focus on her latest book, a biography of César Chavez, which was named a Pura Belpŕe Honor Book by the American Library Association this week.
"A Belpŕe Honor Medal is an extremely prestigious award, part of the Newbery-Caldecott family of children's book awards," said Pamela Smith Hill, Professional Writing Program director at WSU Vancouver. "Opening this year's series with such a notable author brings an especially creative atmosphere to this year's lectures."
Other writers in this year's series, she said, will sustain the momentum. "We're especially pleased to have author Diana Abu-Jaber. She's a powerful storyteller with a unique perspective." Abu-Jaber's books, which have been influenced by her Jordanian family experiences, include "The Language of Baklava," "Crescent," and "Arabian Jazz." She has received a 2004 Pen Center USA Award for Literary Fiction and the Before Columbus Foundation's American Book Award. She will discuss "Taking Creative Risks" on March 2.
Journalist and author Michael Balter will pose the question, "Should Writers Quit Their Day Jobs?" on Feb. 16. Author of "The Goddess and the Bull," an exploration of an ancient archeological site in Turkey, Balter has written for Science, Travel & Leisure, and Bon Appetit magazines as well as the L.A. Times and the Los Angeles Weekly.
The series will conclude April 6 when graduates from the Professional Writing Program at WSU Vancouver discuss "After the Degree, What's Next?"
All events are scheduled for Thursday nights at 7 p.m. in the Multimedia Building on the WSU Vancouver campus. For more information, contact Smith Hill at (360) 546-9677 or hillpam@vancouver.wsu.edu.
The Professional Writing Series is an annual event which brings writers and editors from multiple backgrounds to campus to share their insight, experience and artistic vision with the larger WSU Vancouver community.
WSU Vancouver is located at 14204 N.E. Salmon Creek Ave., east of the 134th Street exit from either I-5 or I-205. WSU Vancouver offers 15 bachelor's degrees and nine master's degrees in more than 35 fields of study.