Jesmyn Ward - On Witness and Respair
About This Event
Two-time National Book Award-winner Jesmyn Ward returns to Chicago Humanities to discuss her newest work, On Witness and Repair, a collection of essays documenting more than a decade of her work. The acclaimed titular essay, which appeared in Vanity Fair, tells the story of her partner’s sudden death on the eve of the COVID-19 epidemic. Join us for a conversation with Ward and get a glimpse into the life of a singular writer often lauded as “the heir apparent to Toni Morrison” (LitHub).
In Conversation With
Stephanie Soileau
Stephanie Soileau's collection of short stories LAST ONE OUT SHUT OFF THE LIGHTS was published in 2020 by Little, Brown & Co. and her debut novel, SHOULD THE WATERS TAKE US, is forthcoming from Doubleday in 2026. Her work has also appeared in Best American Short Stories, Glimmer Train, Oxford American, Ecotone, Tin House, New Stories from the South, and other journals and anthologies, and has been supported by fellowships from the Wallace Stegner Fellowship Program at Stanford University, the Camargo Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. She has an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and has taught creative writing at the Art Institute of Chicago, Stanford University, and the University of Southern Maine. Originally from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Stephanie now lives in Chicago and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English and Creative Writing at the University of Chicago.
About the Venue
University of Chicago - Mandel Hall
Presented by Seminary Co-Op Bookstore
Presented with Chicago Humanities
Hyde Park
5706 S University Ave
Chicago, IL 60637
More at Seminary Co-Op Bookstore
A Conversation with Nikita Gill!
Nikita Gill will discuss her newest book STYX: The River, followed by a book signing. She will be joined in conversation by Erika L. Sánchez. BUY TICKETS HERE (Tickets are Required) Join us for a conversation with New York Times bestselling author Nikita Gill as she discusses her new book, STYX: The River. She will be joined in conversation by New York Times bestselling author Erika L. Sánchez. A book signing will follow the discussion. We are so excited to welcome Nikita Gill and Erika L. Sánchez to the Seminary Co-op! About the Book: Perfect for fans of Madeline Miller and Alexandra Bracken, this novel-in-verse from world-renowned poet Nikita Gill is a richly imagined retelling of the Greek myth of Styx, goddess of the underworld river. Before the tale of Zeus and Hera, and their powerful siblings, there were the Titans. A golden age of divinity when the earth was still new. Back then, there was no hierarchy. There were simply Gods and Goddesses. Until one God broke the sacred peace and decided that under his new order, lesser Goddesses would lose their divinity and were instead named nymphs. But Goddesses are an ancient force, unanswerable to anyone. This is an untold story of a nymph who fought the odds. A tale of a nymph who became a Goddess. This fierce and heartrending tale of sisterhood, identity, love, and war reimagines a Greek myth to explore the fall of the Titanomachy and showcases the coming of age of one of the most infamous deities of the underworld. Meet all the Goddesses of the Underworld: Hekate: The Witch Styx: The River Nyx: The Night (coming Fall 2027!) About Nikita Gill: Nikita Gill is an Irish-Indian poet, playwright, illustrator, and author based in the south of England. She has written and curated seven volumes of poetry, including Wild Embers, Fierce Fairytales, Great Goddesses, and These Are the Words. Her novel Hekate: The Witch, the first book in her chthonic gods trilogy, was a #1 New York Times bestseller. Nikita is one of the most followed poets on Instagram and her work is beloved around the world. Nikita invites you to visit her on Instagram @nikita_gill About Erika L. Sánchez: Erika L. Sánchez is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. Her debut poetry collection, Lessons on Expulsion, was a finalist for the PEN America Open Book Award. Her debut young adult novel, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter was a #1 New York Times bestseller, a National Book Awards finalist, and Tomás Rivera Award winner. Time has recognized it as one of the best YA novels of all time. It is now is being made into a MGM Orion film directed by America Ferrera. She is an executive producer on the project. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter has also been adapted to the theater at Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago, Seattle Rep Theater, Greenway Court Theater in Los Angeles, and Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Also, her novel has been banned across the country due to its “controversial” themes. Most recently, Sánchez published a critically acclaimed memoir-in-essays titled Crying in the Bathroom with Viking Books. It won the Chicago Review of Books Nonfiction award and has been optioned for television. Sánchez was a Fulbright Scholar, a Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent fellow from the Poetry Foundation, a Princeton Arts Fellow, a recipient of the 21st Century Award from the Chicago Public Library Foundation, and a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in poetry. Sánchez earned a BA from UIC and an MFA from the University of New Mexico. Her books have been translated and published in Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Brazil, France, Mexico, Poland, Turkey, and Italy. She’s appeared on WGN, PBS, NPR, Good Morning America, Telemundo, Univision, and MSNBC. Erika holds an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from New School University. She lives in Chicago with her family.
Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor on End Times Fascism
A new iteration of the far right is on the rise. Award-winning authors and organizers Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor join us to share a dangerous development they’ve identified: Christian nationalists, tech-bro reactionaries, and populist survivalists are united in their apocalyptic belief that some kind of cleansing cataclysm is coming. And, rather than avoiding this conflagration, they welcome it. Klein and Taylor will provide a recipe for how to fight back, because most of us desperately want a future we can believe in — and leaders who believe in us. This event is generously underwritten by Ellen Stone Belic. We are pleased to partner with the Seminary Co-op Bookstores, the country’s first not-for-profit bookstore. Pre-order End Times Fascism through the Chicago Humanities box office and save up to 20% while supporting local, independent bookselling. Add books to your cart when adding tickets. Your PDF ticket will contain a book voucher, which you show to the bookseller on-site to pick up your book(s). Please visit our FAQ for more information.
Emily St. John Mandel - Exit Party
Join us as Emily St. John Mandel, the award-winning author of Station Eleven, Sea of Tranquility, and The Glass Hotel, celebrates the release of her breathtaking new novel, Exit Party. Known for her genre-defying works of fiction, Mandel will explore the price of safety, the perils of the surveillance state, and resilience in the face of cataclysmic change. She’ll be joined in conversation by podcast host Greta Johnsen. Mandel’s books have been translated into 25 languages, and Station Eleven was adapted into a critically acclaimed 10-episode limited series on HBO, set and filmed in Chicago.