Butler University Visiting Writers Series

Writer / Matthew VanTryon

Novelist Jonathan Franzen gained national attention in 2001 after a bout with Oprah Winfrey. Franzen’s book, The Corrections, was selected to be a part of Winfrey’s book club. However, Franzen balked at the opportunity to appear on her show, suggesting that an appearance there might clash with his place in “the high-art literary tradition.’’

The spat did little to slow the success of the book, which was chosen for the National Book Award for Fiction in 2001 and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He is the first author since Stephen King to appear on the cover of TIME magazine, being dubbed “The Great American Novelist” on August 23, 2010.

Franzen will be just one of the seven authors, screenwriters and poets presenting as part of the 2014 Vivian S. Delbrook Writers Series at Butler University this fall. Franzen will appear at Clowes Memorial Hall on Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m.

Screenwriters will be a part of the series for the first time this year. David Levien and Brian Koppelman, who co-wrote Runaway Jury (2003) and Ocean’s Thirteen (2011), will appear in the Reilly Room at Atherton Union on Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m.

While best known for their films, the duo has experience in other mediums, as well. Levien has written four novels as part of the Frank Behr series, including his most recent addition, 13 Million Dollar Pop (2011).

Koppelman grew up in the shadow of his father, well-known businessman and producer Charles Koppelman. Brian Koppelman followed in his father’s footsteps and was an artist and repertoire representative for numerous companies, including EMI records, for nine years before writing his first film, Rounders (1998), with Levien.

Others scheduled to appear as a part of the series include Putlizer Prize–winning poet Tracy K. Smith and author Kaui Hart Hemmings, who is well known for her book The Descendants, which was adapted for film in 2011.

For a full list of the speakers participating in the Vivian S. Delbrook Visiting Writers Series, visit butler.edu/english/visiting-writers-series/spring-2014. Admission is free to the public, without tickets. For more information, call 317-940-9861.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Send me your media kit!

hbspt.forms.create({ portalId: "6486003", formId: "5ee2abaf-81d9-48a9-a10d-de06becaa6db" });