Meet New York Times Bestselling Authors At Segerstrom Center For The Arts For In Conversation Series

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is calling all book lovers to come and enjoy two discussions with distinguished New York Times bestselling authors this Fall as part of its In Conversation Series in Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. The season starts off with Tara Westover, New York Times bestselling author of “Educated,” on Saturday, September 30 at 8:00 pm and continues with Amor Towles, another New York Times bestselling author of  “A Gentleman in Moscow,” on Monday, November 6 at 8:00 pm. These events offer unique opportunities to engage in fascinating discussions with honorable authors while delving into their literary journeys and exploring the power of storytelling. Discussions with both authors will be moderated by celebrated writer, actress and radio personality Sandra Tsing Loh. 

Audiences will not want to miss these opportunities to learn more about the creative processes of these esteemed novelists. Tickets start at $49 and are available at scfta.org.

Tara Westover | September 30, 2023, 8:00 pm

“Tara Westover is living proof that some people are flat-out, boots-always-laced-up indomitable. Her new book, Educated...is a heartbreaking, heartwarming, best-in-years memoir about striding beyond the limitations of birth and environment into a better life.” —USA TODAY

Tara Westover is an American author. Born in Idaho to a father opposed to public education, she never attended school. An older brother taught her to read, and after that, her education was erratic and haphazard, with most of her days spent working in her father's junkyard or stewing herbs for her mother.

She was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. After that first encounter with education, she pursued learning for a decade, graduating magna cum laude from Brigham Young University in 2008 and subsequently winning a Gates Cambridge Scholarship. She received an MPhil from Trinity College, Cambridge in 2009 and in 2014 was awarded a Ph.D. in history.

In 2018, she published her memoir, “Educated,” which explores her struggle to reconcile her desire for education and autonomy with her desire to be loyal to her family. It was an instant commercial and critical success, debuting at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and remaining on the list for more than two years. It was also a finalist for several national awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. The New York Times named Educated one of the 10 Best Books of 2018, and the American Booksellers Association voted it the Nonfiction Book of the Year.

To date, “Educated” has sold more than 8 million copies and has been translated into 45 languages. President Barack Obama included it on his annual reading list, calling it “remarkable,” and Bill Gates listed it as one of his favorite books of the year, saying, “It's even better than you've heard.” For her staggering impact, TIME Magazine named Westover one of the 100 most influential people of 2018. President Biden also awarded her the 2021 National Humanities Medal in a ceremony at the White House.

For more on Tara Westover, visit https://tarawestover.com/

Amor Towles | November 6, 2023, 8:00 pm
 

As anyone who has enjoyed his work will tell you, Amor Towles is not just an award-winning bestselling novelist, he is the consummate craftsman of both language and plot.  

A supreme storyteller, each of Towles's three works of fiction has earned praise from critics and rapturous reviews from readers. His novels are marked by elegant prose, richly drawn descriptions, and layered characters who experience life deeply. 

His first novel, “Rules of Civility,” which was published in 2011, was a bestseller and was named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the best books of that year. It transports readers back to the glamour of Manhattan in 1938 where his engaging narrator, through a combination of bold ambition and blind chance, ascends in a man's world.  

His second novel, “A Gentleman in Moscow,” tells the story of Count Alexander Rostov, an elegant Russian aristocrat who in 1922 is sentenced by a Bolshevik tribunal to house arrest in the luxurious Metropol Hotel. Inside it he remains for the next 32 years, becoming a fixture and friend to hotel staff, meeting fascinating guests, and adapting to losing the world he grew up in.  The hardcover edition took root on the New York Times bestseller list, staying for over 52 weeks, and was named one of the best books of 2016 by the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Francisco Chronicle, and NPR.

His most recent work, a magnificent comic road novel called “The Lincoln Highway,” debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. More recognition followed as it became a Today Show Read with Jenna Book Club Pick, one of the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2021, a Washington Post Best Book of the Year, one of Barack Obama's favorite books of 2021, and was #1 on Amazon's list of the Best Books of the Year. 

For more on Amor Towles, visit https://www.amortowles.com/

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