Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, essayist, and screenwriter Michael Chabon to speak at BHSU

Michael Chabon

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, essayist, and screenwriter Michael Chabon will speak at BHSU Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 7 p.m., in the Clare and Josef Meier Recital Hall. Chabon will talk about people who led him to his writing - the teachers and mentors who helped shape him. Photo credit: Benjamin Tice Smith.

From fiction, to novels, children's books and screenplays, award-winning author Michael Chabon is ready to talk about people who led him to his writing - the teachers and mentors who helped shape him.

Chabon will speak at Black Hills State University on the topic "Thanks, Teach: Remembering Four Writing Mentors," Wednesday, Oct. 5, 7 p.m., in the Clare and Josef Meier Recital Hall. The presentation is free and open to the public as part of the Madeline A. Young Distinguished Speaker Series.

Chabon was put on the map of the literary world before gaining his graduate degree at the University of California, Irvine. Chabon's master thesis and his first novel, "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh," became a New York Times best-seller in 1988 after it was picked up by William Morrow & Co.

Three things are required for success as a novelist, according to Chabon: talent, luck, and discipline.

"Discipline is the one element of those three things that you can control, and so that is the one that you have to focus on controlling, and you just have to hope and trust in the other two," says Chabon.

The award-winning novelist's work is includes complex language and frequent metaphor use. Chabon draws on several themes in his writing including nostalgia, divorce, abandonment, fatherhood, and issues of Jewish identity.

"Novels start for me when I can envision a particular world," adds Chabon.

Chabon has made numerous appearances before audiences all over the U.S. and Canada as well as in Europe He lectured in Russia, Finland, Lithuania, Italy, France, Great Britain and Germany. Some of the topics the author addressed in the past include the art and craft of writing, the tradition of Jewish fiction, superheroes and the most current, at BHSU, will discuss the people who inspired and helped shape Chabon into an accomplished writer.

The author's admirable writing experience caught the interest of creative teams at Pixar Animation Studios to whom he spoke about fantasy and childhood. Chabon was also invited to address the employees of Industrial Light and Magic, Lucas film's VFX and animation studio, about the art of storytelling.

The Madeline A. Young Distinguished Speaker Series at BHSU was established in 1986 by a gift endowment from Madeline Young, a 1924 alumna.

The speaker series was initiated at BHSU in 1987, with an address by former United Nations Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick. Other Madeline Young Speakers have included: Terry Waite, former hostage, hostage negotiator and envoy for England's Archbishop of Canterbury Felix Justice and Danny Glover, actors Sam Donaldson, television broadcaster Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize winner Lech Walesa, former Polish president Annabelle Gurwitch, host of a national reality show that encourages green living Alexandra Fuller, author of "The Legend of Colton H. Bryant" Vinny Guadagnino from MTV's hit reality show "Jersey Shore" and Dr. Michael Shermer, bestselling author and founding publisher of Skeptic magazine.

Several copies of Chabon's books are available at BHSU book store on campus. For more information or details about the event, email Steve.Meeker@BHSU.edu or call 642-6228.