PBS Books was honored to host this virtual engagement event with author Téa Obreht on September 17 as part of our exciting partnership with The Library of Congress for the 2020 LOC National Book Festival: Celebrating American Ingenuity.

This year, LOC’s annual Book Festival with the theme “Celebrating American Ingenuity” will be held online between September 25 and 27. The Festival will culminate in a two-hour PBS Books special exploring ingenuity of acclaimed American authors. Hosted by Hoda Kotb, the special will premiere on Sunday, September 27th, from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM ET (Check your local listing). This event features diverse stories from special guests like Joy Harjo, Salman Rushdie, Madeleine Albright, and John Grisham.

Throughout the month of September, PBS Books is hosting ten events (just like this!) to showcase several talented, ingenious authors featured in this dynamic special. These intimate, moderated Q&As will be deep-dives into the work of some of the most celebrated literary luminaries of our time, all while providing insights into the upcoming festival. The events will be targeted to particular national regions, but are accessible to all audiences.

About the Author

Téa Obreht was born in Belgrade, in the former Yugoslavia, and grew up in Cyprus and Egypt before eventually immigrating to the United States. Her debut novel, The Tiger’s Wife, won the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction, and was a 2011 National Book Award finalist and an international bestseller. Her fiction and non-fiction has been anthologized in The Best American series, and has appeared in The New YorkerThe AtlanticHarper’sVogue, Esquire and Zoetrope: All-Story. Her second book, Inland, was an instant bestseller and a finalist for the 2020 Dylan Thomas Prize. Starting this fall, she will be serving as Endowed Chair of Creative Writing at Texas State University in San Marcos.