On Thursday, April 30, at 7 p.m., New York University’s Creative Writing Program will host a special event, “Writers in Conversation: Zadie Smith interviewed by Jonathan Safran Foer.” The event, which is free and open to the public, takes place at NYU’s Vanderbilt Hall, Tishman Auditorium, 40 Washington Square South (at MacDougal Street). For further information, call 212.998.8816 or visit www.cwp.fas.nyu.edu.
Acclaimed British writer Smith is the author of three novels, including her award-winning first book, White Teeth, a vibrant portrait of contemporary multicultural London, told through the story of three ethnically diverse families. White Teeth won the Guardian First Book Award, the Whitbread First Novel Award, and the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Overall Winner, First Book Award). Her second novel, The Autograph Man, is a story of loss, obsession, and the nature of celebrity. Her third novel, On Beauty, won the 2006 Orange Prize for Fiction. Her writing has appeared recently in many publications including Slate, New York Review of Books, and The Believer. Smith is spending much of 2009 in New York.
Foer is the best-selling author of Everything is Illuminated, which appeared on “best books of 2002” lists internationally and won several literary prizes, including the National Jewish Book Award and the Guardian First Book Award. His second novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, is set in New York City and revolves around events since September 11, 2001. It was a finalist for the IMPAC Prize. He joined the NYU Creative Writing Program faculty in 2008 and lives in Brooklyn.