John Green visit among first of many KU Reads program events for 2025-26

Editor's note: Tickets for John Green's Sept. 2 event at the Lied Center of Kansas are no longer available. See updates from KU Libraries on alternative options to watch the event.

LAWRENCE — A campus visit from bestselling author John Green will help kick off the fall semester at the University of Kansas, among the first of a yearlong slate of activities centered around his book “The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet,” the 2025-26 KU Reads: A Common Book Experience selection. 

“An Evening with John Green” will take place at 7 p.m. Sept. 2 at the Lied Center of Kansas. The event will feature a moderated discussion with Giselle Anatol, director of KU’s Hall Center for the Humanities, and a pre-selected Q&A session. Questions for Green can be submitted via an online form through Aug. 17. A book signing will follow the Sept. 2 event at 8:30 p.m.  

Admission is free. Members of the KU community — students, faculty and staff with a KU ID — can pick up tickets at the Lied Center ticket office starting at 11 a.m. Aug. 18. See the ticket office website or call 785-864-2787 for questions. Tickets will be made available to the general public beginning Aug. 22. All ticket requests are limited to four per person, and seats are assigned at the time of pickup, in the order of distribution. Tickets are available in-person only at the Lied Center ticket office.  

Additionally, the event will be livestreamed via Crowdcast on the Hall Center’s channel. No prior registration is required, but a free Crowdcast account is necessary. 

While Green’s appearance is expected to be a highlight, it is just one of many opportunities for KU students, faculty and staff to connect with “The Anthropocene Reviewed” through discussions and events scheduled throughout the academic year. Participants do not need to have read the book in advance to attend or engage in KU Reads programming.  

Free copies of the book are available for personal or classroom use by request, with pickup available at Watson and Anschutz libraries.  

KU Reads events related to “The Anthropocene Reviewed” will take place throughout the 2025–26 academic year. A look at scheduled fall events with descriptions is included below. See the KU Reads website for the most up-to-date information throughout the fall and spring semesters.   

Upcoming KU Reads Events 

View the KU Common Work of Art: “Haunted by the Ghosts of Our Own Making” 
August 2025-May 2026 | Spencer Museum of Art

Each year the Spencer Museum selects a work of art to provide a visual pairing with the KU Common Book. Hollis Sigler’s painting parts the curtain to reveal the long-term consequences of the insecticide commonly known as DDT. Both Sigler’s painting and Green’s book incorporate autobiographical references while pondering the larger question of what it means to be human in the modern era. 

Common Work of LibArt  
Submissions open Aug. 18-Sept. 18  

LibArt: Student Art in the Libraries is a yearlong juried exhibition organized and sponsored by KU Libraries. Students from all majors and backgrounds are encouraged to submit their artwork for a chance to exhibit their work inside the libraries’ public spaces and win cash awards. The Common Work of LibArt award recognizes a student artist’s work that represents an artistic connection with themes throughout the KU Reads Common Book. Themes in “The Anthropocene Reviewed” explore how humans understand the world around us, alongside the consequences of our presence within it. Submit physical or digital artwork that examines: 

• The nature of humanity (connection, belonging, persistence, innovation, etc.) 
• The individual and collective impact of humanity on the environment
• The effect of mental health on the way we perceive, experience and understand the world around us  
• The significance of connection, shared experience and community in the human experience 

Please see the full LibArt submission guidelines before submitting your application via the LibArt Common Work of Art Submission Form. 

Watch it in Watson – “Penguins of Madagascar”  
Aug. 21 | 6:30 p.m. (crafts); 7:30 p.m. (movie) | Watson 3 West 

Connect with other students, experience library spaces in a new way and take in the animated comedy “Penguins of Madagascar,” which inspired an essay in “The Anthropocene Reviewed.” Come for the penguins, stay for the community. Enjoy popcorn and refreshments, all free to KU students, faculty and staff. 

“An Evening with John Green” 
Sept. 2 | 7 p.m. | Lied Center of Kansas  

Green will visit KU’s Lawrence campus for a hosted author talk, answering selected questions from the KU community, followed by a book signing. This free, ticketed event is made possible by the Hall Center for the Humanities with support from KU Reads partners: KU Libraries and the Office of Academic Affairs, as well as financial support from the Madison and Lila Self Graduate Fellows Program, Lawrence Public Library, KU's departments of English and History, and KU's Biodiversity Institute & Natural History Museum.  

Lawrence Reviewed   

Lawrence Reviewed is a digital humanities project inspired by "The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet.” In his introduction to the text, author John Green writes, “Everyone [has] become a reviewer, and everything [has] become a subject for reviews.” With this in mind, Lawrence Reviewed invites students and community members to critically engage with their own local slice of the Anthropocene by contributing their own reviews — modeled on Green’s work — to examine unique aspects of the KU and Lawrence community.   

Participate in come-and-go pop-up events to rate unique aspects of the KU Lawrence campus, grab a copy of the Common Book, enjoy snacks and learn more about other ways to join the conversation: 

• Rate the Jayhawk at Kansas Student Union, 10 a.m.-noon Sept. 10. 
• Rate KU Libraries at Anschutz, 10 a.m.-noon Sept. 17.
• Rate the “Big Tooter” at Watson Library, 2-4 p.m. Oct. 22. 

"Re-Framing Your Haunted Story” 
Oct. 31 | noon – 3 p.m. | Spencer Museum of Art 

Taking inspiration from this year’s Common Work of Art, “Haunted by the Ghosts of Our Own Making” by Hollis Sigler, and the KU Reads book, “The Anthropocene Reviewed” by John Green, explore the ways your “ghosts” — anxieties, fears, worries — haunt you. Consider how art can help you see these ghosts in a different context and craft your own message to reframe your haunted story. 

The KU Reads: A Common Book Experience is a campuswide initiative that fosters critical thinking and generates opportunities for shared experiences and conversation about topics and issues of significance in today’s world. The program is presented via partnership between KU Libraries, the Hall Center for the Humanities and the Division of Academic Success.