KU units partner in support, leadership of Paper Plains Literary Festival
Several University of Kansas units are partners and sponsors of the Paper Plains Literary Festival, which will be held April 8-9, 2022, at Liberty Hall. The festival’s recently announced lineup features celebrated authors Angeline Boulley, Sarah Smarsh, and Colson Whitehead as headlining keynote speakers.
KU faculty and staff serving on the board of directors for the Paper Plains Literary Festival are Giselle Anatol, Professor of English; Christy McWard, Executive Director of Communications & Advancement for KU Libraries; and Emily Ryan, Director of The Commons. McWard and Ryan are members of the festival’s executive committee as well.
In addition to The Commons, KU’s English department, and KU Libraries, other KU units involved in the planning and sponsorship of the fest include the Hall Center for the Humanities, Spencer Museum of Art, the KU Honors Program, the Department of American Studies, the Department of Latin American & Caribbean Studies, and the KU First Nations Student Association.
The inaugural in-person festival will present all three authors’ talks at Liberty Hall. In addition, each event will be livestreamed via Crowdcast:
- Angeline Boulley, Friday, April 8, 6 p.m. Boulley, author of Firekeeper’s Daughter, will be in conversation with KU English Professor Giselle Anatol.
- Sarah Smarsh, Saturday, April 9, 4 p.m. A native Kansan, Smarsh is the author of Heartland, a National Book Award finalist, and She Come By It Natural, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist.
- Colson Whitehead, Saturday, April 9, 7 p.m. One of the most decorated living novelists, Whitehead is the author of back-to-back Pulitzer Prize-winning novels The Underground Railroad, which also won the National Book Award, and The Nickel Boys. His most recent novel, The Harlem Shuffle, was a New York Times Notable Book.
Festival director Danny Caine, owner of The Raven bookstore, said “There’s something magical about a room full of literature fans, and I can’t wait to get back to that with these three amazing authors.”
“This in-person festival will be the result of three years of support, commitment, and creative pivoting in an effort to bring local readers and audiences a slate of truly exceptional contemporary writers,” adds Emily Ryan. “And the first event will be offered in collaboration with the KU First Nations Student Association Pow wow and Indigenous Cultures Festival, happening the same week.”
About Angeline Boulley
Boulley’s Firekeeper’s Daughter, an instant #1 New York Times bestselling novel that has won the Printz Medal, the Morris Award, and is an American Indian Youth Literature Award YA honor book. A Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club YA Pick, Firekeeper’s Daughter is soon to be adapted for TV by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company, Higher Ground. Angeline Boulley’s Paper Plains keynote event is presented in partnership with The Commons at KU, Humanities Kansas, the KU First Nations Student Association, and the Hall Center for the Humanities.
About Sarah Smarsh
KU alumna Smarsh is a journalist who has covered socioeconomic class, politics and public policy for The New York Times, The Atlantic, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Harper’s, and many other publications. Smarsh’s Paper Plains keynote is presented in partnership with The Commons at KU, the University of Kansas Honors Program, the Spencer Museum of Art, and the Hall Center for the Humanities.
About Colson Whitehead
Whitehead has received a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Writers Award, the Dos Passos Prize, and a fellowship at the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers. His Paper Plains appearance is part of the Beach Author Series, which was established by the Ross and Marianna Beach Foundation. It is presented in partnership with the Lawrence Public Library, the Lawrence Public Library Friends & Foundation, The Commons at KU, and the Hall Center for the Humanities.
All events are free, but VIP passes are available on the Paper Plains website. VIP passes entitle holders to an opening reception at Cider Gallery, plus priority seating and first-in-line access to book signings.
Paper Plains is a collaborative, cross-media, diverse and inclusive literary festival celebrating authors and artists from the Plains and beyond. This event nurtures and showcases the literary landscapes of Lawrence, Kan., and the surrounding region through a variety of free programs for all ages.