This Saturday, April 17, I’ll be discussing the future of criticism as part of the Center for Fiction’s Conference in Honor of Roger Shattuck. Other participants in the panel discussion are Granta editor John Freeman and New Republic critic Jed Perl, and it will be moderated by National Book Critics Circle President Jane Ciabattari. I’m also excited to attend Lorin Stein’s conversation with Michel Braudeau, editor of Nouvelle Revue Française, on “Shattuck, Proust, and The Future,” and I hope to hear Daniel Mendelsohn’s thoughts on the state of criticism now. All the events are free, but (due to limited space) reservations are required.
Friday, April 23, also at the Center for Fiction, I’ll be introducing Lizzie Skurnick to read along with the talented young writers of Girls Write Now, as part of our new Chapters series. (For the uninitiated, Girls Write Now pairs professional writer mentors with at-risk teen girls. We received the Coming Up Taller Award from Michelle Obama earlier this year.)