Concordia College is the founding partner with the National Book Foundation of the National Book Awards on Campus Program. Each spring Concordia hosts two authors, selected from among the finalists/winners of that year’s National Book Awards, for a two-day residency on campus. The mission of the National Book Foundation is to celebrate the best literature in America, expand its audience, and ensure that books have a prominent place in American culture.
National Books Awards at Concordia College virtual author-in-residence program will feature 2019 and 2020 National Book Awards finalist authors in a "Readings and Conversation" at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 11 hosted by John Ydiste.
John Ydstie ’74, a member of Concordia’s Board of Regents, will host the Readings and Conversation event on Thursday, March 11.
Please check back in February for virtual event viewing instructions.
Omar Mohamed spent his childhood at the Dadaab camp, after his father was killed and he was separated from his mother in Somalia. He devoted everything to taking care of his younger brother, Hassan, and to pursuing his education. He now lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, with his wife and five children, and works at a center to help resettle other refugees. He is the founder of Refugee Strong, a nonprofit organization that empowers students living in refugee camps.
Treuer’s essays and stories have appeared in Granta, Harper's, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Esquire, Slate, and The Washington Post, among others. In addition to his works of fiction and nonfiction, he is the author of a book of criticism, ”Native American Fiction: A User’s Manual.“ Treuer is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize, two Minnesota Book Awards, and fellowships from the NEH, Bush Foundation, and Guggenheim Foundation. ”The Translation of Dr. Apelles“ was named a Best Book of the Year by the Washington Post, Time Out, and City Pages. Treuer is a graduate of Princeton University and earned a doctorate in anthropology. He divides his time between his home on the Leech Lake Reservation in northern Minnesota and Los Angeles, where he teaches literature and creative writing at the University of Southern California.
The National Book Awards at Concordia is underwritten by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in honor of Earl Lewis ’78.
Dr. Earl Lewis, a 1978 graduate of Concordia College, is director of the new University of Michigan Center for Social Solutions, which was established to address three core areas of social concern: diversity and race, water, and the future of work.