Percival Everett

Author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning James, Percival Everett joins them for an engrossing conversation about how parody and satire can puncture holes in ideas about race and identity. Join them for the wit and style of an American literary treasure on his first visit to Australia. The author of more than thirty books, Percival Everett's work features strong ideas hitting the current moment. James, which re-tells the story of Huckleberry Finn from the point of few of the enslaved Jim, is darkly funny and boldly eviscerating - a kind of literary restorative justice that provides a deeper understanding of the dynamics influencing American culture and politics. His novel Erasure, adapted into the film American Fiction (which won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay) hilariously skewers American publishing and the expectations of the market for works that purport to reveal the "Black American experience". His other notable works include I Am Not Sidney Poitier, So Much Blue, Telephone, Dr. No and The Trees, which was also a Booker Prize finalist in 2022. Don't miss this chance to hear from one of the most vital voices in contemporary literature. Percival Everett's conversation will be followed by an audience Q&A and a book signing.