Bestselling Author Ann Patchett To Speak at Literary Voices™ Event

From the very beginning, with the publication of her first novel in 1992, The New York Times was describing Ann Patchett ’s work as “generous, fearless, and startlingly wise.” Since then, Patchett has published four more novels, including the phenomenal bestseller “Bel Canto,” two works of nonfiction, and has guest edited “Best American Short Stories” in 2006.

Ann Patchett will be the speaker at the 7th Annual Literary Voices™ Author Dinner, sponsored by the Endowment Trust of the Metropolitan Library System, on Tuesday, April 14, 2009. She will speak at the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club. Tickets are $125 per person for the dinner and the talk.

Patchett is a Los Angeles native who was raised and still lives in Nashville, TN. Her first novel, “The Patron Saint of Liars,” was named a Notable Book for 1992 by The New York Times and was made into a movie starring Ellen Burstyn and Maggie Gyllenhaal in 1998. Subsequent novels include “Taft,” “The Magician’s Assistant,” and “Run,” but it was her fourth book, “Bel Canto,” that won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award. It is also in development to become a motion picture.

The New York Times wrote about “Bel Canto” that it contains “"Patchett doing what she does best — What gives this novel its power is Patchett's flair for sketching the subtleties of her characters' behavior." The New Yorker continued the praise by observing that “Patchett's tragicomic novel — a fantasia of guns and Puccini and Red Cross negotiations — invokes the glorious, unreliable promises of art, politics, and love."

For more information about the Literary Voices™ 2009 Author Dinner call the Metropolitan Library System’s Endowment Trust office at (405) 606-3761.

The Metropolitan Library System of Oklahoma County includes 12 libraries and five extension libraries. Libraries include Belle Isle, Capitol Hill, Ralph Ellison, Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library and Southern Oaks in Oklahoma City, as well as Bethany, Choctaw, Del City, Edmond, Midwest City, Village and Warr Acres. Extensions are located in the communities of Harrah, Jones, Luther and Nicoma Park and include Wright Library in Oklahoma City. You can also reach us at www.metrolibrary.org.