Courtesy photo.
Current National Book Award finalist for his bestselling novel James
SUMMARY
- Fri, Oct 25 | 7:30 p.m. | Campbell Hall
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- Acclaimed author of over 30 novels including James and Erasure
- James is a finalist for the National Book Award and has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize
- Erasure was the basis for the Academy Award-winning film American Fiction starring Jeffrey Wright
- Percival Everett is Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California
- FREE copies of Everett’s new book, James, will be available while supplies last (pick up at event; one per household)
- Part of A&L’s Justice for All Programming Initiative
- $28 / UCSB Students FREE (Current student ID required)
- Tickets & Info: www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu or (805) 893-3535
“The times are finally catching up to the satirical genius of this cult literary icon. Everett is a true American genius, a master artist.” Oprah Daily
SANTA BARBARA — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents An Evening with Percival Everett on Friday, October 25 at 7:30 p.m. at Campbell Hall.Percival Everett is one of the most prolific and innovative writers of our time. The author of more than 30 books, including novels, poetry and short story collections, he has won numerous awards and been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. His most recent novel, James, a retelling of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of a very different, highly literate version of the fugitive slave Jim, is currently a finalist for the National Book Award and shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In 2024, American Fiction, the film based on Everett’s 2001 novel Erasure, won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. With sharp observations and biting wit, Everett explores race, politics, gender and family from a uniquely contemporary American perspective.
ABOUT PERCIVAL EVERETT
Percival Everett is one of the most innovative, provocative and prolific writers of our time. A finalist for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize, shortlisted for the Booker Prize and winner of the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, he has produced a captivating and immensely diverse collection of genre-bending literary works that challenge and inspire readers to contemplate and reconsider the societal and cultural forces that shape our worldviews.
In his wide-ranging literary works, Everett examines a plethora of questions at the core of what it means to be human. From “western” and epistolary novels and wild capers to retellings of Greek mythology, short stories and poetry, Everett boldly tackles different styles and formats, turning each into his own in the process. With his sharp observations and biting wit, he explores everything from race, politics, gender and power to family, purpose, the battle between love and intellect and what it truly means to be alive.
In his engaging talks, he shares fascinating anecdotes about how he created his diverse bibliography and his unique approach to the creative process.
Everett’s newest novel, James, is a brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – both harrowing and ferociously funny – told from the enslaved Jim’s point of view. An instant New York Timesbestseller, James was hailed as “genius” by The Atlantic. The novel is a finalist for the National Book Award and is shortlisted for the Booker Prize. A film adaptation, produced by Steven Spielberg, is currently in development. His other recent books include Dr. No (winner of the 2023 PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and finalist for the NBCC Award for Fiction), The Trees (finalist for the Booker Prize and the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award), Telephone (finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), So Much Blue, Erasureand I Am Not Sidney Poitier. He has also written acclaimed short story and poetry collections.
Everett received the NBCC Ivan Sandrof Lifetime Achievement Award, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and the PEN Center USA Award for Fiction – among many other literary awards – and was also the recipient of a 2023 Windham Campbell Prize for Fiction. He is a Distinguished Professor of English at University of Southern California and lives in Los Angeles.
ABOUT UCSB ARTS & LECTURES
Founded in 1959, UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) is the largest and most influential arts and lectures organization between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A&L annually presents more than a hundred public events, from critically acclaimed concerts and dance performances by world-renowned artists to talks by groundbreaking authors and film series at UCSB and Santa Barbara-area venues. With a mission to “educate, entertain and inspire,” A&L also oversees an outreach program that brings visiting artists and speakers into local classrooms and other venues for master classes, open rehearsals, discussions and more, serving K-12 students, college students and the general public.
An Evening with Percival Everett is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures.
Justice for All Lead Sponsors: Marcy Carsey, Connie Frank & Evan Thompson, eva & Yoel Haller, Dick Wolf and Zegar Family Foundation
Presented in association with UCSB Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and UCSB Department of Black Studies.
Tickets are $28 / UCSB students FREE (Current student ID required)
For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or purchase online at www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.
UCSB Arts & Lectures gratefully acknowledges 2024-2025 Season Sponsor Sara Miller McCune.
UCSB Arts & Lectures gratefully acknowledges our Community Partners the Natalie Orfalea Foundation & Lou Buglioli for their generous support of the 2024-2025 season.