Save the Date! Percival Everett to Speak at Duke Oct. 23

THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT!

Catch the livestream on October 23 at 6 p.m. No ticket required. See below for details.

The Pulitzer-winning author of ‘James’ will give a free public talk in Page Auditorium.

In collaboration with the Duke Common Experience program, the Duke University Libraries will host an evening with Percival Everett, author of James, winner of the 2024 National Book Award and 2025 Pulitzer Prize, at 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 23, in Page Auditorium.

The event will be free and open to the public, but tickets are required for entry. Tickets will be available through the Duke University Box Office starting September 30 for the Duke community, and October 7 for the general public.

Everett will discuss his bestselling novel, a satirical reimagining of Mark Twain’s American classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, told from the enslaved character Jim’s point of view. The book was selected as the Duke Common Experience reading for the incoming Class of 2029.

One of the most innovative, provocative, and prolific writers of our time, Percival Everett 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. Everett is a Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California.

Everett will be joined on stage in conversation with incoming Duke Vice Provost for the Arts Deborah F. Rutter (Photo by Todd Rosenberg)

His other recent books include Dr. No, The Trees (finalist for the Booker Prize and the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award), Telephone (finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), So Much Blue, and I Am Not Sidney Poitier, among many others. American Fiction, the feature film based on Everett’s novel Erasure, was released in 2023 and was awarded the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. A film adaptation of James, produced by Steven Spielberg, is currently in development.

Everett will be joined on stage in conversation with Deborah F. Rutter, former president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and newly appointed Vice Provost for the Arts at Duke.

Everett’s appearance at Duke will be presented as the Weaver Memorial Lecture, an endowed speaker series hosted by the Duke University Libraries in memory of William B. Weaver, a 1972 Duke graduate and former member of the Duke Library Advisory Board. Previous Weaver Lecture speakers have included Barbara Kingsolver, Oliver Sacks, Dave Eggers, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Colson Whitehead, and Nina Totenberg, among others. This year’s lecture is co-sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Education and the Division of Student Affairs, as part of the Duke Common Experience program.

Copies of James will be available for sale at the event, and a book signing with the author will follow the talk. The book is also available in print, e-book, and audiobook formats through the Duke University Libraries and at your local public library.

Parking Info

Visitors to campus without a Duke parking permit can park in one of Duke’s visitor parking garages or visitor lots.

Parking Garage 4 is the closest visitor parking to Page Auditorium. The event parking rate is $4/hour. Please plan ahead and allow yourself extra time, as entering and exiting Parking Garage 4 can be time-consuming.

A good alternative is to park in one of Duke’s convenient Blue Spot hourly parking locations ($2/hour) further away and catching the C1 East-West campus bus to the main West Campus bus stop on Abele Quad.

Watch the Livestream

The talk will also be streamed online for those who are unable to attend in person. No ticket required. Visit the Duke Box Office website for the livestream link and tune in at the event start time.