Bestselling author, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and social critic Anna Quindlen will be the featured author for The Peters Township Library Foundation’s 3rd annual Novel November on Thursday, November 7 at 7:00 pm!
Anna Quindlen has appeared in some of America’s most influential newspapers, magazines, and prominent fiction and non-fiction bestseller lists.
Even before blogs existed, she was the go-to writer for millions of readers on the joys and challenges of family, motherhood, and modern life. Bringing to the stage her ability to balance the political with the personal, Quindlen discusses every aspect of our culture from work-life balance and education to health care, philanthropy, and social justice.
Quindlen’s newest New York Times bestseller, Nanaville: Adventures in Grandparenting, celebrates the love and joy and many lessons learned from being a grandmother. Her latest bestselling novel, Alternate Side, is a provocative look at what it means to be a mother, a wife, and a woman at a moment of reckoning.
Thirteen of Quindlen’s books, including seven of her novels, have appeared on The New York Times Best Sellers list. One True Thing became a feature film starring Renee Zellweger and Meryl Streep, and Black and Blue was made into a TV movie. Her book, A Short Guide to A Happy Life, sold well over one million copies.
Quindlen’s memoir on aging, Lots Of Candles, Plenty Of Cake debuted at #1 on The New York Times Best Sellers list, while her follow-up bestseller, Still Life with Bread Crumbs, debuted at #3.
One of the top “100 Outstanding Journalists in the United States of the Last 100 Years,” Quindlen began her career at age 18 as a copy girl. She spent three years as a reporter for The New York Post before moving to The New York Times in 1977. Working her way up The Times’ masthead, Quindlen wrote the “About New York” column, served as deputy metropolitan editor, and created the weekly “Life in the 30’s” column.
In 1990, Quindlen became the third woman in The New York Times’ history to write for its influential Op-Ed page. Her nationally syndicated column “Public and Private” won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1992, and then, Quindlen wrote the “Last Word” column for Newsweek for 10 years.
Quindlen serves on the Board of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and is an American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow. The Child Welfare League of America established “The Anna Quindlen Award for Excellence in Journalism on Behalf of Children and Families.” She holds honorary degrees from more than 20 colleges and universities.
Don’t miss out:
Ticket prices are $5 for Students and $20 for Adults for general admission seating.
A limited number of VIP tickets will be sold for $60 and include:
- A Pre-event reception/book signing with Anna Quindlen from 5:45 to 6:45 pm
- Passed hors-d’oeuvres by Chef Garnett Livingston of La Maison
- VIP reserved seating
- Your choice of one of six Anna Quindlen titles, selected during the ticket purchase process
The venue for this special event will be the Peters Township High School Auditorium at 264 East McMurray Road in McMurray. A book signing will follow the program (books will be sold by Riverstone Books at the event).
What comes to mind when you think of Pittsburgh?
I went to boarding school for two years in Wheeling, before I got expelled. For special occasions my parents would take me to Pittsburgh, and because of that I’ve always had a soft spot for the city, which I love. My mother bought me a particularly nice boucle shift dress when I was 14 at Horne’s. I wish I knew where that dress wound up.
What books are on your nightstand?
The Janes by Louisa Luna and Purgatory Bay by Bryan Gruley. Those two are in galleys, so you’ll have to wait a few months for them. This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger. A biography of Prince Albert by A.N. Wilson that I just finished. Here’s a news flash: he was perpetually annoyed by the fact that she was the monarch, and he wasn’t.
Is there a book you’d like to see made into a film?
I’m bad at predicting that, although I can say unequivocally that the more an adaptation sticks slavishly to the book, the less successful it is likely to be. I just saw Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, which arrives at Christmas. She has upended the narrative structure of the original, which shook me because the book is one of the ur texts of my existence. Yet the film is spectacular. So wonderful. Everyone should see it.
Who would you most want to share a plate of pierogis with?
Easy question: Quin, Chris and Maria Krovatin, my three kids, who started eating pierogies (with sauteed onions) at a very early age.
Photo: © Maria Krovatin
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