The Illinois Presents interview with Percival Everett will be offered in-person at the Four Star Public Library or vitually. You must register at the following link to access the virtual interview: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3UDNRZOFR_uxMoTPxM7
iHw#/registration

After completing registration on Zoom, patrons need to allow up to two business days for the registration to be approved. Once approved, registrants will receive an email confirmation with the link to join the event. We recommend that patrons check their spam/junk mail folders if they do not receive a confirmation within two business days. Contact the library if you need further assistance.

Registration for this event closes at 5:00 p.m. on event day. Late registrations will be processed after the live event, allowing access to the event recording.

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Industrious, irreverent, humble–though he may deny the accusation–Percival Everett,

like his fiction, defies categorization. His most recent novel, James, earned both the

Pulitzer Prize for fiction and the National Book Award, and his 2001 novel Erasure

inspired the film American Fiction, which received the Academy Award for Best Adapted

Screenplay in 2024.

 

Everett’s other titles include Dr. No, The Trees (finalist for the Booker Prize and the

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction), Telephone (finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), So Much

Blue, and I Am Not Sidney Poitier. Despite these accomplishments, he remains devoted

to reviewing his own work critically, and indeed his writing process involves intensive

research and revision. Tune in for our conversation with Percival Everett to get a

glimpse beyond the page. 

 

Brandis Friedman will moderate the event. Friedman is a writer and anchor for WTTW’s

Chicago Tonight and Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, and also serves as a champion for

libraries.

 

This event is intended for adults.

 

This event is made possible by Illinois Libraries Present (ILP), a statewide collaboration

among public libraries offering premier events. ILP is funded in part by a grant awarded

by the Illinois State Library, a department of the Office of the Secretary of State, using

funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the

provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). 

 

 

ILP is committed to inclusion and accessibility. American Sign Language (ASL)

interpretation and Closed Captioning are provided for all events by default—no special

request needed.

 

If a patron needs accommodations not listed, the member library should email
illinoislibrariespresent@ila.org.