Community Reads Speakers

Our award-winning author speakers are favorites for community read programs. Their compelling stories entertain audiences and ignite conversations that continue long after their events end.

Brit Bennett

Novelist of National Book Award nominated, New York Times-bestselling The Vanishing Half, and National Book Foundation 2016 5 Under 35 Honoree

Geraldine Brooks

Author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning March and the international bestselling People of the Book

Hernan Diaz

Pulitzer Prize winning author of Trust and In the Distance

Colson Whitehead

Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author of The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys

More Community Reads Speakers

Elliot Ackerman

International relations expert, bestselling novelist, journalist, and U.S. Marine Corps Veteran

Jennifer Ackerman

Award-winning science writer, author of The Genius of Birds and What an Owl Knows

Kaveh Akbar

Poet and author of the National Book Award-nominated novel Martyr!

Theo Baker

Award-winning journalist, author of How to Rule the World

Andrea Bartz

Journalist and New York Times bestselling author of psychological thrillers

Cat Bohannon

Researcher and New York Times bestselling author of Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution

Caro Claire Burke

#1 New York Times bestselling author of Yesteryear and co-host of Diabolical Lies podcast

Francisco Cantú

Author of the bestselling memoir The Line Becomes a River and former US Border Patrol Agent

Casey Cep

New York Times bestselling author of Furious Hours and New Yorker staff writer

Ron Chernow

Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Washington: A Life and Alexander Hamilton

Lee Child

New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher novels

Vinson Cunningham

Pulitzer Prize finalist, staff writer and theatre critic at The New Yorker, author

Junot Díaz

Author of New York Times bestsellers The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and This is How You Lose Her; winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

Jay Ellis

NAACP Image Award-winning actor, director, producer, and author of Did Everyone Have an Imaginary Friend (or Just Me)?

Nathan Englander

Finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in fiction and author of Dinner at the Center of the Earth and kaddish.com

Percival Everett

Author of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning novel James

Jamie Ford

New York Times-bestselling author and book club favorite

Karen Joy Fowler

Award-winning and bestselling author of The Jane Austen Book Club and We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

Jasmin Graham

Shark Scientist, environmental educator, and President/CEO of Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS)

Paul Greenberg

James Beard Award-winning author of the New York Times bestseller Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food and American Catch: The Fight for Our Local Seafood

Lauren Groff

National Book Award finalist and bestselling author of Fates and Furies and Matrix

Tess Gunty

National Book Award-winning author of The Rabbit Hutch

Yaa Gyasi

Author of Homegoing and Transcendent Kingdom, and recipient of the National Book Foundation's 'Under 35' award

Mohsin Hamid

Bestselling author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, and Exit West

Dr. Michele Harper

Emergency room physician and author of the New York Times-bestselling The Beauty in Breaking

B. Dylan Hollis

Social media personality, #1 New York Times-bestselling author, and baking specialist

Cathy Park Hong

Award-winning poet and New York Times-bestselling author of Minor Feelings

Protected: Dave Isay

Multi-time Peabody Award recipient, Founder of StoryCorps, and the New York Times bestselling author and editor of Callings

Craig Johnson

New York Times-bestselling author of the Walt Longmire series

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi

National Book Award-winning historian and #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Stamped from the Beginning and How to Be an Antiracist

Rachel Khong

Award-winning author of Goodbye, Vitamin and Real Americans

Phil Klay

U.S. Marine Corps veteran and author of Redeployment, winner of 2014 National Book Award for Fiction

Jean Kwok

Award-winning author of Girl in Translation

Ariel Lawhon

New York Times bestselling historical fiction author of The Frozen River

Chang-rae Lee

New York Times-bestselling author of The Surrendered and Native Speaker

Ariel Levy

Author of the New York Times-bestselling memoir The Rules Do Not Apply

Jason De León

Anthropologist, professor, and author of National Book Award winner Soldiers and Kings

Kelly Link

MacArthur “Genius Grant” fellow, writer of celebrated short stories and The Book of Love

Rebecca Makkai

Author of Pulitzer Prize-finalist The Great Believers and I Have Some Questions for You

Paula McLain

New York Times-bestselling author of The Paris Wife, Circling the Sun, Love and Ruin and When the Stars Go Dark

Dinaw Mengestu

Named one of The New Yorker "20 Under 40" writers to watch and author of The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears and How to Read the Air

Candice Millard

New York Times bestselling historian and former National Geographic journalist

Chanel Miller

Artist, activist, and author of the New York Times bestseller Know My Name

Beth Nguyen

Author of Pioneer Girl, Stealing Buddha's Dinner and Short Girls

Sigrid Nunez

Author of the 2018 National Book Award winner and New York Times bestseller, The Friend

Jenny Odell

New York Times-bestselling author of How to Do Nothing and Saving Time

Tommy Orange

MacArthur Fellow, bestselling novelist and author of There There and Wandering Stars

Delia Owens

#1 New York Times-bestselling author of Where the Crawdads Sing and wildlife scientist

Matt de la Peña

New York Times-bestselling author of books for children and young adults

Kiley Reid

Author of Come and Get It and instant New York Times-bestseller Such a Fun Age

Eve Rodsky

New York Times-bestselling author and creative leadership expert

Karen Russell

MacArthur winner and bestselling author of Swamplandia!, Orange World, and The Antidote

Will Schwalbe

New York Times-bestselling author of We Should Not Be Friends

Dani Shapiro

Bestselling author of Hourglass and Inheritance, host of the Family Secrets podcast.

Chris Smalls

Labor organizer and president and co-founder of the Amazon Labor Union

Cheryl Strayed

Author of the #1 New York Times-bestselling memoir Wild and "Dear Sugar" columnist

Elizabeth Strout

Author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Olive Kitteridge and New York Times bestsellers My Name is Lucy Barton, Tell Me Everything, and more

Sabaa Tahir

National Book Award winner and #1 New York Times-bestselling author of An Ember in the Ashes and All My Rage

Jordan Thomas

Anthropologist and author of National Book Award finalist When It All Burns

Hadley Vlahos

Hospice nurse, palliative care advocate, author of New York Times bestseller The In-Between

Ocean Vuong

MacArthur Fellow and New York Times-bestselling author of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous and Oprah's Book Club pick The Emperor of Gladness

Isabel Wilkerson

Pulitzer Prize winner and author of the critically-acclaimed bestsellers The Warmth of Other Suns and Caste

Lawrence Wright

Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower and staff writer for The New Yorker

Nicola Yoon

#1 New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist

Charles Yu

National Book Award-winning author of Interior Chinatown

Javier Zamora

Memoirist, poet, and author of Solito, and a winner of the 2023 American Book Award.

Michelle Zauner

Frontwoman of Japanese Breakfast and author of New York Times bestselling Crying in H Mart

Gabrielle Zevin

New York Times-bestselling author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Markus Zusak

#1 New York Times- bestselling author of The Book Thief
Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau