Stuart Announces Mark Salzman is 2015 Visiting Author - Acclaimed Author of Iron & Silk, Lying Awake, and True Notebooks

    PRINCETON, NJ, March 22, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Award-winning novelist and non-fiction writer, Mark Salzman, will be the featured author at Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart's seventh annual Lies, Light, McCarthy Visiting Author Program on April 9, 2015.

The public is invited to an evening reading on Thursday, April 9, 2015 at 7:00 PM

in Stuart's Cor Unum Center. A book signing will follow.

This event is free of charge.

Mark Salzman has written on a variety of subjects, from a graceful novel about a Carmelite nun's ecstatic visions and crisis of faith (Lying Awake) to a compelling memoir about growing up a misfit in a Connecticut suburb (Lost in Place). As a boy, Mr. Salzman dreamed about becoming a Kung Fu master, but his academic achievements, along with his proficiency on the cello, facilitated his acceptance to Yale at 16. He soon changed his major to Chinese language and philosophy, which took him to mainland China where he taught English for two years and studied martial arts.

"We are very excited to welcome Mark Salzman to campus," said Dr. Patty L. Fagin, head of school at Stuart." She continued, "His theme of how people struggle to reach an ideal or a goal is one that I feel will resonate with students, parents, and community members."

Mr. Salzman's first memoir, Iron and Silk, inspired by his years in China, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in nonfiction and received the Christopher Award. His book True Notebooks is a fascinating look at his experiences as a writing teacher at Los Angeles Central Juvenile Hall, a lockup for violent teenage offenders. Salzman is also the author of the memoir Lost in Place: Growing Up Absurd in Suburbia, and the novels The Laughing Sutra, The Soloist, and Lying Awake. Common to each of his works is a theme of how people struggle to reach an ideal but often fall short, and the quiet change that takes place in facing the discouragement and the possibility of never achieving their goal. Salzman writes with gut-wrenching honesty and unalloyed warmth, combined with a sharp sense of humor. His newest work is the non-fiction title The Man in the Empty Boat.

Mr. Salzman never gave up music, and his cello playing appears on the soundtrack to several films, including the Academy Award-winning documentary Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien. He has also played with Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Emanuel Ax at Lincoln Center. Salzman's unusual combination of talents - as both a well-known author and a concert-proficient cellist - led to a feature profile about him in The New Yorker magazine. He was also recently presented with the Algonquin West Hollywood Literary Award.

As part of the Visiting Author Program, students, faculty and staff have been reading and studying Mr. Salzman's work and Stuart's Senior Scholars have worked with Lower and Middle School girls in preparation for his visit. In addition to the public reading on April 9, Mr. Salzman will spend the day with on campus on Friday, April 10. He will meet with students of all ages at Stuart to share his expertise on the craft of writing; he will spend time with K-4 Lower School girls, share lunch with the Stuart Senior Scholars, and give a private reading to Middle and Upper School students.

About the Visiting Author Program: The Lies, Light, McCarthy Visiting Author Program is an annual event that brings current prominent authors to Stuart who will share their knowledge and experiences with the students in Kindergarten - Grade 12. The Visiting Author Program was the dream of a former English department head and Stuart alumna, Victoria McCarthy '71. A fund was established after her death that is named for three former English department heads: Betty Lies, Nancy Light and Victoria McCarthy. Past Visiting Authors include: Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon (2009), best-selling novelist Jonathan Safran Foer (2010), Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri (2011), award-winning poet Naomi Shihab Nye (2012), award-winning novelist Edwidge Danticat (2013), and award-winning poet Jane Hirshfield (2014). The program is funded by the School's annual Poetry in Motion 5K Run to be held this year on May 16, 2015. Visit www.stuartschool.org/5K to sponsor and register.

About Stuart: As the only all-girls school in Princeton, New Jersey, Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart is uniquely positioned to provide an environment where girls put academics first, are willing and able to take risks, and explore every opportunity. Nestled on 55 wooded acres, our challenging curriculum takes advantage of the way girls learn in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math--as well as the arts, humanities, and athletics. Founded in 1963, Stuart enrolls girls in Jr. K-12, and has a co-ed Early Childhood Program. Stuart is part of an international community of 150 Sacred Heart schools and is an independent Catholic school that embraces students of all faiths and backgrounds. Our graduates go on to become confident, intelligent and articulate leaders for positive change in our world. Visit www.stuartschool.org for more information.

Photo credit: Jessica Wu
Mark Salzman, award-winning novelist and non-fiction writer, will spend the day and speak at Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart as part of the School's Lies, Light, McCarthy Visiting Author Program. The public is invited to a reading on April 9, 2015 at 7:00 PM at Stuart. The event is free of charge. www.stuartschool.org.

Stuart Country Day School is a girls' school teaching girls that there is enormous potential and power in being a girl. Stuart's mission is to prepare young women for lives of exceptional leadership and service, through a challenging and innovative curriculum, superb teaching, and close attention to each girl's personal development.

Contact: Risa Engel
Office: 609-921-6105
http://www.stuartschool.org/

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