Pulitzer Prize winning author to visit Illinois College September 12
Illinois College and the Jacksonville Public Library have partnered to bring Colson Whitehead, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel “The Underground Railroad,” to Jacksonville on September 12.
Updated September 6, 2018
Due to overwhelming interest, the Colson Whitehead Convocation at Illinois College has been relocated to Sherman Gymnasium in the Bruner Fitness and Recreation Center. Tickets are still available! This event is free and open to the public with ticket.
Faculty, staff, continuing IC students and transfer students, as well as the general public will need to reserve and present a (free) ticket. First-year students will be provided with a ticket. Tickets can be reserved at https://
Special thanks to The Claridge Fund; The Illinois College Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion; The Department of History, Philosophy, Political Science and Religion; and The Gender and Women’s Studies Program at Illinois College.
The library will host a meet and greet reception with Whitehead from 5:00 p.m. to 6:15 p.m., after which he will speak at Sherman Gymnasium in the Bruner Fitness and Recreation Center on the Illinois College campus at 7:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.). Whitehead will speak for approximately 45 minutes followed by a 15 minute Q & A session. Both events will be free and open to the public.
Whitehead, a #1 New York Times bestselling author, will discuss his critically and popularly acclaimed work, “The Underground Railroad,” which won both the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction and the 2016 National Book Award, and was an official selection of Oprah’s Book Club.
“The Underground Railroad” is a powerful novel that follows a young slave woman, Cora, on a riveting journey toward freedom on the Underground Railroad which, by Whitehead’s unique conception, is literal instead of metaphorical. The book invites its readers to reflect on the risks they are willing to take to protect and promote freedom in our world.
“The Underground Railroad” was recently named this year’s selection for the IC Connections Summer Common Reading program. All new students will read and complete an assignment based on the novel and have the opportunity to hear Whitehead speak on campus.
The shared experience is meant to introduce new students to intellectual life at Illinois College, and to stimulate discussion and critical thinking surrounding topics of contemporary relevance. All students, faculty and staff at Illinois College have been invited to join in the program by reading and discussing the novel with new students to welcome them into the learning community.
The Jacksonville Public Library also encourages the Jacksonville community at large to read the novel and attend events to promote the visit that will be hosted by the library throughout the summer.
Learn more about Colson Whitehead at www.prhspeakers.com. For more information on Whitehead’s Jacksonville visit or the IC Connections Summer Common Reading program, visit www.ic.edu/summerreading.