Congratulations to Michael Willrich, longtime Wellesley resident and a history professor at Brandeis, on his recognition as a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in history
The Pulitzer committee announced winners and finalists of the prestigious award on May 6.
Willrich received the recognition for his third book, American Anarchy, about the epic struggle between immigrant radicals and the U.S. government at the dawn of the 20th century. (The award in the history category went to Jacqueline Jones for No Right to an Honest Living: The Struggles of Boston’s Black Workers in the Civil War Era.)
Past Pulitzer winners with Wellesley ties include Wellesley College professor Frank Bidart for poetry, 2018; Wellesley resident Lucinda Franks, who grew up in Wellesley, for local investigative reporting while at the the Chicago Tribune, 1971; Wellesley High School 1950 graduate Sylvia Plath, for poetry, posthumously, in 1982; Anne Sexton, who attended Wellesley schools, for poetry, in 1967.
Wellesley is fortunate enough to draw multiple authors to town each month who write across a wide range of genres, and who visit to connect with readers and promote their work. Attending an author’s talk—whether you’ve read the book, or just want to learn more about the topic at hand—is a great way to meet the current stars of the literary scene. Here are a couple author events happening soon.
EVENT: author visit
DATE: May 14
TIME: 7pm
AUTHOR: Tom Seeman (in conversation with William Martin)
BOOK: Animals I Want to See: A Memoir of Growing Up in the Projects and Defying the Odds
LOCATION: Wellesley Books, 82 Central St.
COST: Ticketed event, $5
DESCRIPTION: A lyrical coming-of-age story set in the projects of Toledo, Ohio, Animals I Want To See explores themes of identity, ambition, religion, and friendship—often across racial and social lines—as it spotlights a family of fourteen and tracks a boy’s journey from a child janitor with big dreams to a teenage petty criminal to a student at Yale and Harvard.
EVENT: author visit
DATE: May 19
TIME: 2pm
AUTHOR: Mohammed Azher Siddiqui
BOOK: Footprints in Stone
LOCATION: Wellesley Free Library, 530 Washington St.
COST: Free
DESCRIPTION: Those who follow international migration commonly agree on the fact that the late twentieth century has been the age of migration. However, human migration started almost 2 million years ago and continues to the present day. Immigration is closely linked to genealogy and the author traces his own roots in showcasing how immigration changes the country that the immigrant moves to.
An avid outdoorsman, Siddiqui has summited four peaks in as many continents, is an expert skier, has trekked deserts in Mongolia, India, and Africa and is a licensed skydiver. He has been to 78 countries and all 7 continents. He lives with his wife in Natick, MA.
Jackie Jones lived in Wellesley for many years when she was teaching at Wellesley College and then Brandeis, before moving to the University of Texas. She now lives in Concord, MA.