Sarah Vowell Ames/Milner Visiting Author, Oct. 24

Date: 9/27/06
Contact: Eric Jome

Best-selling author and social observer Sarah Vowell will make public presentations on Tuesday, Oct. 24 at Illinois State University and Illinois Wesleyan University. Vowell's visit to Bloomington-Normal is part of the annual Ames/Milner Visiting Author Program. Both presentations are free and open to the public.

"An Afternoon with Sarah Vowell" will be held at 2 p.m. on the Main Floor of Illinois State University's Milner Library. Vowell will discuss her books, her radio and film work and other topics in an informal session, with opportunities for audience questions.

"An Evening with Sarah Vowell" will be take place at 7 p.m. in Westbrook Auditorium in Illinois Wesleyan University's Presser Hall. A question and answer session will follow the presentation and Vowell will then hold a book signing at Illinois Wesleyan's Ames Library.

Vowell is best known for her monologues and documentaries for National Public Radio's This American Life. A contributing editor for the program since 1996, she has been a staple of TAL's popular live shows around the country. She is also the author of several books as well as numerous articles and essays on subjects ranging from American history to pop culture to her own family's idiosyncratic behavior. She also provided the voice for the teenage superhero Violet Parr in the animated film The Incredibles.

Her books include Assassination Vacation, an account of a road trip through the tourist destinations of three assassinated American presidents, Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley; as well as Take the Cannoli: Stories from the New World, Partly Cloudy Patriot and Radio On: A Listener's Diary.

The Ames/Milner Visiting Author Program sponsored by Illinois Wesleyan University's Ames Library, Illinois State University's Milner Library and the Alice and Fannie Fell Trust.