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Gish Jen

In conversation with Viet Thanh Nguyen, Author and USC Professor
Date: Wednesday, Feb 19, 2020
Time: 7:30pm
Location: Mark Taper Auditorium-Central Library
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“I think this book could really save the world,” said Ann Patchett of Gish Jen’s new dystopian novel The Resisters. This extraordinary story imagines a not-so-distant future of America—which she calls “AutoAmerica” and is half underwater and populated by two groups of people: the “Netted” of the higher ground and the “Surplus,” who live on swampland. A “Surplus” family’s home life is upended when their teen daughter with amazing baseball talents is allowed to play ball with the “Netted” in the hopes that their Olympic team will beat ChinRussia. Exploring how America’s favorite pastime collides with a very divided totalitarian society, this highly plausible, yet totally unsettling future brings into question the moral fabric of America as we know it today. Jen, the award-winning author of four previous novels, a story collection, and two works of nonfiction, the latest of which was The Girl at the Baggage Claim: Explaining the East-West Culture Gap, will discuss her new book that takes on the all-too-real threats against maintaining our humanity.

Frequently asked questions

Gish Jen

Gish Jen has published short work in the New Yorker, the Atlantic Monthly, and dozens of other periodicals, anthologies and textbooks. Her work has appeared in The Best American Short Stories four times, including The Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by John Updike.  Nominated for a National Book Critics’ Circle Award, her work was featured in a PBS American Masters’ special on the American novel and is widely taught. Her newest novel, The Resisters, is her eighth book.


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Stacy Lieberman

As President and CEO of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles (LFLA), Stacy Lieberman is an innovative and inclusive leader whose career dwells at the intersection of arts and culture, lifelong learning, storytelling, and equitable access. Stacy guides the Foundation’s philanthropic and public-facing priorities to serve the Los Angeles Public Library, embracing the notion that libraries are beacons of democracy where everyone is welcome. She works intentionally with community leaders, donors, and internal and external strategic partners to raise awareness and resources for the Library and its life-changing initiatives.

With more than 20 years of experience as a senior executive, Stacy has left an indelible mark on iconic L.A. arts, non-profit, and educational institutions such as The Broad, the Autry Museum of the American West, and the Skirball Cultural Center. Building on an early career in book publishing, she has dedicated her professional life to sharing stories and broadening the reach of public institutions to welcome visitors and students of all ages and backgrounds to experience educational, arts, and cultural opportunities.