Lessons in Chemistry: A Conversation with Bonnie Garmus

MON, SEPT 30, 7:00 PM
Liberty Hall (and online via Hall Center Crowdcast)
*Free and open to the public.

The Hall Center will host a conversation with Bonnie Garmus, the author of Lessons in Chemistry, a number-one global bestseller and winner of several national and international awards. Her debut novel centers around Elizabeth Zott, a chemist in the 1960s who finds herself relegated to a television cooking show after her academic career is derailed. The story, which has also been made into an Apple TV miniseries, explores Elizabeth’s journey navigating societal expectations, gender discrimination in scientific fields, and her own ambitions in a world where women’s roles are often narrowly defined.

Garmus’s exploration of themes of resilience, identity, and the pursuit of personal fulfillment amidst societal constraints has won world-wide acclaim, including Barnes & Noble’s Book of the Year, Hay Festival’s Book of the Year, Goodreads Choice Award Debut of the Year, British Book Awards Author of the Year, Waterstones Author of the Year, Books Are My Bag Author of the Year Award, and Readers’ Choice Award, Germany and Australia’s Booksellers Book of the Year, Australia’s International Book of the Year, and many more.

Novelist and KU Professor Laura Moriarty will lead the conversation with Garmus. In addition to being a published author herself, Moriarty conducts research on fiction writing with a particular interest in how writers use voice, characters, plot, and language to engage readers.

“Witty, sometimes hilarious, angry, and often surreal. It’s the CATCH-22 of early feminism.”- Stephen King