Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley will give a talk on “Willa Cather, My Ántonia and the Life of a Writer” to mark the conclusion of a year-long celebration of Cather’s 1918 novel as a title selected by the National Endowment for the Arts’ 2024-2025 Big Read program. Additional conference programs will celebrate the 100th publication anniversary of Cather’s 1925 novel The Professor’s House. This year’s theme invites Cather scholars and enthusiasts to explore not only the literal landscapes and rooms her characters inhabit, but also the cultural, historical, and environmental realities that do, or in some cases, do not, inform her work.

The conference will begin Thursday, June 5th with a plenary talk about Cather and Mesa Verde by interpretive ranger Ann Lundberg. Author Jane Smiley will speak on Friday, June 6th, and the spring conference banquet (additional fee) will take place on Saturday, June 7th.

Conference registration is $150 ($75 for students). For more information, visit https://www.willacather.org/events/70th-annual-willa-cather-spring-conference.