Karen Russell will discuss her new novel, The Antidote. Set in Uz, a fictional Nebraska town, in the aftermath of Black Sunday, The Antidote follows a “Prairie Witch,” whose body serves as a bank vault for peoples’ memories and secrets; a Polish wheat farmer who learns how quickly a hoarded blessing can become a curse; his orphan niece, a basketball star and witch’s apprentice in furious flight from her grief; a voluble scarecrow; and a New Deal photographer whose time-traveling camera threatens to reveal both the town’s secrets and its fate.

Registration is requested for this free, in-person event. See event website for details.

Karen Russell is the author of six books of fiction, including the New York Times bestsellers Swamplandia! and Vampires in the Lemon Grove. She has received MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, she now lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, son, and daughter. The Antidote is her second novel.

The Willa Cather Author Series is a free program that features mostly virtual but occasional in-person authors who explore humanities topics related to Willa Cather, Great Plains history, and art across a variety of styles and genres. The author series was conceived as a way to connect Cather to contemporary writers, as well as provide an accessible and inclusive space where readers can talk directly with writers about their work. Participating authors discuss how they create their work, thematic connections within and outside of their texts, and how their writing depicts shared experiences. Each author series event is designed to include a prepared discussion with the moderator and author(s), as well as ample time for audience Q&A.