The Story of American War – Author and Journalist Omar El Akkad in Conversation

Presented by UBC Asian Canadian & Asian Migration Studies program, Department of English Language & Literatures, School of Journalism, St. John’s College, and Faculty of Arts.

American War depicts a disturbingly believable near future where America is at war with itself. In this lecture, author and journalist Omar El Akkad unpacks the story behind his debut novel, which the Globe and Mail calls “masterful” – the events that inspired it, the references buried throughout the text and the places he visited to research the book. A recipient of the National Newspaper Award for Investigative Journalism, El Akkad has covered Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and numerous other locations around the world.

This public guest lecture is part of UBC Professor Y-Dang Troeung’s class, ENGL478A Postcolonial Literature: Borders and Violence. Lecture to be followed by Q&A moderated by Dr. Y-Dang Troeung and Dr. Phanuel Antwi from the Department of English Language and Literatures.

Monday, March 11th, 6-7:30pm

Chemistry Building, Room B250 (2036 Main Mall), UBC

5:45pm – Doors open

6:00pm – Formal program begins

7:30pm – Book signing and photography

 

RSVP is now closed, but walk-ups are welcome – we look forward to seeing you tonight!

Omar El Akkad is a recipient of the National Newspaper Award for Investigative Journalism, and has covered Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and numerous other locations around the world. American War won the Pacific Northwest Booksellers’ Award, the Oregon Book Award for fiction, and the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize. It was listed as one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, Washington Post, GQ, NPR, Esquire and more than a dozen other publications.