Suffolk Public Library is excited to host author Diana Abu-Jaber for a special book club visit! Abu-Jaber will talk about her recent novel Fencing with the King, published by Norton, which masterfully draws on King Lear and Arthurian fable to explore the power of inheritance, the trauma of displacement, and whether we can release the past to build a future.

This program will be delivered via the Zoom platform. Registered participants will provide their email address to receive a link to the Zoom meeting at least 15 minutes before the program begins.

The first 10 registrants will receive a copy of Fencing with the King. Registrants will receive an email to make arrangements for picking up the book. Copies of the book are also available for checkout.

About the Author

Diana Abu-Jaber was born in Syracuse, New York to an American mother and a Jordanian father. Her family moved to Jordan a few times throughout her childhood, and elements of both her American and Jordanian experiences, as well as cross-cultural issues, especially culinary reflections, appear in her work. She teaches writing and literature at Portland State University and divides her time between South Florida and Portland, Oregon.

Her other recent novels, Birds Of Paradise, won the 2012 Arab-American National Book Award. It was also named one of the top books of the year by National Public Radio, the Washington Post, and the Oregonian. Her novel, Origin, was named one of the best books of the year by the LA Times, the Chicago Tribune, and the Washington Post. Her second novel, Crescent, won the PEN Center Award for Literary fiction and the American Book Award. Her first novel, Arabian Jazz, won the Oregon Book award for Literary Fiction and was a finalist for the PEN Hemingway Award. The Language of Baklava, her first memoir, won the Northwest Booksellers’ Award, and has been translated into many languages.