The Lundberg Masters Series Presents Joyce Carol Oates

About the Event
Joyce Carol Oates is one of the most prolific writers in American literary history, working across an extraordinary range of genres, including novel, short story, children's fiction, horror, drama, poetry, and memoir. Join us for a rare opportunity to hear from this celebrated author as she speaks with fellow author Clay McLeod Chapman.
About Joyce Carol Oates
Critic Henry Louis Gates Jr. said a future archaeologist equipped only with Oates' body of work could piece together the whole of postwar America. In 2010, President Obama awarded her the National Humanities Medal.
Best known for her fiction, Oates' novels include them (National Book Award), The Falls (Prix Femina), and We Were the Mulvaneys, a bestseller after being selected by Oprah's Book Club. Other notable works include The Accursed, called "the world's first postmodern Gothic novel" by Stephen King, and A Book of American Martyrs (LA Times Book Prize). Her 2025 novel Fox earned starred reviews across the board, and her 2026 titles include The Frenzy and the reprint collections Double Trouble and Second Nature. A new story collection, The Massacre at Mount Pitcairn, arrives in 2027.
Her short fiction collection High Lonesome includes her most anthologized story, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?", later adapted into the film Smooth Talk. Her novel Blonde was adapted as a Netflix film starring Ana de Armas.
Oates' many honors include the PEN/Malamud Award, a World Fantasy Award, the Jerusalem Prize, and Lifetime Achievement awards from the National Book Critics Circle and PEN Center USA. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the subject of the documentary A Body in the Service of Mind.
She is the Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Princeton University, teaching alternate semesters at Princeton and Rutgers.
About Clay McLeod Chapman (In Conversation)
Clay McLeod Chapman is the USA Today bestselling author of nineteen books. His most recent novel is Mr. Lonelyhearts (Tor Nightfire).
Related Events
The Westport Library is committed to intellectual freedom, inclusivity, and lifelong learning. Our mission is to provide welcoming spaces for the free exchange of ideas. The Library does not endorse or condemn points of view, including any program content or the views expressed by presenters or participants.




