On Thursday, February 13, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hernan Diaz will join the Westport community in the Library’s Trefz Forum for the WestportREADS keynote conversation, alongside moderator Catherine Shen of Connecticut Public. The two will discuss Diaz’s debut novel, In the Distance, about a young Swedish immigrant who travels east from California in search of his brother, moving on foot against the great current of emigrants pushing west.
Diaz would be nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for In the Distance and claim the prize for his second novel, Trust, cementing his place among the great writers of his generation.
In advance of his talk at the Library, Diaz took the time to correspond with the Library about his trip to Westport, his literary successes, and why he will always treasure libraries and librarians.
Westport Library: What was your reaction to In the Distance being named our WestportREADS pick for 2025? And your thoughts on coming to The Westport Library to speak to our community?
Hernan Diaz: Libraries are my natural habitat, and I would be nothing without them. Absolutely everything that I’ve ever published has been written, partially, in libraries. And beyond their invaluable archival mission, libraries are also crucial nodes in any community. For all these reasons, it means the world to be able to meet Westport readers and be able to engage with them,
Writing can be a solitary endeavor. What does it mean to you to travel to discuss your books and connect with readers?
Writing was an utterly solitary endeavor for most of my life — I was published very late. This means I still find it utterly unbelievable to discover that my work exists in other people’s minds. I can’t even begin to convey how much I’ve learned about literature and even about my own writing from talking to readers around the world. It’s an outsized privilege.
How has your life changed since winning the Pulitzer Prize for Trust? And what impact has that had on your writing?
Well, as of last June, I’ve become a full-time writer, which has been my dream since I was a child. Needless to say, that has had a major impact on my writing and reading life.
There is an overwhelming amount of information out there, particularly in the modern digital world. Against that landscape, why do you think libraries still matter?
Libraries matter for so many reasons. I’ll offer up two of them: First, I am a great believer in the importance of the material dimension of the book. There is no substitute for having all those books there and (ideally) being able to walk around the stacks and engage in serendipitous associations. In this sense, libraries are thinking machines.
Second, librarians. What would we do without librarians, who are my personal heroes? Their erudition and passion and curatorial creativity are so vastly important.
What are your favorite or most influential books?
Oh, dear. This is a big question. Beckett, Kafka, George Eliot, Borges, Woolf, Dickens, Joy Williams, David Markson, Wodehouse… I could go on.
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Note to patrons: Registration for the keynote conversation with Hernan Diaz is currently full, but there is a waitlist option and the event will be livestreamed on The Westport Library YouTube channel.
WestportREADS is funded by the estate of Jerry A. Tishman.