Friday, September 28 / 8 pm / Campbell Hall

The funniest American writer still open for business. —Time

In his most recent book Garrison Keillor, host and writer of the National Public Radio staple Prairie Home Companion, flashes his homespun wit and whimsy trying to find the most “Wobegonic” region of Minnesota.

General public $10 / UCSB students $8

Monday, October 1 / 4 pm / UCSB Corwin Pavilion / Free

Author of the recently published Woodcuts of Women, Gilb’s keen-eyed fiction (The Last Known Residence of Mickey Acuña, The Magic of Blood) has earned him the PEN/Hemingway Award. He has been acclaimed by Annie Proulx as “an important voice in American fiction.”

Friday, October 5 / 5 pm / Campbell Hall / Free

Former Secretary of the Interior under President Clinton and former governor of Arizona, Bruce Babbitt has also served as national president of the League of Conservation Voters. While at the Department of the Interior, he led the development of regional ecosystem restoration projects in the Florida Everglades and in California’s Bay-Delta system.

Sunday, October 7 / 4 pm / SB Museum of Natural History / Free

UCSB Professor of Dance Frank Ries prepares us for the October 14 Miami City Ballet performance of George Balanchine’s three-part masterwork Jewels with an entertaining and informative slide talk that describes the genesis of Jewels and Balanchine’s enduring influence on ballet.

Monday, October 8 / 7:30 pm / SB Museum of Natural History

Author of five short story collections, including the just published After the Plague, and eight novels (including Riven Rock, Tortilla Curtain, World’s End), T.C. Boyle is one of the leading lights of American fiction. He teaches at the University of Southern California and lives in Montecito.

General public $6 / UCSB students and SBMNH members $5

What Ever Happened to the War Against the Mafia? A Look at Sicily and Beyond
Wednesday, October 17 / 8 pm / Victoria Hall, 33 W. Victoria St. / Free

Mr. Stille...is a writer to watch. —The New York Times

A regular contributor to The New Yorker, Stille’s Benevolence and Betrayal: Five Italian Jewish Families Under Fascism won The Los Angeles Times Book Award for History. He is also the author of Excellent Cadavers: The Mafia and the Death of the First Italian Republic.

Friday, November 2 / 8 pm / UCSB Campbell Hall

Teacher, activist, translator and former U.S. poet laureate Robert Hass is author of Praise and Sun under Wood. Loose Sugar, Brenda Hillman’s fifth collection, was nominated for the 1998 National Book Critics’ Circle Award in poetry. Hass and Hillman are Distinguished Visiting Fellows in the College of Creative Studies.

General public $6 / UCSB students $5

Wednesday, November 14 / 5 pm / Corwin Pavilion / Free

Serving in the United Nations from 1973-1992, Picco played a crucial role in several Middle Eastern negotiations, including the release of the Western hostages in Lebanon and the Geneva agreements on the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. He is currently Personal Representative of Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the United Nations Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations.

Friday, November 16 / 8 pm / Campbell Hall

A provocative journey. —Variety

Narita’s compelling, often humorous solo performance celebrates Asian and Asian American women as they struggle with the American dream. She won the Los Angeles Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Coming into Passion/Song for a Sansei, which ran for 24 months in Los Angeles.

General public $10 / UCSB students $5

Wednesday, November 28 / 5 pm / Corwin Pavilion / Free

Iranian-born Naraghi-Anderlini is a senior policy advisor with International Alert, a conflict resolution NGO based in the United Kingdom. She is also the author of the United Nations Development Fund for Women publication, Women at the Peace Table: Making a Difference.

Tuesday, December 4 / 7:30 pm / SB Museum of Natural History

In her latest book This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland, Ehrlich gives us a compelling and evocative portrait of one of the world’s least known places and civilizations. Author of the classic The Solace of Open Spaces, Ehrlich lives in Gaviota.

General public $6 / UCSB students and SBMNH members $5

Wednesday, December 5 / 8 pm / Campbell Hall

Ballard, scientist emeritus from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, is founder and president of the Institute for Exploration. Using robots and manned submersibles, he has explored numerous deep sea wrecks, most notably the Titanic.

General public $15 / UCSB students $10