Wednesday, October 28, 7:30 pm
An Evening with Algonquin Books and the PEN/Bellwether Prize
Ron Childress presents And West is West, 2015 winner
In conversation with past Bellwether winner Hillary Jordan

The PEN/Bellwether Prize, judged blindly and awarded by Barbara Kingsolver, promotes fiction that addresses issues of social justice and the impact of culture and politics on human relationships. Greenlight hosts current and past winners of the PEN/Bellwether in partnership with publisher Algonquin Books. Ron Childress’ powerful, politically-charged debut novel And West Is West illuminates how the average person can be corrupted by systems that ask them to do questionable things. A female Air Force drone pilot in Nevada tasked with launching a missile at a suspected terrorist, and a young Wall Street analyst whose algorithm enables his company to profit from the financial instability caused by antiterrorist strikes, are bound by their complicity with a culture more concerned about security and profit than morality. Childress talks with past winner Hillary Jordan, whose novel Mudbound told the intertwined stories of tenant farmers in post-World War II Alabama and became a national bestseller. Join us for a celebration of riveting and socially important fiction.