MetroWest Readers Fest, in partnership with Wayland Free Public Library and Goodnow Library (Sudbury), invites you to join author Gish Jen at Goodnow Library on Thursday, October 6 at 7 pm. This event is a part of ONE, a community-wide read organized by MWRF. This event is in collaboration with 24 Massachusetts libraries.

The title for this year’s initiative is Thank You, Mr. Nixon, a short story collection by the acclaimed writer Gish Jen. In this collection of 11 linked short stories, Jen “embarks on a fictional journey through U.S.-China relations, capturing the excitement of a world on the brink of tectonic change.” Thank You, Mr. Nixon was named the #1 Recommendation for AAPI Month by Oprah Daily, an Amazon Editor’s Pick for Best Literature & Fiction, and was called “marvelous” by Claire Oshetsky in the New York Times. In July 2022, NPR included Thank You, Mr. Nixon in its biannual “Books We Love” feature. In addition to Thank You, Mr. Nixon, Jen is the author of eight other books and has had short stories selected for The Best American Short Stories five times, including The Best American Short Stories of the Century, edited by John Updike. Gish Jen is currently a Visiting Professor at Harvard.

Whether or not you’ve read Thank You, Mr. Nixon, we enthusiastically invite you to a lively evening and hear from Gish Jen, an observant chronicler of American life who the late John Updike named as his self-appointed “successor” in 1999. Attendees will have ample opportunity to ask questions, share thoughts, or just listen.

This is an in-person event with the opportunity to tune in virtually. The Silver Unicorn Bookstore will be onsite to sell Ms. Jen’s books on the evening of October 6.