Sara Nović and Peter Golden

Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Craft talk — 4:15 p.m., Standish Room, Science Library
Presentation/Q&A — 7:30 p.m., Huxley Theatre, NYS Museum, Cultural Education Center, Albany

Sara Nović, acclaimed first-time novelist, is a notable figure in the American deaf community, founder of the deaf rights and culture website, REDEAFINED.com, and an eloquent explainer of the riches of the deaf experience.

Her debut novel, Girl at War (2012), a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and published in 14 languages, tells the story of a girl’s coming of age during the collapse of the former Yugoslavia.

The New York Times Book Review said: “Girl at War performs the miracle of making the stories of broken lives in a distant country feel as large and universal as myth.” Nović has been praised by Junot Diaz as "the Great American Novelist we're always hearing about," and John Updike named her as his literary successor in the 21st century.

In an essay published in The Guardian What it's like to be a deaf novelist in 2015, Nović explains the challenges of being a deaf author. "To hear is synonymous with understanding – 'I heard about that' or 'I hear you' suggests the speaker’s knowledge, comprehension, or capacity for empathy on a given topic, whereas, across the headlines, cries for justice or peace often 'fall on deaf ears'. So as long as deafness is a synonym for stupidity or wilful ignorance, d/Deaf and signing people will continue to be “othered” into a position of inferiority. (The capital 'D' is used to refer to those who associate themselves with the Deaf community; a minority are medically deaf but choose not to associate with that community.)"

Peter Golden is the author of the new novel, Nothing Is Forgotten (2018), about a young man from New Jersey who travels to Khrushchev’s Russia, where he discovers love and the long-buried secrets of his heritage.

"Nothing is Forgotten is historical fiction at its finest, wrote Karin Tanabe, author of The Diplomat’s Daughter, "A sweeping tale full of humor and heartbreak, Peter Golden takes us on a journey from 1960s America across Europe to explore how inherited histories can follow us through generations and redefine families."

His previous novels include Wherever There Is Light (2015), which The Washington Post reviewer praised for “vivid characters and strong storytelling,” and Comeback Love (2012). O Powerful Western Star: American Jews, Russian Jews, and the Final Battle of the Cold War (2012), Quiet Diplomat: A Biography of Max M. Fisher (1992), and with J. Stanley Shaw, I Rest My Case: My Long Journey from the Castle on the Hill to Home (2000).

An award-winning journalist, Golden has interviewed many world leaders, including Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Henry Kissinger, Yitzhak Rabin, and Mikhail Gorbachev.

Cosponsored by UAlbany’s Disability Resource Center, State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education, and Friends of the New York State Library.