K-State common book author, Adib Khorram, to visit university, engage with students
Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019
MANHATTAN — The award-winning author of "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" — Kansas State University's 2019 common book — will visit the university in September to discuss his bestselling book and engage with students.
Kansas City author Adib Khorram will give a lecture at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 12, in the Ballroom in the K-State Student Union. A book signing will follow the lecture.
The event will be open to the public and free to attend. The lecture also will be livestreamed at the university's Polytechnic and Olathe campuses. More information about livestreaming opportunities will be available in the coming weeks.
"Adib Khorram's visit on Sept. 12 launches a yearlong conversation about the book's themes, including events about mental health and well-being, architecture and gardening, family and food, and identity and athletics," said Karin Westman, chair of the K-State Book Network PR/Events Committee and department head of English. "Following on the success of our 2018 selection, Angie Thomas's 'The Hate U Give,' we're looking forward to engaging the K-State family, local high school students and Kansas communities in some great discussions."
"Darius the Great Is Not Okay" tells the story of a high school sophomore Darius Kellner, a Persian American teen who balances diagnosed depression with a love for "Star Trek" and tea. A visit to his mother's family in Iran offers Darius new ways to understand himself, his family and what he calls home.
The K-State Book Network, or KSBN, chose "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" as the university's 2019 common book following campuswide conversations and review by the KSBN selection committee, comprised of 60 students, staff, administrators and faculty from colleges and units across the university's campuses.
"Since we have announced this book, many people have shared with me their struggles with mental illness, which goes a long way to easing that stigma," said Tara Coleman, chair of KSBN and associate professor at K-State Libraries. "I have had some very thoughtful conversations with students about the book and each conversation ends with us coming up with a list of ways we can help ourselves and others be okay, even when they are not okay."
During his visit, Khorram also will meet with a group of first-year students. His talk is co-sponsored by the K-State Book Network, K-State Libraries and the English department's student honorary society, Sigma Tau Delta, among others.
If Khorram's not writing or at his day job as a graphic designer, you can probably find him learning to do a lutz jump, working on his handstands, or steeping a cup of oolong. He lives in Kansas City, Missouri. For more information on Khorram visit prhspeakers.com.
For more information about the K-State Book Network, visit k-state.edu/ksbn.
A limited number of tickets will be available for high school classes to attend Khorram's lecture. These classes also can participate in campus visits while they are at K-State. High schools and instructors interested in this opportunity can receive more information by contacting Coleman at ksbn@k-state.edu by Friday, Aug. 30.
