For Immediate Release: September 24, 2007
Contact: Marsha Nishi Mullan
610-328-8535
http://www.swarthmore.edu/news

Novelist Frank Delaney to Speak
on 'The Michener Phenomenon'

In honor of the centenary year of James A. Michener's birth, novelist Frank Delaney will speak at Swarthmore College on Thursday, Oct. 25, at 4:30 p.m. in the Cinema, Lang Performing Arts Center. His talk, "The Michener Phenomenon," is free and open to the public. Dan Menaker '64, former president of Random House Publishing, will introduce Mr. Delaney who will be available for discussion and book signing following the talk.

Delaney, whose novel writing has been inspired by Michener's practice of the craft, has written six works of non-fiction, 10 novels, and several short stories and essays. Ireland, A Novel, his most recently published work of fiction, has been on the New York Times best-sellers lists in both hardback and paperback and on many other best-seller lists across the U.S. and the U.K. Tipperary (Random House, 2007) will be released in November

Delaney, like Michener, began his writing career in mid-life. Born in Tipperary, Delaney enjoyed a long and successful career in broadcast journalism in Dublin and London before becoming a writer and moving to New York and Connecticut where he now lives.

Swarthmore honors James Michener, who graduated from the College in 1929, as one of its most celebrated alumni. James Michener published his first novel at the age of 40, Tales of the South Pacific, which won the Pulitzer Prize. He subsequently wrote more than four dozen novels including the best sellers Hawaii, Alaska, Chesapeake, The Source, and Space. He died in 1997 at the age of 90. This talk in honor of his centenary year is sponsored by the Office of the President.

###