THE ULTIMATE INTELLECTUAL STIMULUS PACKAGE CONTINUES WITH A "WORLD OF WORDS" AT ASPEN SUMMER WORDS
The Aspen Writers' Foundation and Explore Booksellers Co-Present 33rd Annual Aspen Summer Words
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(May 13, 2009) Aspen, CO ... Join us this summer as the Aspen Writers' Foundation (AWF) travels across landscapes, countries and continents, redefining borders and weaving a colorful tapestry of stories from around the world. From June 21-26, the AWF, in partnership with Explore Booksellers and thanks to a generous gift from Cheryl and Sam Wyly, presents the 33rd annual Aspen Summer Words Writing Retreat and Literary Festival at the Doerr-Hosier Center on the grounds of the Aspen Institute.

In recognition of the 5th anniversary of the literary heritage festival, this year's theme will fly under the banner, "World of Words" and will celebrate presenters from a variety of countries such as Ireland, Kenya, Egypt, India, Mexico, Sierra Leon, Nigeria, and the United States. The Festival will feature literary all-stars including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ishmael Beah, David Davidar, Hallie Ephron, Gary Ferguson, Dana Gioia, Walter Isaacson, Scott Lasser, William Loizeaux, Colum McCann, Christopher Merrill, Catherine O'Connell, Pamela Painter, Nic Pizzolatto, Mohamed Salmawy, Shashi Tharoor, Luis Alberto Urrea, Binyavanga Wainaina, and the 2009 Aspen Prize for Literature recipient, Ron Carlson. The weeklong series of events offers unprecedented readings and panel discussions with some of the best literary talent from around the world.

ASPEN PRIZE FOR LITERATURE
As part of Aspen Summer Words, the Aspen Writers' Foundation will honor author, teacher, and friend, Ron Carlson with the 2009 Aspen Prize for Literature, sponsored the Bedell World Citizenship Fund (BWCF). Carlson is the author of eight books of fiction, including A Kind of Flying, the novels The Speed of Light and Five Skies (which was the One Book Rhode Island choice for 2009), and his new novel The Signal. His short stories have appeared in several journals including Esquire, Harper's, The New Yorker, Gentlemen's Quarterly, Epoch, and The North American Review, as well as The Best American Short Stories, The O'Henry Prize Series, The Pushcart Prize Anthology, The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction and dozens of other anthologies. Among his awards are a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Fiction, the Cohen Prize at Ploughshares, and a National Society of Arts and Letters Literature Award. He currently directs the graduate fiction program at the University of California, Irvine. Past recipients of the Aspen Prize for Literature include Wole Soyinka, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, N. Scott Momaday, Paul Muldoon, Edna Obrien, and Salman Rushdie.

FESTIVAL ARTISTS
· Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Nigerian author of Half of a Yellow Sun, Purple Hibiscus and the forthcoming The Thing Around Your Neck; recipient of the Orange Prize, an O. Henry Prize, and a MacArthur Fellowship
· Ishmael Beah: Sierra Leonean author of A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, a New York Times bestseller that has been published in over 34 languages and named one of the Top Ten Nonfiction books of 2007 by Time magazine
· David Davidar: Prize-winning author of The House of Blue Mangoes, a New York Times Notable Book that was translated into 16 languages, and The Solitude of Emperors, which was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize
· Hallie Ephron: Author of Never Tell a Lie, Writing and Selling Your Novel, and 1001 Books for Every Mood, and co-author of five additional psychological mysteries
· Gary Ferguson: Award-winning author of 16 books including, Hawks Rest: A Season in the Remote Heart of Yellowstone, the first nonfiction work in history to win both the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Award and the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award for Nonfiction
· Dana Gioia: Former Chairman of the NEA, poet, critic, and author of Can Poetry Matter?, which was a National Book Critics Circle finalist, and Interrogations at Noon, which won the American Book Award
· Walter Isaacson: President and CEO of the Aspen Institute and author of four books of nonfiction including, Einstein: His Life and Universe, and Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
· Scott Lasser: Local author of All I Could Get, Battle Creek, andthe forthcoming, The Year That Follows
· William Loizeaux: Award-winning professor at John Hopkins University and author of two memoirs: The Shooting of Rabbit Wells and Anna: A Daughter's Life, which was a New York Times Notable Book
· Colum McCann: Bestselling and award-winning Irish author of six novels that have been published in 26 languages including, Zoli, Dancer, This Side of Brightness, and Let the Great World Spin, which makes its world debut in Aspen this summer
· Christopher Merrill: Author of four collections of poetry including, Brilliant Water and Watch Fire; journalist, critic, and director of the International Writing Program at The University of Iowa
· Catherine O'Connell: Chicago native author of three books including, Skins, Well Bred and Dead, and the latest, Well Read and Dead
· Pamela Painter: Author of two short story collections: winner of the GLCA Award for First Fiction, Getting to Know the Weather and The Long and Short of It; faculty member at Emerson College
· Nic Pizzolatto: Finalist for the National Magazine Award in Fiction, and the author of the short story collection, Between Here and the Yellow Sea; his first novel, Galveston, is forthcoming
· Mohamed Salmawy: One of Egypt's most prolific writers, playwright, novelist, columnist, critic and political commentator; president of the Egyptian Writers' Union, editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram Hebdo, and a columnist for Al-Ahram
· Shashi Tharoor: Prize-winning author of eleven books of fiction and non-fiction, including The Great Indian Novel; widely published critic and columnist; and former Under-Secretary of the United Nations
· Luis Alberto Urrea: Latino Literature Hall of Fame member and American Book Award winner - author of 13 books, including The Hummingbird's Daughter, The Devil's Highway and the forthcoming Into The Beautiful North
· Binyavanga Wainaina: Kenyan author, journalist and winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing; Founding Editor of Kwani - a leading Kenyan magazine; and author of the travel/memoir book, Discovering Home

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Aspen Summer Words offers booklovers rare opportunities for intimate dialogue with authors, behind-the-scenes glimpses into the publishing industry and lively interaction between readers and writers. Over the course of five full days, passholders may indulge in a dozen literary events (author readings, artist conversations, craft talks, and panel discussions), attend parties, participate in open mic events, take yoga classes, and with their mornings off, still have time to enjoy Aspen's enviable recreational, sightseeing, dining and shopping prospects. Some highlights from the program of over two-dozen different events include:
· This year, the Aspen Writers' Foundation is partnering with the Colorado Center for the Book, a program of Colorado Humanities to present the annual Colorado Book Awards as part of Aspen Summer Words. This special event celebrates the accomplishments of Colorado's literary community and recognizes outstanding authors while promoting those authors to Colorado readers. The Colorado Book Awards will be presented on Monday, June 22nd and will be followed by a book signing reception including all Summer Words presenters and Colorado Book Award Winners & Finalists at the Doerr-Hosier Center on the Aspen Meadows Campus.
· The World Premier of bestselling and award-winning Irish author Colum McCann's new novel, Let the Great World Spin. McCann will present a public keynote address on Tuesday, June 23rd, at 5 pm at the Doerr-Hosier Center on the Aspen Meadows Campus, followed by a ticketed dinner, Carte du Monde, benefitting the education programs of the AWF.
· Four more books will make their Aspen debut during Summer Words, including Chimamanda Adichie's The Thing Around Your Neck, Ron Carlson's The Signal, Luis Alberto Urrea's, Into the Beautiful North, and Scott Lasser's The Year That Follows.

WRITING RETREAT
In addition to having the afternoons and evenings centered around the festival, the morning writing retreat offers beginning to advanced five-day workshops and two-day classes to pre-registered Summer Words students. Among the writing retreat faculty are celebrated author-educators: Ron Carlson (Advanced Fiction), Hallie Ephron (Fiction), Gary Ferguson (Magazine & Nature Writing), William Loizeaux (Narrative Nonfiction), Christopher Merrill (Poetry), Pamela Painter (Advanced Fiction), and Nic Pizzolatto (Beginning Fiction). Back by popular demand is the Readers' Retreat with David Davidar, a two-day literature appreciation course, this year covering the writing and works of the "World of Words" Festival presenters. In addition, Dana Gioia will moderate a one-day symposium, "Reading, Literature, and Democracy" on Friday, June 26th.

THE DETAILS
The Aspen Summer Words Writing Retreat and Literary Festival will take place at the Doerr-Hosier Center, Aspen's state-of-the-art conference center, located on the Aspen Meadows Campus at the Aspen Institute. Festival passes, good for all Festival events throughout the week, are $150 for Retreat students and AWF and Aspen Institute members / $200 for individuals. More Information and festival passes are available through the Aspen Writers' Foundation online or 970.925.3122. Single tickets go on sale beginning June 1st through Aspen Show Tickets at the Wheeler Opera House: aspenshowtickets.com / 920.5770. Discount lodging for all Summer Words participants is available at the Aspen Meadows, 1.800.452.4240.


THE ASPEN WRITERS' FOUNDATION
The Aspen Writers' Foundation, Colorado's oldest nonprofit literary arts organization and a program of the Aspen Institute, has been bringing readers and writers together since 1976. The organization's mission is to provide programs that encourage writers in their craft and readers in their appreciation of literature. Through its repertoire of eight year-round programs, the Aspen Writers' Foundation annually serves 20,000 literary enthusiasts of all ages. More information is available at 970.925.3122 and aspenwriters.org.