Roscommon Arts Centre is thrilled to present an evening with critically acclaimed author and screenwriter Patrick deWitt as part of a short Irish tour on Thursday, September 9, at 8pm.
DeWitt’s first book His first book, Ablutions: Notes for a Novel (2009 ), was named a New York Times Editors' Choice book. His second, The Sisters Brothers (2011 ), was shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize, the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize (Winner ) and the 2011 Governor General's Award for English-language fiction (Winner ). The novel also won the 2012 Stephen Leacock Award and DeWitt was shortlisted for the 2012 Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction. The Sisters Brothers was adapted as a film and released in 2018.
Patrick’s third novel, Undermajordomo Minor (2015 ), was longlisted for the 015 Scotiabank Giller Prize and his most recent novel, French Exit (2018 ) was named as a shortlisted finalist for the 2018 Giller Prize. He wrote the screenplay for Sony Pictures 2020 film of the same name, which starred starred Michelle Pfeiffer as Frances Price, who was nominated for several awards for her role including, most recently a Golden Globe.
Born in British Columbia, DeWitt now resides in Portland, Oregon from where earlier this year, as part of our LIVE Network programme, the writer undertook a short virtual residency at Roscommon Arts Centre. “Yours Sincerely – Patrick deWitt” saw the writer correspond via weekly letters to members of the public over a six-week period. Project participants were invited to write back, with many penning weekly letters to the author, telling him of their own lives, experiences and the county they live in. The project culminated in a virtual meeting between DeWitt and the project participants and it is hoped that while visiting Roscommon, the author will have the opportunity to meet up with the group in person.
This September his Irish tour “Exits with Patrick deWitt” will see the author discuss French Exit and the theme of migration in his work, with LIVE Network Development Officer Dani Gill.
Tickets for this event are now on sale at just €15, but capacity is extremely limited due to current Government guidelines and so early booking is highly advisable via www.roscommonartscentre.ie/0906 625824.
