Brooks Fund welcomes New York Times Bestselling Author Augusten Burroughs to Nashville
Posted 3/26/2009
Augusten Burroughs
“The Franklin Brooks Fund is thrilled to be asked to participate in bringing Augusten Burroughs to Nashville for an evening of reading, book signing and questions and answers,” said Suzanne Bradford, chair of The Brooks Fund. “As he reaches across all demographics to find a common thread, so does The Brooks Fund. We look forward to seeing many people at this free event on April 8.”
Augusten Burroughs was born in 1965. He has no formal education beyond elementary school. A very successful advertising copywriter for more than 17 years, Burroughs was also an alcoholic who nearly drank himself to death in 1999. But spurned by a compulsion he did not understand, Burroughs began to write a novel. Never outlining or consciously structuring the book, Burroughs wrote, "as fast as I could type, to keep up." Seven days later, Augusten Burroughs had written his first book. He had also stopped drinking. The book was published one year layer. Burroughs remains sober to this day. And Sellevision stands as Burroughs's only published novel. It is currently in development as a feature film.
Augusten's second book was a memoir. It was also a publishing phenomenon that helped to ignite a kind of memoir fever in America and abroad. Running with Scissors was released in 2001 to virtually unanimous critical acclaim. The memoir would ultimately remain on the New York Times bestseller list for over four consecutive years, eight months of which were spent in the #1 position. The film, starring Annette Benning, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jill Clayburgh and Alec Baldwin was released in 2005.
He has since published four additional autobiographical volumes (Dry, Possible Side Effects, Magical Thinking and A Wolf at the Table), all of them bestsellers. Currently published in more than 30 countries, Augusten's book readings have become massively popular events on numerous continents. He has also headlined for the most prestigious literary festivals in the world, most recently the 2008 Melbourne writer's Festival, where he and Germaine Greer delivered the keynote addresses on opening night. In addition, Burroughs speaks regularly at colleges and universities on topics ranging from alcoholism and sexual abuse to the art of authoring one's own life and humor as serious medicine.
Twice honored by Entertainment Weekly as one of 25 funniest people in America, Burroughs shocked fans and the media alike with the release of A Wolf at the Table in early 2008. The brutal, terrifying and decidedly unfunny book instantly generated a storm of publicity and controversy. Critics were deeply divided, and the book received some of the worst -and best- reviews of the author's career. The book tour for A Wolf at the Table, spanned some six months and four countries, as Augusten performed for the largest crowds of his career. A Wolf at the Table is Augusten's bestselling hardcover to date.
The Nashville event with Burroughs, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by Davis-Kidd Booksellers, Lightning 100, Nashville Scene, NowPlayingNashville.com and Vanderbilt University. Donations to The Brooks Fund will be accepted at the door and a percentage of book sales at the event will benefit The Brooks Fund.
About The Brooks Fund
The Brooks Fund of The Community Foundation exists to protect the dignity, the safety and the health of Middle Tennessee’s GLBT community. By supporting and encouraging the development of programs, The Brooks Fund increases philanthropic options and opportunities within the GLBT community. Created in 1995, The Brooks Fund is named for H. Franklin Books, a Vanderbilt University associate professor in the Department of French and Italian, faculty sponsor for the first lesbian and gay student organization on campus, and an instrumental leader in the dialogue that eventually helped include gays and lesbians in Vanderbilt’s anti-harassment policy in the late 1980s.
About The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee oversees more than 695 charitable funds. In the past seventeen years, The Community Foundation has distributed $408 million to community programs and institutions. It is located at 3833 Cleghorn Avenue, #400, Nashville, Tennessee 37215. For more information, call 615-321-4939 or visit www.cfmt.org.
Contact: Rebecca Finley, (615) 321-4939
rfinley@cfmt.org
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