Emily St. John Mandel, the author of this year's All-School Read, Station Eleven, will visit Berkshire on Monday, September 17 for a discussion and Q & A with students. Mandel is the author of four novels and a staff writer for the online magazine The Millions. Her talk will be streamed live for the extended Berkshire community.

A finalist for a National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award, Station Eleven won the 2015 Arthur C. Clarke Award and the Toronto Book Award and has been translated into 31 languages.

"An audacious, darkly glittering novel about art, fame, and ambition set in the eerie days of civilization's collapse," Station Eleven asks big questions about humanity and society that stay with the reader long after the last page has been turned.

"The committee selected Station Eleven because it's a really compelling story," said ASR Committee Chair Lucia Mulder. "We've never read a work of fiction as a whole school community, and this book is quite a page-turner! Its many themes also happen to have connections to science, art, music, history, and language, so it's a book that we hope will have a long reach and deep impact within the curriculum."

Students are encouraged to engage with the book over the summer through the annual ASR contest where prizes including an iPad mini and iTunes gift cards are awarded for a written, audio, or video response to one of a set of prompting questions about the book. Alternatively, they may submit a work of art inspired by the novel in the medium of their choice.

During her September visit, Ms. Mandel will work with English and creative writing classes and stay for lunch with students. For more about Emily St. John Mandel, you can visit the All-School Reading Guide below.

ASR Reading Guide