AN EVENING WITH MARY LOUISE KELLY MODERATED BY BREEZE RICHARDSON
2024-10-09 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Denver) | TACAW, 400 Robinson St., Basalt, CO, 81621
Join us for a conversation with 2024 Aspen Words Literary Prize ceremony moderator, novelist and host of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Mary Louise Kelly.
Moderator: Aspen Public Radio’s Executive Director, Breeze Richardson.
This event is free and open to all, registration is requested.
The event is currently at capacity,
if you are interested in attending plan to arrive when the doors open at 5:30 p.m.
DOORS: Open at 5:30 p.m.
EVENT: Conversation 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
SEATING: General admission and available on a first come, first served basis.
Come early and purchase a drink at the TACAW bar.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mary Louise Kelly is a host of “All Things Considered,” NPR’s award-winning afternoon newsmagazine. Previously, she spent a decade as national security correspondent for NPR News, and she’s kept that focus in her role as anchor. That’s meant taking “All Things Considered” to Russia, North Korea, Iran and beyond.
She’s published two novels, “Anonymous Sources” and “The Bullet,” as well as the New York Times bestselling memoir, “It. Goes. So. Fast. The Year of No Do-Overs.” Her writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, among other publications, and she serves as a contributing writer at The Atlantic.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
Breeze Richardson joined the Aspen Public Radio team in June 2021. Highly-respected in public media for her strategic planning and communications background, she has a passion for telling stories and producing community-focused programming.
Since arriving in the Roaring Fork Valley, Breeze has been on stage exploring disability and inclusion with 1A’s Jenn White, discussing the importance of local journalism for Aspen Institute’s Society of Fellows, and in conversation with Tockukwu Okafor, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, and 2023 Aspen Words Literary Prize winner Jamil Jan Kochaifor Aspen Words. In February 2023, she took the stage at the Wheeler Opera House with NPR’s Ailsa Chang to lead a conversation about making big career changes, representation in media, and the impact of investigative journalism.
Breeze currently serves as President of the Rocky Mountain Community Radio coalition, and is an elected member of the Western States Public Radio Board of Directors. In 2024, she completed the Public Media Diversity Leaders Initiative (PMDLI) hosted by the Riley Institute at Furman University, and is a proud alumni of the Aspen Institute Hurst Leaders Forum.

Aspen Words Literary Prize Shortlist Announcement
2025-03-12 08:00 - 22:00 (America/Denver)
The Aspen Words Literary Prize Shortlist will be announced on March 12, 2025.
The Aspen Words Literary Prize is a $35,000 annual award for an influential work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture.
Annually, open to authors of any nationality, the award is one of the largest literary prizes in the United States, and one of the few focused exclusively on fiction with a social impact. Past winners include Mohsin Hamid (2018 for “Exit West”), Tayari Jones (2019 for “An American Marriage”), Christy Lefteri (2020 for “The Beekeeper of Aleppo”), Louise Erdrich (2021 for “The Night Watchman”), Dawnie Walton (2022 for “The Final Revival of Opal & Nev”), Jamil Jan Kochai (2023 for “The Haunting of Hajji Hotak”) and Isabella Hammad (2024 for “Enter Ghost”). Eligible works include novels or short story collections that address questions of violence, inequality, gender, the environment, immigration, religion, race or other social issues.

Aspen Words Literary Prize Ceremony
2025-04-23 18:30 - 19:30 (America/New_York)
WINNER ANNOUNCED: APRIL 23
at the Morgan Library & Museum
225 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016
Program runs: 6:30-7:30 p.m. ET
Moderated by Bilal Qureshi
JOIN US!
General Admission (FREE): Donation Appreciated
Your ticket includes:
– First come, first served seating at the ceremony
– Access to the wine and hors d’oeuvres reception following the ceremony
Register here
Livestream Access (FREE): Donation Appreciated
Access includes:
-A link to view the event in real-time 4:30-5:30 p.m. MT/6:30-7:30 p.m. ET
Register here
VIP Ticket & Tour
Your ticket includes:
– Docent tour of the secrets and rarities of the Morgan Library & Museum
– A prosecco toast
– Premium reserved seating for the ceremony
– Access to the wine and hors d’oeuvres reception following the ceremony
– A copy of a finalist book
If you select a VIP ticket, please arrive at the Morgan by 5:15 p.m. ET.
Purchase tickets here
Livestream Party at Pitkin County Library (FREE): Donation Appreciated
Your ticket includes:
– Real-time viewing party of the Aspen Words Literary Prize Ceremony 4:30-5:30 MT
-Light refreshments and mingling
Register to attend the livestream party here!

The Aspen Words Literary Prize is a $35,000 annual award for an influential work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture.
Annually, open to authors of any nationality, the award is one of the largest literary prizes in the United States, and one of the few focused exclusively on fiction with a social impact. Past winners include Mohsin Hamid (2018 for “Exit West”), Tayari Jones (2019 for “An American Marriage”), Christy Lefteri (2020 for “The Beekeeper of Aleppo”), Louise Erdrich (2021 for “The Night Watchman”), Dawnie Walton (2022 for “The Final Revival of Opal & Nev”), Jamil Jan Kochai (2023 for “The Haunting of Hajji Hotak”) and Isabella Hammad (2024 for “Enter Ghost”). Eligible works include novels or short story collections that address questions of violence, inequality, gender, the environment, immigration, religion, race or other social issues.
This event is moderated by Bilal Qureshi. Bilal Qureshi is an independent essayist, broadcaster and critic. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, NPR, The New York Times, Foreign Policy and the Criterion Collection. He wrote the column “Elsewhere” for the journal Film Quarterly from 2016 – 2023. Bilal’s radio reporting has aired across NPR’s flagship news magazines and podcasts – and on the “BBC Arts Hour”.  Bilal graduated with high distinction from the University of Virginia in 2004 and earned an M.S. in Broadcasting from the Columbia School of Journalism in 2007. He’s a recipient of the USC Getty Fellowship for Arts Journalism, the Robert Bosch Fellowship, and has served as a juror for the Pulitzer Prize for Audio and Criticism. Bilal was born in Kohat, Pakistan, grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and currently divides his time between Accra and Los Angeles.

Special Lit Lounge Book Club: Aspen Words Literary Prize Celebration
2025-08-19 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Denver)
Tuesday, August 19, 2025 | 5:00–6:00 PM | Pitkin County Library
Join us for a special edition of The Lit Lounge as we celebrate the winner of the 2025 Aspen Words Literary Prize! This month, we’re spotlighting “Wandering Stars“ by Tommy Orange—a remarkable and unforgettable novel exploring the Native American experience across generations.
RSVP Here
About the novel:
Colorado, 1864. Star, a young survivor of the Sand Creek Massacre, is brought to the Fort Marion prison castle, where he is forced to learn English and practice Christianity by Richard Henry Pratt, an evangelical prison guard who will go on to found the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, an institution dedicated to the eradication of Native history, culture and identity. A generation later, Star’s son, Charles, is sent to the school, where he is brutalized by the man who was once his father’s jailer. Under Pratt’s harsh treatment, Charles clings to moments he shares with a young fellow student, Opal Viola, as the two envision a future away from the institutional violence that follows their bloodlines. In a novel that is by turns shattering and wondrous, Tommy Orange has conjured the ancestors of the family readers first fell in love with in There There—warriors, drunks, outlaws, addicts— asking what it means to be the children and grandchildren of massacre. Wandering Stars is a novel about epigenetic and generational trauma that has the force and vision of a modern epic, an exceptionally powerful new book from one of the most exciting writers at work today and soaring confirmation of Tommy Orange’s monumental gifts.
Come together with fellow readers for an engaging discussion of this remarkable book, and enjoy light refreshments as we reflect on its themes and celebrate the community it brings together.
Let’s honor these powerful stories—and each other.
