The Humanities Institute and The Humanities Division are pleased to present “An Evening with Bonnie Garmus.” Garmus is the best selling author of Lessons in Chemistry and will be in conversation with Pranav Anand, faculty director of The Humanities Institute.

Bonnie Garmus charmed readers across the globe with her debut novel Lessons in Chemistry, a juggernaut publication which spent nearly two years on The New York Times bestseller list, was named one of the top one hundred books of the 21st century by Times readers and a Best Book of the Year by countless media outlets, was a Goodreads Choice Best Book of the Year, was honored with sixteen international literary awards, and made into an Apple TV series starring Brie Larson.

The event is free and open to the public, however registration is required.

Fans of Lessons in Chemistry were drawn to protagonist Elizabeth Zott, “a gifted research chemist, absurdly self-assured and immune to social convention” (The Washington Post). In Peck & Peck, readers meet a similarly quixotic character in Batter Gray, a recent college graduate whose one passion, poetry, does not exactly set him up for success in 1980s New York City. But when he lands a job at the most prestigious, secretive, and dysfunctional poetry journal on the planet —Peck & Peck — he finds 39 editors who, like Batter, believe poetry not only represents the power of humanity, but holds the key to its survival. Big-hearted, witty, and laugh-out-loud funny, Peck & Peck is an ode to creativity and originality from an author who writes with a “unique comic sensibility” (Kirkus) and “creates a world where poetry is beloved, families are complicated and a dog (once again) saves the day. Fans will be delighted at this creative, enjoyable world.” (Woman’s World). As Batter searches for a career with meaning, connection and love after losing his twin brother at birth, and to finally understand himself and his parents (who named Batter after their late, mythically heroic dog), readers will be completely captivated by the legendary Peck & Peck and the entertaining cast of characters that Bonnie has lovingly created.

Bonnie Garmus is a coffee-dependent American novelist. Her debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry, was a Good Morning America Book Club Pick, a Goodreads Choice Best Book of the Year, spent nearly two years on the New York Times bestseller list and was named by Times readers as one of the top 100 books of the 21st century. Translated into over forty languages, Lessons in Chemistry was honored with sixteen international literary awards and made into an Apple TV limited series. Peck & Peck is her second novel. Garmus is the recipient of the 2027 Humanities Distinguished Undergraduate Alumni Award at UC Santa Cruz.