In this conversation that is part of the Hay Festival Cartagena, writers John Ralston Saul, president of PEN International, an international organization that promotes literature and defending freedom of expression, and Francine Prose, former president of PEN American Center, and guest teacher at Gabriel García Márquez Fellowship in cultural journalism, share their views about how creative writing can address the issues of the reality that surrounds us. The meeting will be an informal discussion in which attendees can participate with their questions and opinions. The talk will be in English, with simultaneous translation into Spanish. From www.fnpi.org will direct broadcast video signal. About the authors:: John Ralston Saul (Canadá) John Ralston Saul is a writer and President of PEN International. As an essayist, Saul has been particularly recognized for his thoughts on the nature of individualism, citizenship and public good, the failure of manager-led societies, the confusion between leadership and "managerialism". Saul studied at McGill University in Montreal and King's College in London. After helping create the national oil company, Petro Canada in 1976, he published his first novel Birds of Prey in 1977. At the beginning of the 80s he travelled widely and spent time with guerrilla groups in North Africa and Southeast Asia. His experiences of the lack of free speech drove him to join PEN International. In 2009 he was elected president of this institution, the only North American to hold this position after Arthur Miller. Francine Prose (Estados Unidos) Francine Prose is an American writer and the former president of PEN American Centre. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Her novel 'Blue Angel' was a National Book Award finalist and 'A Changed Man' won the Dayton Literary Book Award. She is also author of the bestseller 'Reading like a writer'. Jonathan Bastian Jonathan Bastian is literary contributor on Aspen Public Radio. He is the creator, producer and host of Page by Page and has interviewed many of the most influential writers from around the world, including Salman Rushdie, Richard Russo, Colum McCann, Bill McKibben, Jennifer Egan, and Jonathan Safran Foer. His commentary has been heard nationally on NPR's All Things Considered. Fiction or non-fiction:Francine Prose y Jonathan Bastian in conversation with John Ralston Saul Date: Friday, January 25
Time: 12:30 to 13:30, local time in Colombia
Place: Santa Clara, Hotel Sofitel Santa Clara, Cartagena, Colombia. To purchase tickets: http://boleteria.gematours.co/eventos.php?id=38