N. K. Jemisin, a 2020 MacArthur Fellow and one of the most acclaimed writers of speculative fiction and fantasy of the 21^st century, will deliver the 2026 Troy Lecture, Tuesday, March 31 at 4:30 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom.

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Hosted by the Department of English, the event is free and open to the public, though tickets – which are available through the UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center – are required for entry.

Since beginning her professional career in the early 2000s, Jemisin’s short fiction and novels have been recognized with multiple Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards. Most of her works have been optioned for television or film and collectively her novels, including the “Broken Earth” trilogy, have sold over 2 million copies. After 20 years working in higher education as an applied counseling psychologist, she retired in 2016 to become a full-time writer, writing instructor and public speaker. Her speculative works range widely in theme, though with repeated motifs including resistance and oppression, loneliness and belonging, and “wouldn’t it be cool if this one ridiculous thing happened.”

Established in 1983, the Troy Lectures on the Humanities and Public Life are presented in honor of the late Frederick S. Troy, emeritus professor of English, honorary professor of the university and former trustee. They were. Past speakers include Margaret Atwood, Judith Butler, J.M. Coetzee, Nadine Gordimer, Seamus Heaney, Orhan Pamuk, Salman Rushdie, Wole Soyinka and Colson Whitehead.

For more information about the event, contact Loni Edwards, assistant to the chair of the Department of English, at [email protected] or 413-545-6568.