TWU Jamison Lecture to feature award-winning author Cristina Henríquez
March 21, 2023 — DENTON — Award-winning author Cristina Henríquez will share real-life stories of immigrant challenges that inspired her novel, The Book of Unknown Americans, during the 8th annual Jamison Lecture at Texas Woman’s on Thursday, April 13.
The free lecture will be at 7 p.m. at the Phyllis J. Bridges Auditorium inside Hubbard Hall on the Denton campus. The event will be livestreamed, and a question-and-answer session will follow the lecture. A limited number of copies of the book will be available for those attending the event in person. Registration is required.
Henríquez’s novel chronicles the immigrant struggles of two Latinos from Mexico and Central America who settled in Delaware and encountered a series of challenges common to poor immigrants. The novel was a New York Times Notable Book of 2014 and one of Amazon’s Top 10 Books of the Year.
Additionally, it was the Daily Beast Novel of the Year, a Washington Post Notable Book, an NPR Great Read, and was selected one of the best books of the year by BookPage, Oprah.com and School Library Journal. It was also longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.
Henríquez also wrote The World in Half (a novel), and Come Together, Fall Apart: A Novella and Stories, which was a New York Times Editors’ Choice selection. She earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University, is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and currently resides in Chicago.
For aspiring writers, Henríquez will speak to the creative and technical writing process as well as how to develop intriguing and authentic characters.
This is the eighth year of the Jamison Lecture, which has drawn an array of individuals with compelling insights who help foster positive dialogue for the enrichment of the Texas Woman’s community.
“Alonzo and Elisabeth Jamison set up the endowment for the Jamison Lecture to bring nationally and internationally known speakers to campus to address issues of critical social and political importance for Texas Woman’s and the wider local community,” said Jonathan Olsen, professor and chair of the TWU Department of Social Sciences and Historical Studies.
About the Jamison Lecture
In 2014, the Jamison estate donated $1.7 million to TWU to fund the Jamison Lecture and other university needs. The Jamisons were longtime supporters of the university and members of TWU’s Old Main Society. Alonzo Jamison served seven terms in the Texas Legislature before joining the TWU faculty in 1968. During his tenure, he became chair of the TWU Department of History and Government before retiring in 1984. He passed away in 2011. His wife, Elisabeth Jamison, received a bachelor’s degree in music from the Texas State College for Women, now TWU, in 1943. She died in 2009.
About the Nancy P. and Thaddeus E. Paup Lecture Series
The Nancy P. and Thaddeus E. Paup Lecture Series, sponsored by the Jane Nelson Institute for Women’s Leadership, was launched in September 2019 to highlight speakers who are bold, innovative and renowned experts in their fields. The Paups, who reside in Fort Worth, are longtime supporters of TWU. Nancy Paup manages and directs business, real estate and ranching interests in Texas. She previously served on the TWU Board of Regents and was elected vice-chair during her tenure. She is an elected member of The Philosophical Society of Texas. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Humanities Texas, the state affiliate for the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Executive Advisory Committee of The Handbook of Texas Women, and the Board of Directors for the Center for the Advancement and Study of Early Texas Art. Nancy Paup has raised funds throughout Texas for the arts, higher education and historical preservation. Her academic degrees include master’s and bachelor’s degrees from TWU. Ted Paup is the president of Paup Mineral Management, L.L.C.
Media Contact
Matt Flores
Assistant Vice President, University Communications
940-898-3456
mattflores@twu.edu
Page last updated 9:24 AM, March 31, 2023