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 At a time when immigrants are perceived as a threat to society, particularly from the Arab world, a space for them to deliver their own story is desperately needed. Join Deepak Unnikrishnan, author of the critically acclaimed novel Temporary People, about guest workers in the United Arab Emirate’s capital Abu Dhabi, in conversation with Ilan Stavans, internationally renowned cultural critic and publisher of Restless Books, as well as Lewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College. Temporary People (Restless Books) is the winner of Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing. The dialogue, followed by a Q&A, will explore the role that the literature of immigration in the United States plays in our conception of pluralism and tolerance.

Deepak Unnikrishnan is a writer from Abu Dhabi and a resident of the States, who has lived in Teaneck, New Jersey, Brooklyn, New York and Chicago, Illinois. He has studied and taught at the Art Institute of Chicago and presently teaches at New York University Abu Dhabi. Temporary People, his first book, was the inaugural winner of the Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing.

Ilan Stavans is the publisher of Restless Books and Lewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College. His books include, most recently, Reclaiming Travel (Duke, co-written with Joshua Ellison) and Quixote: The Novel and the World (Norton).

The American Writers Museum's mission is to engage the public in celebrating American writers and exploring their influence on our history, our identity, our culture, and our daily lives.

Where: American Writers Museum, 180 N. Michigan Avenue, Second Floor, Chicago, IL 60601

When: July 22, 2017 at 2:00 pm