July 28, 2010

PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING JOURNALIST THOMAS FRENCH TO BE FEATURED FOUR SEASONS SPEAKER

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Thomas French will be the featured speaker for the next Four Seasons Author Series luncheon at the University Club, 38th Floor, One Tampa City Center in downtown Tampa on Friday, September 3rd at noon.

Thomas French uncovers the rise and fall of a zoo - and the sprawling stories of the animals and humans inside - in Zoo Story: Life in the Garden of Captives. Zoo Story is the rare nonfiction book that follows life and death inside a single zoo with vivid details, a strong narrative arc, and a gripping climax. The characters, both human and animal, are unforgettable and the story is riveting. French spent six years researching and reporting intensively at the zoo, following the keepers and getting to know the animals. He also traveled to Swaziland and South Africa for background reporting on the elephants and their importation, and followed the zoo staff as they traveled on special assignment, to the tropical forests of Panama, the African Savanna, and New York City for an appearance on Conan O'Brien's show.

Thomas French has been a journalist for three decades. For most of that time, he worked as a reporter at the St. Petersburg Times, where he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. He has written two previous non-fiction books and currently teaches at Goucher College, the Poynter Institute, and Indiana University's journalism school. He lives in Tampa with his family.

The Four Seasons Author Series is presented by the Friends of the Library of Tampa-Hillsborough County, Inc. The subscription series offers an annual quartet of literary lunches at which guest authors are invited to speak on a variety of subjects.

A non-subscriber one-time luncheon ticket is $30 and a subscription for four consecutive luncheons is $100. To reserve your seat for the luncheon, call the Friends office at (813) 273-3616 by Monday, August 30th.