About the Series

The Contemporary American Authors Lecture Series is in its twenty-fifth year.

This series at Marygrove College is an annual event bringing a nationally-known author to our campus for a public lecture and seminar with students.

Marygrove College celebrates the twenty-fifth anniversary of its Contemporary American Authors Lecture Series at 8 p.m. on April 19, 2013. National Book Award winning author Terrance Hayes will deliver the Lillian and Don Bauder Lecture in Alumnae Hall on the Marygrove College campus. Afterward, he will sign copies of his works.

25^th Anniversary

In commemoration of the 25^th anniversary of the series, the Marygrove College Art Department is sponsoring a traveling exhibit of Michigan artists’ works inspired by the writers who have visited Marygrove over the past quarter century. The first stop is the Beyond Words Gallery in the Marygrove library.

Opening reception: 6 p.m., Thursday, March 28, 2013.

Terrance Hayes, 2013It began when the late Frederick P. Currier, a former Marygrove College trustee, attended a reception on campus and remarked that he would like to bring a national writer to Marygrove for a weekend. Mr. Currier’s start-up check soon followed his suggestion, and in 1989 nearly 600 guests of the College heard Gloria Naylor inaugurate the series.

Since then, through the generous support of corporate donors, foundations, advertisers, friends, alumni, the Marygrove College Board of Trustees, and particularly S. Martin Taylor of DTE Energy, Dr. Lillian Bauder of MASCO Corporation, and the Lillian and Donald Bauder Endowment, we have been able to keep the Series free and accessible to the entire metropolitan Detroit community. To date, nearly 8,000 people have joined us at the Friday night public reading to hear outstanding writers share their work. The Friday evening reading/lecture is followed by a reception and book signing.

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In addition to Terrance Hayes, participants have heard the following critically acclaimed and prize-winning writers:

View all of the author profles here.

Over the life of the Series, hundreds of Marygrove students have completed courses in the visiting authors’ works, and nearly 100 Marygrove students have won Frederick P.Currier, Amy S. McCombs Writing Awards, a writing competition held in conjunction with the Series.