Great Books Summer at Amherst and Stanford College Campus

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Home / Programs / Guest Speakers

Guest Speakers

Throughout the summer, Great Books Summer Program welcomes special guests, authors and educators to campus to join our discussion. This series is a major feature of the program and brings fascinating and sometimes well-known visitors to engage with our young people. We are putting together our line-up for summer 2012, so check back often for new additions.

2012 Invited Guests:

Sharon Robinson Sharon Robinson Author, educator, and Vice Chairman of The Jackie Robinson Foundation

John Rocco John Rocco Award-winning author and illustrator

Kathleen O'Connell Kathleen O'Connell Award-winning journalist and Senior Producer Development for CBS News

Zachary Tumin Zachary Tumin Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, author

Maile Meloy Maile Meloy Award-winning author

Torrey Maldonado Torrey Maldonado Author and educator


Jan Constantine Jan F. Constantine  General Counsel of the Author’s Guild 


Marc Laurence  Marc Lawrence Filmmaker

Suzzy Roche





Suzzy Roche Recording Artist and co-founder of the singing group The Roches, author


2011 Guest Speakers included:

Dennis Lehane
Award-winning, best-selling author

Garrison Keillor
Author, storyteller, humorist and creator of A Prairie Home Companion

Chris Columbus
Filmmaker – Screenwriter/Producer/Director

Dr. Joseph J. Ellis
Pulitzer Prize-winning author

Anita Diamant
Best-selling, award-winning author

Timothy Ferris
Award-winning science writer, documentary filmmaker, journalist

Da Chen
Award-winning, best-selling author

Alan Zweibel
Playwright, author and Emmy Award-winning writer

Peter Straub
Award-winning author

Susan Straub
Founder of READ TO ME Program

Jacob Lewis
Co-founder of Figment.com, a mobile publishing site for young adult readers

Barry Eisler
Best-selling, award-winning author

Cammie McGovern
Award-winning author

Laura Dave 
Award-winning author

Robin Hessman 
Award-winning documentary filmmaker

Aaron Lansky 
Author and Founder and President of the National Yiddish Book Center

Guest Speakers from Previous Summers included:

Doris Kearns Goodwin 
Pulitzer Prize-winning author, biographer, historian and political commentator

Dr. Debby Applegate
Pulitzer Prize-winning author 

Dr. Richard Reeves 
Award-winning author, journalist and documentary filmmaker, syndicated columnist and Senior Lecturer at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California

Janis Cooke Newman
Award-winning author

Laura Shaine Cunningham
Memoirist, novelist, playwright and journalist

Kurt Andersen 
Writer, editor and Co-creator of Studio 360 radio show

Laurence Yep
Best-selling, award-winning author

Larry Beinhart
Screenwriter and award-winning author

Howard Greene and Dr. Matthew Greene
President and Educational Director (respectively) of the nation's leading independent educational consulting company.

Martin Espada
Editor, essayist, translator and award-winning poet

Amity Gaige 
Award-winning author 

 


"I am deeply impressed by many aspects of this program, including the warmth and professionalism of the staff, the rigor and creativity of the curriculum, and the physical beauty of its setting. But what impresses me most, are the students themselves."

Dr. Debby Applegate, Pulitzer Prize-winning author

"Every summer, all I have to do is mosey on down from my hilltop home overlooking Amherst College, and walk into an ongoing conversation about the Big Stuff. It always feels like an intellectual transfusion."

Dr. Joseph J. Ellis, Pulitzer Prize-winning author

"I will mark Amherst as my most memorable event of the year, simply because of the smartest and most generous kids I was surrounded with. I wish they could be my students forever..." "

Da Chen, award-winning, best-selling author

"What a terrific curriculum and an enthusiastic group of young people. Made me want to drop everything and sign up."

Barry Eisler, best-selling author

"The students were such an engaged and smart and interesting group. I really enjoyed talking to them but mostly just appreciated being asked such a varied array of questions. It was a lot of fun."

Jacob Lewis, former managing editor of The New Yorker magazine and co-founder of Figment.com

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