When she was writing Push, author Sapphire probably had no idea that the Academy Award-winning screenplay “Precious” would be based on it and that a Best Supporting Actress role would result from the screenplay. Her new novel, The Kid, takes up where Push left off, following the orphaned son of the abused lead character Precious…and director Ridley Scott has optioned the film rights to it.
To celebrate publication of The Kid, KCRW’s Bookworm Michael Silverblatt engages Sapphire in a live conversation and reading in an intimate salon setting in West Hollywood, on Sunday, July 24 at 5pm. Seating is extremely limited…but extremely comfortable! Tickets on sale online only at www.kcrw.com/upclose
This special event is part of KCRW’s UpClose series. UpClose reinvents the art of cultural conversation with a series of intimate staged gatherings, featuring KCRW program hosts one-on-one with a variety of special guests from across the cultural landscape. These evenings are recorded as exclusive online content for KCRW.com. Previous evenings have featured Elvis Mitchell (host of The Treatment) in conversation with indie film actress Catherine Keener, television visionary Matthew Weiner (Mad Men), and filmmaker/TV producer Alan Ball (American Beauty; Six Feet Under).
Of the author, host Michael Silverblatt says, “While Sapphire is often known as a taboo breaker and a provocateur, we want to consider her as an artist—not only an African American ground-breaking original, but also a major contributor to the future of the American novel.”
Sapphire is the author of two collections of poetry and the best-selling novel Push. The film adaption of her novel, Precious, received the Academy Award for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress, in addition to the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Awards in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at Sundance. In 2009 she was a recipient of a United States Artist Fellowship.
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