Join the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition for special book reads and discussions with James Han Mattson about his first novel, “The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves.”
“The Lost Prayers of Ricky Graves,” tells the story of a gay teen who snaps, shooting two of his classmates before killing himself.
The book garnered positive critical praise from outlets such as the Los Angeles Review of Books, the New York Post, Lambda Literary, and NPR, and was an Amazon bestseller and Best Book of the Month. Mattson, a graduate of the renowned Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a Michener-Copernicus Award winner, has taught writing at the University of Iowa, the University of Cape Town, the University of Maryland, the George Washington University, and the University of California Berkeley.
Mattson is currently an assistant professor of English and Creative Writing at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky.
Mattson was born in Seoul, Korea and raised in Grand Forks.
This event was funded in part by Humanities North Dakota, a nonprofit, independent state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the program do not necessarily reflect those of Humanities North Dakota or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Two readings have been scheduled: In Fargo at Zandbroz Variety on Wednesday, July 10 at 5:30 p.m. and in Grand Forks at Archives Coffee House on Thursday, July 11 at 5:30 p.m.