Archived Event: NEA Big Read 2017
View our photo album from this event here.
You’re invited to join program hosts Friends of the Knox County Public Library, the Knox County Public Library, and the University of Tennessee office of First-Year Studies as we explore Station Eleven, the award-winning novel by Emily St. John Mandel, as a community through a series of book discussions, board games, workshops, lectures, and other events.
Download the calendar of events here.
Big Read Events in Knox County
- Wednesday, October 4, noon: Big Read Kick-Off Celebration on Market Square
- Thursdays, October 5 through November 2: Apocalypse Wow: Apocalypse Workshop — ticketed events at The Central Collective
- Wednesday, October 18, noon: What’s Art Got To Do With It? – The Emporium Center
- Monday, October 23, 6 p.m.: Shakespeare in Dystopia – Lawson McGhee Library
- Friday, October 27, 4 p.m.: Help! S.O.S.! Mayday! Panel Discussion & Tour of KEMA Command Center (limited seating – reservations required)
- Friday, November 3, 6 p.m.: First Friday opening reception for The Museum of Lost Civilization – The Central Collective
- Wednesday, November 8, noon: “The Fever That Was Fatal to so Many” with Jack Neely – East Tennessee History Center
- Monday, November 13, 5:30 p.m.: An Evening With Station Eleven Author Emily St. John Mandel – UT Cox Auditorium, Alumni Memorial Building (limited seating; reservations required)
Pandemic! The Board Game in Knox County
- Sunday, October 8, 2 p.m.: The Central Collective
- Tuesday, October 10, 6 p.m.: Carter Branch Library
- Monday, October 16, 6 p.m.: Powell Branch Library
- Tuesday, October 17, 6 p.m.: Howard Pinkston Branch Library
- Thursday, October 19, 5:30 p.m.: Cedar Bluff Branch Library
- Thursday, October 19, 5:30 p.m.: Burlington Branch Library
—Emily St. John Mandel
Station Eleven
Book Discussions in Knox County
Sunday, October 8, 2 p.m.: Lawson McGhee Library- Thursday, October 12, 4 p.m.: Knoxville Area Transit, Knoxville Station
- Thursday, October 12, 6 p.m.: Farragut Branch Library
- Tuesday, October 17, 2 p.m.: Halls Branch Library
- Tuesday, October 17, 7 p.m.: Friends of the Library members only at the home of Maggie Carini
- Thursday, October 19, 6:30 p.m.: Hardin Valley Academy (Open to the community; light refreshments will be served)
- Monday, October 23, 6 p.m.: Sequoyah Branch Library
- Thursday, October 26, 10 a.m.: Bearden Branch Library
- Thursday, November 2, 6 p.m.: L&N STEM Academy (Experience the student-created escape room; open to the community)
- Tuesday, November 7, noon: YWCA with Union Ave Books
- Tuesday, November 7, 6:30 p.m.: Powell Branch Library
The Big Read Contest
How do you create meaning in a world where nothing is left? Is it enough to just survive? Or is there more to living than surviving?
Based on themes in Station Eleven, create an expression — essay, photograph, poster, video, anything! — that describes your interpretation of the phrase “Survival is insufficient.” Then submit your creation online by Monday, November 6. Winners will be announced November 13.
The Big Read in Blount County
- October 1–31: “This Doesn’t End Well:” Dystopian Literature and Why It’s Important — Library Gallery, Blount County Public Library
- Tuesday, October 3, 7 p.m.: Survival!
- Saturday, October 14, 2 p.m.: Pandemic! The Board Game & Pandemic! The Cure
- Thursday, October 19, 7 p.m.: Station Eleven Adult Coloring – Blount County Public Library
- Monday, October 23, 7 p.m.: East Tennessee and the World: TVA’s Global Career – Blount County Public Library
The Big Read in Sevier County
- Monday, October 30, 5 p.m.: Post Apocalypse Party and Book Discussion – King Family Library
About Emily St. John Mandel and Station Eleven
- About Emily St. John Mandel
- About Station Eleven
- NPR’s Scott Simon interviews Emily St. John Mandel
- A conversation with Emily St. John Mandel at the 2016 AWP Conference and Book Fair
- WUOT’s Brandon Hollingsworth talks with Emily St. John Mandel: “Station Eleven” Author Ponders Life With Art, Without Tech
About the NEA Big Read
The NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. Its goal is to broaden our understanding of our world, our communities, and ourselves through the joy of sharing a good book.
Community Partners
Arts & Culture Alliance
Blount County Public Library
Central Collective
Clarence Brown Theatre
Community School of the Arts
East Tennessee Historical Society
Friends of Literacy
Great Schools Partnership
Knoxville-Knox Co. Emergency Management Agency (KEMA)
Knox Area Transit
Knox County Health Department
Knox County Schools
Knoxville Area Urban League
Knoxville History Project
Knoxville Museum of Art
Knoxville News Sentinel
Knoxville Symphony Orchestra
Sevier County Public Library
Tennessee Stage Company
Union Ave Books
YWCA
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