For immediate release

Lake Forest Library
360 E Deerpath Rd
Lake Forest IL 60045
847.234.0636
www.lakeforestlibrary.org

Contact

Joy Schmoll
Head of Communications
847.810.4622
jschmoll@lakeforestlibrary.org

September 9 2021 – LAKE FOREST Ill – Bestselling author Jamie Ford will pay a virtual visit to Lake Forest on October 7, 2021, to discuss his novel—and this year's featured Lake Forest Reads title—"Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet." For details and to register for events, visit www.LFReads.org.

Since 2012, Lake Forest Reads has encouraged Lake Foresters to come together and read one book with the purpose of fostering literacy, a culture of reading, and a sense of community. Lake Forest Library and community partners present a month-long series of events and activities focused on themes in the novel and culminating in a Meet the Author event. The Library invites everyone to deepen their experience with the book by attending events and hosting their own book discussions.

Book-related programs this year include:

• a writing contest with the winner receiving a personalized, signed copy of "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet," a $50 gift card to Lake Forest Book Store, and an invitation to a special event at Ragdale,
• a hands-on origami class,
• a lecture by art historian Deb Levie about wartime art,
• a presentation by producer and Lake Forest resident Diana Quon,
• a recounting of family history by third-generation Japanese-American storyteller Anne Shimojima,
• a look back at the 1941 Lake Forest College commencement speech given by Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Dr. Hu Shih,
• a book discussion of “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet” led by Judy Levin,
• and the main event, An Evening with Author Jamie Ford, in conversation with Davis Schneiderman, Dean of Faculty at Lake Forest College.

About the Book

In the opening pages of Jamie Ford’s stunning debut novel, "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet," Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel, once the gateway to Seattle's Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades, but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II.

Set during one of the most conflicted and volatile times in American history, "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" is an extraordinary story of commitment and enduring hope. Jamie Ford has created unforgettable characters whose story teaches us of the power of forgiveness and the human heart.

About the Author

Jamie Ford is a Northwest author most widely known for his bestselling Seattle-based novels. Jamie is the great-grandson of Nevada mining pioneer, Min Chung, who emigrated from Kaiping, China, to San Francisco in 1865, where he adopted the western name "Ford," thus confusing countless generations. Having grown up near Seattle’s Chinatown, Jamie now lives in Montana where he'’ on a never-ending search for decent dim sum. When not writing or daydreaming, he can be found tweeting @jamieford and on Instagram @jamiefordofficial.

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