The Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Studies department welcomes NYT bestselling author, Madeline Miller, for a conversation about myth, magic, and modernity on January 11, 2023.
Join us for the interactive zoom event with Miller on January 11th, from 5-6pm, at the Norm Theatre/Normand Bouchard Memorial Theatre – in the UBC Life Building (6138 Student Union Blvd.).
We’ll be asking Madeline some of the most popular questions from this Reddit AMA thread, so please post and upvote comments that you’d like us to share. The UBC Bookstore will also be raffling off some free Madeline Miller books to students who post questions!
Stick around and join us for popcorn and a showing of Disney’s Hercules after the Q&A session!
Galatea: A Short Story
In ancient Greece, a skilled marble sculptor has been blessed by a goddess who has given his masterpiece—the most beautiful woman the town has ever seen—the gift of life. After marrying her, he expects Galatea to please him, to be obedience and humility personified. But she has desires of her own and yearns for independence.
In a desperate bid by her obsessive husband to keep her under control, Galatea is locked away under the constant supervision of doctors and nurses. But with a daughter to rescue, she is determined to break free, whatever the cost . . .
Pick up Galatea at the UBC Bookstore.
Song of Achilles
The Song of Achilles, Miller’s first novel, was awarded the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction and was a New York Times Bestseller. Miller was also shortlisted for the 2012 Stonewall Writer of the Year.
Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.
Find a copy of The Song of Achilles at the UBC Bookstore.
Circe
Miller’s second novel, Circe, was an instant number 1 New York Times bestseller, and won the Indies Choice Best Adult Fiction of the Year Award and the Indies Choice Best Audiobook of the Year Award, as well as being shortlisted for the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction. Circe also won The Red Tentacle Award, an American Library Association Alex Award (adult books of special interest to teen readers), and the 2018 Elle Big Book Award. It is currently being adapted for a series with HBO Max.
With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man’s world.
Purchase your own copy of Circe through the UBC Bookstore.
Madeline Miller grew up in New York City and Philadelphia. She attended Brown University, where she earned her BA and MA in Classics. She has taught and tutored Latin, Greek, and Shakespeare to high school students for over fifteen years.
Miller’s novels have been translated into over twenty-five languages including Dutch, Mandarin, Japanese, Turkish, Arabic and Greek, and her essays have appeared in a number of publications including the Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Telegraph, Lapham’s Quarterly and NPR.org. She currently lives outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.