Arts and Entertainment

Acclaimed author, Penn State alumna Jillian Cantor to read at Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Acclaimed author and Penn State alumna Jillian Cantor will give a free public reading of her work as part of the Mary E. Rolling Reading Series at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 3, in Paterno Library’s Foster Auditorium.

Cantor is a 2000 graduate in English and the author of seven novels for teens and adults; her most recent book, the critically acclaimed novel “The Lost Letter” (2017), will be released in paperback in June 2018. Her work has been nominated for the Rhode Island Teen Book Award and the Grand Canyon Reader Award, has received a Starred Review in the Library Journal, and has been selected by Amazon as a Best Book of the Month.

Of “The Hours Count” (2015), a work of historical fiction depicting the lives of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, critics for Cosmopolitan wrote, “Cantor mixes fact with fiction to create a moving portrait of the two most vilified figures in modern history.” The Historical Novel Society added that “Cantor transports the reader into that time and place through vivid details, true human interactions, some poetic lines, and an author’s voice that fits … these aspects reflect Cantor’s deep research into the Rosenbergs and the likely grave injustice of their incarceration, trial, and sentencing.”

Born and raised in the greater Philadelphia area, received her master of fine arts from Arizona State University after graduating from Penn State. She currently resides in Arizona with her husband and children.

Cantor’s reading is the latest offering from the Mary E. Rolling Reading Series, a program within Penn State’s Creative Writing Program in English that receives generous support from Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts; the Department of English; the Joseph L. Grucci Poetry Endowment; the Mary E. Rolling Lectureship in Creative Writing; and, University Libraries. Additional information on the series is available at creativewriting.psu.edu.

Last Updated April 9, 2018

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