April 1, 2008

Greg Mortenson will be the guest of Kentucky Author Forum at a SOLD OUT interview with Jacki Lyden of National Public Radio on April 1, 2008, at the Kentucky Center. His Three Cups of Tea is both a riveting adventure story and a testament to the power of one man's mission to promote peace through education in the forbidding terrain that gave birth to the Taliban.

In 1993, Mortenson failed in his attempt to reach the summit of Pakistan's K2, the world's second highest mountain, in the Karakoram range. While recovering in a local village called Korphe, he met a group of children sitting in the dirt writing with sticks in the sand, and made a promise to help them build a school. From that rash promise, grew a remarkable humanitarian campaign, in which Mortenson has dedicated his life to promote education and literacy, especially for girls, in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Currently, Mortenson has established over 64 schools in rural and often volatile regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, with another dozen expected to be completed by fall 2008. These schools serve over 26,000 children, including 15,000 girls, for whom few education opportunities existed before.

Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea has won numerous awards, including TIME Magazine's "Asia Book of the Year". It continues to hold a place high on The New York Times "Best Seller List", where it has appeared for nearly 60 weeks. Three Cups of Tea was reviewed on The Courier-Journal's "Book Page" on March 1, 2008.

Jacki Lyden Photo by Will O'Leary © 2007.

Mortenson will be interviewed at the evening forum by Jacki Lyden, NPR Biography Senior Correspondent and alternate host. She has served as an alternate host for NPR's news programs since 1986, including All Things Considered in both its daily and weekend broadcasts, where she is currently featured monthly as a substitute host.

The Kentucky Author Forum is pleased to announce that through the generosity of Greg Mortenson and his Central Asia Institute, we have been able to distribute 1000 copies of Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea throughout our community. This distribution effort is a partnership between Kentucky Author Forum and Carmichael's Bookstore, and allowed for free distribution of this inspiring book to schools, libraries, hospitals, and community centers.

Event & Ticket Information

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Visit with University of Louisville Students: An interview and Q & A session with Greg Mortenson will be held at 11 a.m., Tuesday, April 1, at the Chao Auditorium, Ekstrom Library, on Belknap Campus. He will be interviewed by Julie Peteet, chair of the Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences. The campus visit is open to students, faculty and staff.

THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT

5:00 PM - Wine and Cheese offered by Brown-Forman, along with Carmichael’s book sale in the lobby of The Kentucky Center

6:00 PM - Interview with Greg Mortenson and Jacki Lyden, Bomhard Theatre, set and design by Bittners (Designing the Way You LIve)

Live taping with KET: The Kentucky Network and WFPL: Louisville’s NPR News Station

Master of Ceremonies: Courier-Journal Forum Editor, Keith Runyon

7:00 PM - Q&A with audience

A $17 ticket includes the above three events. A limited number of discounted tickets of $5 each are available for UofL students, faculty and staff at The Kentucky Center box office (UofL photo required).

8:15 PM - Ticketed Dinner with Greg Mortenson and Jacki Lyden

Note to TV stations and print media: Access to a live Kentucky Author Forum TV feed during the evening interview is always available through KET, by contactin g Duncan Hart at 859-258-7296.

Greg Mortenson's Kentucky Author Forum interview will be taped and aired, like all Author Forums, on KET, under the title "A Conversation with Greg Mortenson." Watch KET listings for dates and times.

The University of Louisville Kentucky Author Forum is also distributed for optional airing by PBS stations nationwide, under the title “A Conversation With....”

Tapes of past Kentucky Author Forums interviews are available through KET by calling 800-945-9167.

KET also offers streaming video of a selection of past Kentucky Author Forum interviews at http://www.ket.org/arts/authorforum.htm

Many Forum guests are also interviewed on WFPL’s State of Affairs®. To listen to an archived interview go to www.wfpl.org/cms/?page_id=20.

The taped interview will also air, free of charge, at the following Louisville Free Public Library branches:

Southwest - May 14 at 7:00 PM

Crescent Hill - May 28 at 7:00 PM

For more information on Greg Mortenson and this extraordinary effort which he has created and nurtured, visit www.threecupsoftea.com.

Questions about this book distribution or the Kentucky Author Forum interview may be directed to the Author Forum office at 502-589-2884 or kyforum@aol.com.

The Kentucky Author Forum series is produced by Mary Moss Greenebaum, with associate producer Melissa Bernstrom, and is sponsored by the University of Louisville in partnership with Brown-Forman and The Humana Foundation. Additional donors include Bittners, Carmichael's Bookstore, The Courier-Journal, KET, Office Furniture USA, WFPL, and The Kentucky Center.

Questions should be directed to the Kentucky Author Forum office at 502-589-2884.

624 West Main, Second Floor
Louisville, Kentucky 40202
Phone 502.589.2884
Fax 502.589.4334
email KYFORUM@aol.com