“This book completely changed my life.”—Emily St. John Mandel
In September 2014, Emily St. John Mandel published Station Eleven, a literary speculative fiction novel that was her fourth book—after three previous Indie Next successes—and the book that, as Mandel recently told Slate magazine, “completely changed my life.”
A lot has unfolded in the decade since Mandel released Station Eleven—including global events that made its themes feel uncannily prophetic. Station Eleven has sold over a million copies, was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award, and was recently ranked among the best books of the century by New York Times readers. In 2021, Patrick Somerville’s imaginative HBO adaptation earned multiple Emmy nominations and won the admiration of critics and audiences alike.
And after signing with the Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau (PRHSB) in 2014, the interest in Mandel’s work quickly extended far beyond the page. From 35 US states to Brazil and Australia, she has spoken at universities, colleges, libraries, high schools, literary festivals, and corporations delving into the themes of her books and the intersections of art, memory, and survival in times of upheaval. In her ten years on the stages of global venues, Mandel has spoken to over 35,000 people.
Interest in Emily St. John Mandel and her work was immediate. Already in 2014 Mandel was telling a timeless story for an ever-changing world, and her authenticity and the care with which she asks deeply human questions resonated with audiences from day one.
Among the highlights from Mandel’s 10 years on the road with Station Eleven and her subsequent works The Glass Hotel (2020) and Sea of Tranquility (2022) are some truly impactful events:
Great Michigan Read 2015
In 2015, the Michigan Humanities Council chose Station Eleven as their “Great Michigan Read” book. Launched in 2007, Great Michigan Read is “intended for young adults to senior citizens with broad goals of making literature more accessible and appealing while also encouraging residents to learn more about our state and individual identities.” Station Eleven was read by hundreds of community members and got libraries, schools, book clubs, and non-profits involved.
The reader’s guide put together by the organizers bears testament to the passion and dedication that communities put into these programs:
Great Michigan Read Reader’s Guide 2015
Unbound Book Festival
The Unbound Book Festival brings authors from near and far to Columbia, Missouri to talk about their books, their work, and their lives. In April 2024 Emily St. John Mandel headlined the festival with a fireside chat in front of 1,000 community members, met with University of Missouri Honors College students, and signed books. The event organizers and audience were full of praise for Mandel:
“Emily’s reading and subsequent conversation with Sequoia Nagamatsu was wonderful, and very enthusiastically received. Many comments both overheard and posted online said that this was the best Unbound keynote they had ever attended. I was especially grateful that Emily was so patient and gracious with the many, many people who wanted their book signed after the event, and that after that very long line finally ended, she happily signed several hundred more books for Skylark Bookshop. She was an absolute delight to welcome to Unbound and we are so grateful to her.”
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul
And how did Station Eleven bring Emily St. John Mandel to Brazil? In 2021 Mandel was invited to speak to 3,000 psychiatrists, neurologists, and clinical psychologists at a conference on the brain, behavior, and emotions. In a virtual in-conversation session, she spoke about the ideas that inspired the novel and how it feels to talk about a book that deals with a global pandemic during the COVID-19 crisis. The event organizers lauded the session as a “huge success” underlining the broad and global appeal of Mandel’s work.
NEA Big Read
Immediately following its publication, Station Eleven was selected for the NEA Big Reads library. The NEA Big Read is a program by the National Endowment for the Arts that seeks to inspire meaningful conversations, foster community engagement, and promote the joy of shared reading. It provides grants to libraries, schools, and nonprofit organizations to host events centered around a selected book from the NEA Big Read library.
One such event was the NEA Big Read at the University of Central Florida in 2019. UCF’s programming included an exhibition by the school’s Advanced Painting students who visually responded to Station Eleven with compositions, paintings and wood cutouts that featured life-size characters, theatrical scenes and themes from the novel.
Emily St. John Mandel during an event at an NEA Big Read event at the University of Central Florida in 2019 (Photo credit: Nick Leyva)
As we celebrate this publishing milestone, we honor not only the novel’s enduring legacy but also Mandel’s commitment to engaging in conversation with audiences across the globe through her powerful speaking events.