David Guterson, an award-winning Pacific Northwest author, will serve as Writer in Residence at Peninsula College with a series of events and presentations set for May 10-12.

Guterson, best known for his first novel “Snow Falling on Cedars” that won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, is the author of 12 books of fiction, non-fiction and poetry, and lives on Bainbridge Island.

“I’m excited to be writing more poetry grounded in the mountains and river valleys of the Olympic Peninsula and look forward to being in Port Angeles,” Guterson said.

On Thursday, May 12, the college’s Studium Generale program welcomes Guterson in a lecture that also honors a return to the Little Theater on the main PC campus, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd. Audience members are invited to join the presentation live, in person, or via Zoom for “Why Write? The Purpose of Writing and Meaning.”

This 45-minute lecture will be followed by a question-and-answer session, and is free and open to the public. Theater doors open at 12:15 p.m. and the presentation will begin at 12:30 p.m. on Zoom. Masks are optional for campus visitors.

Join the Zoom meeting at pencol-edu.zoom.us/j/88082575506 (meeting ID 880 8257 5506).

Audience members are also invited to watch “Snow Falling on Cedars” from May 9 -12, courtesy of PC’s Magic of Cinema program.

The 1999 film starring Ethan Hawke, James Cromwell, Max von Sydow, Youki Kudoh, and Rick Yune is rated PG-13 and focuses on an American journalist and World War II veteran who takes a special interest in a racially motivated murder trial involving a former lover in the Pacific Northwest.

There are two ways to access the film: Take part in a public screening at 1:35 p.m. Thursday, May 12, in college’s Little Theater. At 3:45 p.m. following the conclusion of the movie, Guterson will speak about the film.

To stream the film independently, contact Helen Lovejoy at hlovejoy@pencol.edu or 360-417-6362 for an access code and link.

These events are free and open to the public and funded in part by National Endowment for the Humanities and American Rescue Plan grants.

About Guterson

Guterson’s newest novel, “The Final Case,” was published in January and is a time capsule that New York Times book reviewer and author Scott Turow described as an artful courtroom thriller that distills family love into “the mystery about how one family’s profound attachments can stand alongside breathtaking cruelty in another.”

His book, “Turn Around Time,” was nominated for a 2020 Washington Book Award. His honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Washington State Governor’s Writers Award, the Swedish Academy Crime Writers’ Award and the American Booksellers Association Book of the Year Award.

He is the co-founder of Field’s End, a writer’s community, and he established the Guterson Award for MFA students in Creative Writing at the University of Washington.

Author of 12 books of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, he lives on Bainbridge Island.

Read more about Guterson at davidguterson.com.

Writer-in-Residence schedule

• Tuesday, May 10

10 a.m. — Writer-in-Residence reception, J-47 of the Pirate Union Building (PUB); light refreshments.

10:20 a.m. — English faculty facilitate a class discussion with Guterson following the reception

1 p.m. — Interview on KONP Radio with Todd Ortloff

• Wednesday, May 11

10 a.m. — Writer-in-Residence book signing in the PUB (made possiblewith community partner Port Book & News)

1:35 p.m. — Guterson to present at the Port Angeles High School library, 304 E. Park Ave., with facilitator Mark Valentine; proof of vaccination required for community attendance.

• Thursday, May 12

12:35 p.m. — Guterson presents “Why Write? The Purpose of Writing and Meaning” at Studium Generale in the PUB

1:35 p.m. — Screening of the film “Snow Falling on Cedars” in the Little Theater, followed by a Q-&-A with Guterson, facilitated by Dr. Helen Lovejoy.