King: A Life

Join us for a special celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with Jonathan Eig, recently named a 2023 Chicagoan of the Year in the Arts by the Chicago Tribune and author of the 2023 bestselling biography, KING: A Life.

King: A Life has reached critical acclaim! It has been named a National Book Award Nominee, Amazon's Best Biography of 2023, New York Times Bestseller, Barack Obama Favorite Read of 2023, and is said to be “the definitive" account of King’s life by the New York Times. A limited number of books will be available for a suggested donation of $20 to the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago. Plus, a bonus author book-signing will take place after the discussion!

Eig will join a panel including Nonviolence Chicago staff members to broaden and deepen our understanding of and commitment to Dr. King’s principles of nonviolence. We will also discuss how his philosophy guides Nonviolence Chicago's community violence interventions. 

As our annual act of service in Dr. King's honor, we will assemble toiletry bags to be donated to members of the Austin community. *Please bring toiletries of any size to contribute to the toiletry bags* and stay to help us assemble them for distribution. We need new and unused soap, toothbrushes & toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant, feminine hygiene products, etc.

AGENDA

• 9:30 a.m. Coffee, mingle, toiletry drop off
• 10:00 a.m. Welcome address by Teny Gross, Executive Director, Institute for Nonviolence Chicago; and Connector Exercise led by Orion Meadows, Nonviolence Trainer, Institute for Nonviolence Chicago
• 10:30 a.m. Panel / Book Discussion with Jonathan Eig
• 11:15 a.m. Audience Q&A 
• 11:30 a.m. Author book-signing, Act of Service, & Tours of our new Austin office space located on the 3rd floor 

*Lunch provided.*

Please RSVP.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jonathan Eig 

Jonathan Eig is the bestselling author of six books, including his most recent, King: A Life, which The New York Times hailed as the "definitive" biography of Martin Luther King Jr. King: A Life was nominated for the National Book Award.

Jonathan's previous book, Ali: A Life, won a 2018 PEN America Literary Award. His works have been translated into more than a dozen languages.

He served as consulting producer for the PBS series "Muhammad Ali," which was directed by Ken Burns. Esquire magazine named Ali: A Life one of the 25 greatest biographies of all time.

Jonathan's first book, Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig, reached No. 10 on the New York Times bestseller list and won the Casey Award. His books have been listed among the best of the year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.

His fourth book, The Birth of the Pill, will be staged soon as a theatrical production by TimeLine Theatre in Chicago.

Jonathan began his writing career at age 16, working for his hometown newspaper, The Rockland County (N.Y.) Journal News, studied journalism at Northwestern University, and went on to work as a reporter for The New Orleans Times-Picayune, The Dallas Morning News, Chicago Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal.

He's appeared on the Today Show, NPR's Fresh Air, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. But his greatest claim to fame, according to his parents, is that his name once appeared in a Jeopardy question (which was solved correctly for $200).

He lives in Chicago with his wife and children and shares office space with the laundry machines.