New York Times bestselling author Garrison Keillor gives talk May 6

North Central College welcomes “A Prairie Home Companion” radio host and New York Times bestselling author Garrison Keillor in an author talk and signing of his new book, “The Keillor Reader,” on Tuesday, May 6.

Keillor will begin his talk at 7 p.m. in North Central’s Meiley-Swallow Hall, 31 S. Ellsworth St. Tickets are required and available with the purchase of “The Keillor Reader” at Anderson’s Bookshops, 123 W. Jefferson Ave., Naperville. For more information call Anderson’s at 630-355-2665 or visit andersonsbookshop.com. North Central students, faculty and staff may pick up tickets by visiting the box office.

For the first time, Keillor’s stories, essays, poems and personal reminiscences have been brought together in a single volume that celebrates and demonstrates the incredible range of his extraordinary talent. From monologues for “A Prairie Home Companion” to stories from The New Yorker and The Atlantic, from novel excerpts to bawdy poetry and newspaper columns, “The Keillor Reader” presents the many sides of this iconic artist. With an extensive introduction and headnotes, photographs and memorabilia, “The Keillor Reader” also presents pieces never before published.

A Minnesota native, Keillor began his radio career as a freshman at the University of Minnesota. He went to work for Minnesota Public Radio soon after graduating and hosted the first broadcast of “A Prairie Home Companion” in St. Paul on July 6, 1974. Today, 4 million listeners tune in to one of more than 600 public radio stations nationwide to listen to his show, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

Keillor has been honored with Grammy, ACE and George Foster Peabody awards, the National Humanities Medal, and election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1994, he was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. His many bestselling and highly acclaimed books include “Lake Wobegon Days,” “The Book of Guys,” “Lake Wobegon Summer 1956” and “Guy Noir and the Straight Skinny.” Keillor is the host of the daily program “The Writer’s Almanac” and is editor of several anthologies of poetry.

In 2007, he opened Common Good Books, an independent bookstore in St. Paul where he and his family make their home.

North Central College and Anderson’s Bookshops have cosponsored many author talks on campus. Previous authors have included Caroline Kennedy, Bill Bryson, Madeleine Albright, Tyra Banks, Jodi Picoult, Molly Shannon, Regis Philbin and many more.