Thanks to the Distinguished Speakers Fund, endowed by a generous alumna and her husband, Hollins will welcome best-selling author Ann Patchett and political analyst Cokie Roberts to campus this academic year.

Patchett, the author of New York Times bestsellers State of Wonder and Bel Canto, will speak on September 11. State of Wonder is this year’s common reading for first-year students.

Roberts, NPR senior news analyst and political commentator for ABC News, will speak on January 29. Both lectures are free and open to the public.

The endowment was established in 2001 to provide substantial funding to bring at least one major speaker to campus each year. For more information on the 2012-13 speakers, visit www.hollins.edu.

Ann Patchett photo by Melissa Ann Pinney