Linfield University’s Learning Across Boundaries (LAB) program and the McMinnville Public Library welcome Omar El Akkad on Wednesday, April 8. The famed author will participate in a discussion and book signing 6 –to 7:30 p.m. at Nicholson Library.
El Akkad won the 2025 National Book Award for his nonfiction book, “One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This.” The title examines American and European responses to the devastation in Gaza.
Linfield’s Reshmi Dutt-Ballerstadt, professor of English and director of critical ethnic studies, and Rachel Norman, chair and associate professor of English, will join El Akkad for a conversation exploring themes including media, power and moral responsibility.
El Akkad is an author and journalist. He has won the Pacific Northwest Booksellers’ Award and the Oregon Book Award twice. The BBC named his debut novel, “American War,” one of 100 novels that shaped our world.
“At this current moment in our cultural and political history, when so many citizens and non-citizens in this country and globally are so afraid to speak up against various state-imposed violence and prosecutions, we must have conversations in our public and private spaces about what it means to be human and have empathy for others before it is too late,” Dutt-Ballerstadt said.
The event is free and open to the public. No registration needed. A book signing will follow the discussion.
