Trust AAE Speakers Bureau for Booking Top Professional Speakers. Find a Keynote Speaker Today.
Trust AAE Speakers Bureau for Booking Top Professional Speakers. Find a Keynote Speaker Today.
John Edgar Wideman

John Edgar Wideman

Keynote Speaker: Award-winning Novelist

  • Speaking Fee:
    Live Event Fee: Contact us for details
    Virtual Event Fee: Contact us for details
    More Fee Info
  • Categories:

John Edgar Wideman Biography

John Edgar Wideman's life is as dramatic as any of his brooding, Faulknerian novels. Born in Washington DC, he grew up in Homewood, an impoverished African American community in Pittsburgh that is the setting of one of his best-known works, The Homewood Trilogy. Brilliant in both the classroom and the basketball court, he was the subject of a 1963 Look magazine article titled "The Astonishing John Wideman." He went on to become the second black American to win a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, where he earned a master's degree in literature in 1966.

After writing several novels, he began teaching at the University of Pennsylvania, helping found the school's Afro-American studies department. And, although he graduated from an Ivy League school, became a Rhodes Scholar, taught at fine universities and became the only American writer to twice win the PEN/Faulkner Prize, Wideman he has concerned with the violence, drug use, and institutionalized poverty that afflict the African-American community.

As a boy, he planned to leave his background behind for a dazzling future as a novelist, academic and intellectual, but in spite of personal success, Wideman came to see the complex problems of African-American life as inescapable. During the past two decades he has written three memoirs about events that have indelibly marked him -- the life imprisonment of his younger brother Robby in Brothers and Keepers and the life imprisonment of his son, Jacob, in Fatheralong. His latest critically-acclaimed collection of short fiction, God’s Gym, was released in 2005.

The Rea Award Jurors cited Wideman’s work as, “Profoundly honest, eloquently impassioned, the stories of John Edgar Wideman guide us to a place we’ve never been, into that unexplored area of America’s Heartland for which we’ve had no true compass before his own. More than compassionate, Wideman’s stories are like gospel songs sung by a hundred voices, offering praise to life itself.”

Topics

• Great Literature with a Relevant Vibe

• Brothers and Keepers

Contact a speaker booking agent to check availability on John Edgar Wideman and other top speakers and celebrities.

John Edgar Wideman Speaking Topics

Brothers and Keepers

Great Literature with a Relevant Vibe

How do I book John Edgar Wideman to speak at my event?

Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like John Edgar Wideman for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for John Edgar Wideman, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for John Edgar Wideman or any other speaker of your choice.

How much does it cost to book John Edgar Wideman for a speaking engagement?

Speaking fees for John Edgar Wideman, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. For the most current speaking fee to hire John Edgar Wideman, click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.

What topics does John Edgar Wideman speak about?

John Edgar Wideman is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as Diversity, Authors, Black Heritage, Writing, Literary, History and Culture.

Who is the agent for John Edgar Wideman?

AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully secured keynote speakers like John Edgar Wideman for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book John Edgar Wideman for your next private or corporate function.

What is a full-service speaker booking agency?

AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host John Edgar Wideman or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.

Why is AAE Speakers Bureau different from other booking agencies?

If you’re looking for the best speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.


John Edgar Wideman is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics including Diversity, Authors and Black Heritage. Please contact us for live or virtual event fee details. John Edgar Wideman can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Nelson George, Tukufu Zuberi and Juan Williams. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling John Edgar Wideman for an upcoming event.

John Edgar Wideman Speaking Topics

  • Brothers and Keepers

  • Great Literature with a Relevant Vibe

BOOKING INFORMATION REQUEST
JOHN EDGAR WIDEMAN

We are happy to assist you with your interest in booking a speaker or celebrity for your event, your organization, and the type of talent you would like to secure, and an agent will be in touch shortly.

Fill out the form below to or call us at 1-800-698-2536 if need immediate assistance.

Tell us about your event!

We respond to most inquiries within 4 hours. Under special circumstances, it may take up to 24 hours.


This website is a resource for event professionals and strives to provide the most comprehensive catalog of thought leaders and industry experts to consider for speaking engagements. A listing or profile on this website does not imply an agency affiliation or endorsement by the talent.

All American Entertainment (AAE) exclusively represents the interests of talent buyers, and does not claim to be the agency or management for any speaker or artist on this site. AAE is a talent booking agency for paid events only. We do not handle requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews, and cannot provide celebrity contact information.