My America: June Hur
JUNE HUR was born in South Korea and raised in Canada, except for the time when she moved back to Korea and attended high school there. Most of her work is inspired by her journey through life as an individual, a dreamer, and a Christian, with all its confusions, doubts, absurdities and magnificence. Her debut novel The Silence of Bones is a murder mystery set in Joseon Dynasty Korea (early 1800s), and also a coming-of-age tale about a girl searching for home. It was recently selected by the American Booksellers Association as one of the top debuts of Winter/Spring 2020. Register for the webinar here.
This program will be streamed live via Zoom and is free and open to the public. While there is no cost to attend, donations are welcome as we weather this crisis. If you are able, you can help support the American Writers Museum here.
Presented in conjunction with the AWM’s special exhibit My America: Immigrant and Refugee Writers Today, this program is part of the Jeanne M. & John W. Rowe program series, a series of conversations with leading contemporary writers about their latest work and their thoughts on themes of identity, home, belonging and the meaning of what it is to be American.
More about The Silence of Bones:
1800, Joseon (Korea). Homesick and orphaned sixteen-year-old Seol is living out the ancient curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Indentured to the police bureau, she’s been tasked with assisting a well-respected young inspector with the investigation into the politically charged murder of a noblewoman.
As they delve deeper into the dead woman’s secrets, Seol forms an unlikely bond of friendship with the inspector. But her loyalty is tested when he becomes the prime suspect, and Seol may be the only one capable of discovering what truly happened on the night of the murder. But in a land where silence and obedience are valued above all else, curiosity can be deadly…
JUNE HUR studied History and Literature at the University of Toronto, and currently works for the public library. She lives in Toronto with her husband and daughter. The Silence of Bones is her first novel and she began writing it after obsessing over books about Joseon Korea.
I just “zoomed” in to this webinar and loved it. Great questions. June Hur is certainly an up and coming new writer. I want to purchase the book, but the address appeared too quickly for me to get it. I am looking forward to further webinars. The next time I am in Chicago (???) I hope to visit.
I teach English at the Asian Affairs Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia. I have a lot of Koreans. This would be a good book for them to read. (I am on the mailing list so get the posts)
Hi Fran,
Thank you so much for coming to the webinar! We partner with Seminary Co-Op 57th Street Books, so if you would like to purchase the book from them you can go to this link: https://www.semcoop.com/silence-bones
Since you’re not in Chicago and may want it faster, we recommend contacting your local bookstores, as many have adapted to take online or phone orders during this time, and we are always for supporting local bookstores!
Your students may also be interested in exploring the virtual My America: Immigrant and Refugee Writers Today exhibit at My-America.org
We look forward to seeing you when we re-open!