A prominent nonfiction writer will share some details of his craft at the University of Montana on Friday, Feb. 23.
Sanjiv Bhattacharya will deliver his lecture, “The I’s Have it: First Person Structure in Nonfiction,” from noon to 12:50 p.m. in Turner Hall’s Dell Brown Room, followed by a nonfiction reading at 7 p.m. Both are sponsored through the President’s Writers-in-Residence Series and UM’s Creative Writing program.
Bhattacharya is the U.S. correspondent for Esquire (U.K.), a member of the nonfiction faculty at the Pacific University MFA in Writing program in Oregon, and a freelancer for various publications, such as Telegraph, The Guardian and others. Originally from London, he became a features editor at GQ Magazine in the U.K. before moving to Los Angeles in 2000, where he has written about subcultures, fringe groups, celebrities and entertainment, and crime and lifestyle.
In 2005, his documentary about Mormon polygamy aired on the British public-service TV network Channel 4 and led to his 2011 book-length investigation, “Secrets and Wives.” In 2008, he moved to India for a couple of years to edit men’s lifestyle magazines in both Bombay and Delhi. The Professional Publishers Association nominated Bhattacharya for Consumer Magazine Writer of the Year in 2013, 2015 and 2017.
Bhattacharya has interviewed celebrities Joaquin Phoenix, Mary J. Blige, Ewan McGregor and Jon Hamm in his recent articles.
“We are excited to welcome Sanjiv to the University of Montana,” said Judy Blunt, UM creative writing professor. “Caroline Leavitt writes that Sanjiv ‘sheds blazing new light on this incredible diverse society … He lets us in on his own spiritual leanings in a way that is both personal, profound and grippingly entertaining.’ You’ll know what she means when you hear him read.”
Both UM events are free and open to the public. For more information email Karin Schalm, UM Creative Writing program coordinator, at karin.schalm@umontana.edu.