Linda Sue Park, Rochester author of A Single Shard and other children’s books, will lecture on her reading, writing, and publication journey at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, in the Welles-Brown Room of Rush Rhees Library on the University of Rochester’s River Campus. Her talk, which is part of the annual Neilly Series, is free and open to the public.

The daughter of Korean immigrants, Park has been writing poems and stories since she was four years old. She won the 2002 Newbery Medal for A Single Shard just two years after her first book was published. Since the acclaim for her story about a 12th- century Korean boy, Park has published her fourth novel, When My Name Was Keoko, in 2002. She also has published poems and short fiction for adults in journals and online publications. She is at work on five picture books.

Park will discuss how her seemingly overnight success actually took nearly three decades to achieve. She has titled her lecture “Slushpile Cinderella.”

The Neilly Series is supported by a major gift from University alumnus Andrew H. Neilly and his wife, Janet Dayton Neilly, and is produced by the River Campus Libraries of the University of Rochester. For more information, contact (585) 275-4461.

Note to editors: A JPG image of Ms. Park can be e-mailed to you. Please call (585) 275-4128 or send your request to sdickman@rochester.edu.