Bestselling author to speak Monday at Whittenberger Auditorium

Imagine being born in Zimbabwe, educated in Scotland, working as a medical law professor and becoming a bestselling author.

Alexander McCall Smith doesn’t have to imagine – he has done more in his life than most people can dream about. For this reason, the director of the College Arts & Humanities Institute Andrea Ciccarelli wanted Smith to speak at IU.

“He was the most professional out of the people we looked at, and he’s an excellent writer,” Ciccarelli said. “We looked into it and, fortunately, it was possible for him to come.”

Smith will give a public talk at 5 p.m. Monday at the Whittenberger Auditorium as a guest of the College Arts & Humanities Institute. Ciccarelli said Smith will talk about his latest book and current projects. He will also read some select passages from his books.

Smith has written numerous books, his most recent being “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency,” which is set in Botswana. HBO debuted a small screen adaptation of “Detective Agency” on March 29. The 10th novel of the series, “Tea Time for the Traditionally Built,” will be released in North America later this month.

IU’s Associate General Counsel Beth Cate is a big fan of Smith’s and is thrilled to hear him speak.

“I’m committed to reading everything this man writes because I think he’s fabulous,” she said.

Cate has read two of his series and just started a third. She said she is particularly fond of the “Detective Agency” series as well as “Portuguese Irregular Verbs.”

“It’s not just in the characters, who are warm or funny, but they’re people you would want to be,” she said. “When I read the books it makes me want to pack up all my stuff and move to Botswana.”

Cate visited Botswana ten years ago, and after reading “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency,” she said she felt like she was back there again.

Both Ciccarelli and Cate said they think Smith has a lot of fans with a large audience reach.

Charlene Brown, director of extracurricular activities for the Hutton Honors College, is one of those fans.
“I’m not an expert on him by any means, but I think his books are wonderful,” she said. “He really knows how to engage you, and he’s inspired me.”

Like Cate, she said she was glad to find out one of her favorite authors is coming to IU.

“I’m thrilled, of course,” she said. “I think it’s going to be lovely. I can’t wait to see him.”

Past speakers for the institute have included Joyce Carol Oates and Billy Collins.

Ciccarelli said Smith’s unique background and intellect is sure to be a special moment for the institute.

“When you have someone who uses gentle humor with some sharp insight into human nature, that combination is just fabulous,” Cate said.