UH Manoa graduate student and author of best-selling novel "Lottery" to be featured on campus at book reading and signing event

HONOLULU — The College of Education and the Center on Disability Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa are pleased to present one of its own graduate students, novelist Patricia Wood, who will read from her debut novel, "Lottery," on Wednesday, Sept. 12, at 5:30 p.m. at the Architecture Auditorium on the Mānoa campus.

The special event will include a reception with heavy pupus. A book signing will follow the reading and discussion, and copies of "Lottery" will be available for purchase. The event is free and open to the public.

Wood‘s debut novel is the poignant, funny, suspenseful, inspiring and hopeful tale of a mentally-challenged young man who wins $12 million in the Washington State Lottery. "Lottery" leaves readers wondering until the last page whether Perry L. Crandall‘s good fortune can possibly withstand such a perilous world. The Washington Post says "Perry L. Crandall is the thinking man's guide to a happy life," and Kirkus Reviews calls the book "a page turner" and a "thought- provoking idea." Paul Theroux, who knows Wood, says, "What I love about ʻLottery‘ is that it is much more than a novel about windfall affecting a simple soul — it‘s a book about a stupendous event affecting a great number of people, especially the reader."

Wood, a current doctoral student in the College of Education at UH Mānoa, says she was inspired to write this novel partly because as a Center on Disability Studies‘ Certificate in Disability and Diversity Studies student, "her eyes were open to disability culture."

As a passionate advocate for education, her work with high-risk students and study in the field of disability opened her mind to the challenges and obstacles physically and mentally challenged people face every day.

"We are extremely pleased to see one of our students in the certificate program achieve such a huge accomplishment," said Dr. Robert Stodden, director of the Center on Disability Studies.

For additional information about the event, call 956-7539.

ABOUT PATRICIA WOOD
Patricia Wood is a PhD student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa focusing on education, disability, and diversity. "Lottery," her debut novel, is inspired by her work, as well as a number of events in her life, including her father winning the Washington State Lottery. She lives with her husband aboard a sailboat. She has one son, Andrew, who lives in Everett where "Lottery" takes place. Visit her website at www.patriciawoodauthor.com.

ABOUT THE CENTER ON DISABILITY STUDIES
A research unit in the College of Education, the Center on Disability Studies (CDS) works to accomplish its mission to support the quality of life, community inclusion, and self-determination of all persons with disabilities and their families through education, training, service, research, evaluation, and dissemination activities. July 1, 2007 marked the beginning of its 20th year and the starting point for a year of celebration. Monthly events are being planned to celebrate the many thousands of people with disabilities and their families across the state of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific Basin who have been touched in different ways by the initiatives and the projects that CDS has undertaken during its 20 years. For information about CDS and its 20th anniversary celebration, e-mail cccrocke@hawaii.edu or visit the website at www.cds.hawaii.edu.

For more information, visit: http://www.cds.hawaii.edu