Join Conor Dougherty, author of "Golden Gates: Fighting for Housing in America," and Jonathan Franzen in a conversation about the complex social and economic factors driving housing--and homelessness--in America.

Attend in-person at the Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Downtown Branch, 224 Church St, Santa Cruz, or online via Zoom.

The event is free and registration is required.  Register via Eventbrite: https://bit.ly/housingconv

Conor Dougherty is the author of "Golden Gates: Fighting for Housing in America," a nonfiction book about the nation's affordable housing problems told through a cast of characters in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is also an economics and housing reporter at The New York Times. He grew up in the Bay Area and lives in Oakland, Calif., with his wife and two children.

Jonathan Franzen is the author of six novels, including "Crossroads," published in October 2021, and five works of nonfiction, most recently “The Kraus Project” and “The End of the End of the Earth.” Franzen is the recipient of a National Book Award for fiction, the EuroNatur Prize for his work in conservation, and the Utah Award in the Environmental Humanities. He has been part of the Santa Cruz community since 1998.

"Golden Gates: Fighting for Housing in America," by Conor Dougherty is A Time 100 Must-Read Book of 2020 • A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice • California Book Award Silver Medal in Nonfiction • Finalist for The New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism • Named a top 30 must-read Book of 2020 by the New York Post • Named one of the 10 Best Business Books of 2020 by Fortune.

This event is made possible by a partnership between the Homeless Garden Project and the Santa Cruz Public Libraries.

The Homeless Garden Project provides job training, transitional employment and support services to people experiencing homelessness. In direct complement, the Project operates a community education and volunteer program that serves the broader community offering education and experience in sustainable agriculture practices, volunteer opportunities and reducing stereotypes and the stigma of homelessness. All programs take place in the Homeless Garden Project's 3.5-acre organic farm site and related enterprises.

Through their Books to Action project, SCPL is providing copies of "Golden Gates: Fighting for Housing in America" to in-person attendees, free of charge (while supplies last).  This Book to Action program is supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.