Bestselling Author To Speak At UCR Palm Desert Tonight

Lisa See, author of three New York Times bestselling books, will talk about her work at UCR Palm Desert tonight.

See is the third author in UCR Palm Desert's "Arts & Letters'' series, in which literary figures share their work with Coachella Valley residents.

After the reading and lecture, there will be a question-and-answer session with See and author Tod Goldberg, director of UCR Palm Desert's low-residency master of fine arts program.

See is the author of "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan,'' "Shanghai Girls'' and "Peony in Love.'' Her most recent book, "Dreams of Joy,'' continues the story of the sisters from "Shanghai Girls.''

See grew up mainly in Los Angeles and spent a lot of time with her father's family in Chinatown. Her first book, "On Gold Mountain: The One Hundred Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family,'' was a national bestseller and listed as a Notable Book in The New York Times. For "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan,'' See traveled through a remote area of China where she was told she was the second foreigner to visit.

See was the West Coast correspondent for Publishers Weekly for 13 years, and her articles have appeared in national publications such as Vogue and Self.

Tickets are $20 each. VIP tickets, which are $85, include reserved seating, a copy of See's latest book, a preferred book signing line and a reception with the author at 5:30 p.m. For information, call (760) 834-0800 or go to www.webpay.ucr.edu.