{"id":16204,"date":"2025-10-10T18:04:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T18:04:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/author-connie-willis-to-visit-san-juan-college\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:55:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:55:13","slug":"author-connie-willis-to-visit-san-juan-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/author-connie-willis-to-visit-san-juan-college\/","title":{"rendered":"Author Connie Willis to Visit San Juan College"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Author
Author Connie Willis will visit San Juan College on Oct. 17 as part of the One Book, One Community series featuring her novel \u201cThe Road to Roswell.\u201d The event includes a public reading, Q&A, and book signing. (Courtesy of San Juan College)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Acclaimed science fiction author Connie Willis, a seven-time Nebula and 11-time Hugo Award winner, will visit San Juan College on Friday, Oct. 17, for a reading, Q&A and book signing of her latest novel, The Road to Roswell.<\/em><\/p>\n

The free event, part of the college\u2019s One Book, One Community series, runs from 5:30 to 5:30 to 8 p.m. in the Connie Gotsch Theatre.<\/p>\n

One Book, One Community is a reading program that connects the college and local community through a shared experience. This year\u2019s selection, The Road to Roswell, inspires activities and events exploring its themes. All events are free and open to the public.<\/p>\n

Willis is known for her blend of humor, intellect and imaginative storytelling. Based in Colorado, she writes across genres, earning recognition for combining scientific ideas with human insight.<\/p>\n

The Road to Roswell <\/em>follows a pragmatic woman who travels to Roswell, New Mexico, for her college roommate\u2019s UFO-themed wedding and is unexpectedly abducted by an alien.<\/p>\n

\"The
The cover of \u201cThe Road to Roswell\u201d by Connie Willis, a humorous sci-fi adventure about a pragmatic woman who travels to Roswell, New Mexico, for a UFO-themed wedding, only to be abducted by an alien and swept into an unexpected road trip across the Southwest. (Courtesy of San Juan College)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The story, described by Penguin Random House, features a tumbleweed-shaped alien with lightning-fast tentacles who collects an eccentric group of abductees: a con artist, a retired traveler, a casino enthusiast and a devoted UFO believer. As Francie\u2019s journey unfolds, she begins to question the alien\u2019s intentions and suspects he may need her help.<\/p>\n

A mix of alien abduction adventure, road-trip comedy and romantic escapade, The Road to Roswell offers a humorous take on classic sci-fi themes, with nods to Roswell\u2019s extraterrestrial lore.<\/p>\n

Penguin Random House lists Willis as a member of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame and a Grand Master of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Her novels Blackout<\/em> and All Clear,<\/em> a two-part series, and Doomsday Book each won both the Nebula and Hugo awards.<\/p>\n

Willis lives in Colorado with her family, balancing life in a hyperconnected world with humor and resilience.<\/p>\n

\u201cConnie Willis is a beloved voice in science fiction,\u201d said San Juan College English instructor Aj Odasso. \u201cWe\u2019re excited to welcome her to the campus and invite the entire community to engage with her work, ask questions and connect over a story that puts Roswell and New Mexico at the center of an intergalactic adventure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Willis will read from The Road to Roswell, <\/em>answer questions and sign books on Friday, Oct. 17, from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Connie Gotsch Theatre. The event is free and open to the public as part of the One Book, One Community series.<\/p>\n

For more information about One Book, One Community events, visit sanjuancollege.edu\/onebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

If you go<\/h4>\n

WHAT:<\/strong> One Book, One Community with author Connie Willis<\/p>\n

WHEN<\/strong>: Friday, Oct. 17, 5:30-8 p.m.<\/p>\n

WHERE:<\/strong> Connie Gotsch Theatre, 4601 College Blvd.<\/p>\n

INFORMATION:<\/strong> sanjuancollege.edu\/onebook<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Science fiction author Connie Willis to read and sign new novel at San Juan College.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-16204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16204"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20071,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16204\/revisions\/20071"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16204"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=16204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}