A Conversation with Arundhati Roy

Mayank Austen Soofi

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Literary Arts

A Conversation with Arundhati Roy

Thursday, September 18, 2025 7:30 pm PST

09/18/2025 7:30 pm 09/18/2025 America/Los_Angeles A Conversation with Arundhati Roy https://lectures.org/event/arundhati-roy/ Meany Hall — Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Theater add to calendar icon

At Meany Hall — Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Theater

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In Person & Online

Cost: $7 - 124
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Arundhati Roy is one of the most confident and original thinkers of our time.

— Naomi Klein

The fierceness with which Arundhati Roy loves humanity moves my heart.

— Alice Walker

Arundhati Roy’s prose is always a joy to read.

— The Washington Times

A raw and deeply moving memoir from the legendary author of The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Mother Mary Comes to Me traces the complex relationship between Arundhati Roy and her mother, Mary, a fierce and formidable force who shaped Roy’s life both as a woman and a writer.

Tickets with “& Book” include a copy of Mother Mary Comes to Me, shipped to your door by our bookstore partner.

Mother Mary Comes to Me, Arundhati Roy’s first memoir, is a soaring account, both intimate and inspirational, of how the author became the person and the writer she is, shaped by circumstance, but above all by her complex relationship to the extraordinary, singular mother she describes as “my shelter and my storm.”

“Heart-smashed” by her mother Mary’s death in September 2022 yet puzzled and “more than a little ashamed” by the intensity of her response, Roy began to write, to make sense of her feelings about the mother she ran from at age eighteen, “not because I didn’t love her, but in order to be able to continue to love her.” And so begins this astonishing, sometimes disturbing, and surprisingly funny memoir of the author’s journey from her childhood in Kerala, India, where her single mother founded a school, to the writing of her prizewinning novels and essays, through today.

With the scale, sweep, and depth of her novels, The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, and the passion, political clarity, and warmth of her essays, Mother Mary Comes to Me is an ode to freedom, a tribute to thorny love and savage grace—a memoir like no other.

Arundhati Roy is the author of The God of Small Things, which won the Booker Prize in 1997, and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, which has been translated into more than forty languages and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2017. Roy has also published several works of nonfiction including The End of Imagination, The Doctor and the Saint, My Seditious Heart, and Azadi. In 2023, she was awarded the prestigious European Essay Prize for lifetime achievement, and in 2024 the PEN Pinter Prize for telling “urgent stories of injustice with wit and beauty.” She lives in Delhi.

Video

Arundhati Roy Interview: The Role of the Writer

Arundhati Roy talks about her life and views on the world

Arundhati Roy: The Waterstones Interview

Event Details

Meany Hall — Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Theater

Know Before You Go

Can't find your tickets?

Most tickets have been emailed for this event, so be sure to check your inbox for an email from boxoffice@lectures.org. Email or call us at 206-621-2230 x10 if you can’t find them.

For in-person attendance: Your e-tickets have been emailed unless you selected “Will Call” as your ticket delivery upon checkout. Will Call tickets will be available to pick up at the SAL Box Office starting at 6 p.m. the night of your event.

For online attendance: If you purchased a streaming ticket, SAL will send a pre-event reminder email with instructions to log in and access the online stream on the day of the event. The night of your event, return to this page and enter the password where prompted. The program begins at 7:30 p.m. (PT) and will be available for viewing for a week after the event. If you have opted out of receiving SAL emails, you will miss this important information—please email us at boxoffice@lectures.org and we will assist you.

Seating in the Hall

For the in-person event, the lobby doors and SAL Box Office open at 6 p.m. (PT). The auditorium doors will open at approximately 6:30 p.m. (PT) for seating.

All seating is General Admission by section with the exception of Grand Patron seats, which are reserved.

Late seating is permitted at SAL events. However, your seat is not guaranteed after the program has begun.

Have a question for the speaker?

Want to ask our speaker something? We invite you to submit questions for our Q&A. Check your pre-event email for a link!

Books

Tickets with “& Book” include a copy of Mother Mary Comes to Me. Books will be shipped after publication date (September 2, 2025).

There is no book-signing at this event.

Our bookstore partner will have additional books available for sale at their table in the lobby and on their website.

Patrons & Grand Patrons, Have a Drink on SAL!

Patron & Grand Patron seating includes a pre-event drink ticket! Check your pre-event email for details.

Need an exchange?

Please note: in-person tickets do not include streaming access. (Curious to learn why? Check out our FAQ.) If you need to exchange your in-person ticket for a streaming ticket, SAL kindly asks that you please contact the box office before noon on the day of your event.

Tickets and subscriptions are non-refundable.

Transportation & Parking

Meany Hall is located on the west edge of the University of Washington campus, just minutes from the NE 45th Street exit off I-5.

It’s easy to get to the University of Washington by bus or train. More than 60 bus routes serve the University District, including many that drive onto the campus itself.

Plan your route:

From I-5:

Exit at NE 45th Street heading east and proceed to 15th Avenue NE. Turn right at 15th Avenue NE and proceed to NE 41st Street. Turn left into the UW Central Plaza Parking Garage. Once inside the parking garage, look for white and purple signs directing you to Meany Theater. Take the elevator to the main lobby of the theater. Please note that a special event parking fee may be charged for evening events.

From 520:

Exit north onto Montlake Boulevard NE. Turn left onto NE Pacific Street. Turn right at 15th Avenue NE and proceed to NE 41st St. Turn right into the UW Central Plaza Parking Garage. Once inside the parking garage, look for white and purple signs directing you to Meany Theater. Take the elevator to the main lobby of the theater.

Parking:

Limited, underground parking is available in the Central Plaza Garage located underneath Meany Hall. Other UW paid parking is available around campus. Above-ground parking is also available. Enter campus at the north entrance (NE 45th Street and 17th Avenue NE). Stop at the gatehouse and ask the attendant for additional information. Please note that a special event parking fee may be charged for evening events.

Accessibility

Open Captioning is an option for people who have hearing losses, where a captioning screen displaying the words that are spoken or sung is placed on stage. To make a request for open captioning, please contact us at boxoffice@lectures.org or 206.621.2230 x10.

Closed Captioning is an option for people who have hearing loss, where captioning displays the words that are spoken or sung at the bottom of the video for online events. Captioning is available for all online events; click the “CC” button to view captions during the event.

Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs) are devices that people with hearing loss use in conjunction with their hearing device (hearing aids or cochlear implants). Infrared assistive listening systems are installed in the Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Theater and headsets may be used at any seat. Headsets with induction neckloops are available for patrons who use hearing aids and cochlear implants with a “T” switch. Headsets may be obtained from an Audiences Services staff member. Photo ID deposit is required.

Sign Language Interpretation is available upon request for Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard of hearing individuals. To make a request for interpretation, please contact us at boxoffice@lectures.org or 206.621.2230 x10, or select “Sign Language Interpretation” from the Access Requirements section during your ticket checkout process and we will contact you to confirm details. Please note: we appreciate a two-week advance notice to allow us time to secure interpretation.

Wheelchair Accessible Seating and Accessible Restrooms are available. The wheelchair accessible restrooms are located in the Lower Lobby level with an elevator nearby. There are no restrooms on the Main level and no accessible restrooms on the Balcony level. To reserve seating for a specific mobility concern, please contact us at boxoffice@lectures.org or 206.621.2230 x10, or select “Wheelchair accessible seat” during ticket checkout, and we will contact you to confirm details.

For more details on accessibility features at Meany Hall, click here.

Service animals, such as guide dogs, are permitted to assist Meany visitors. The nearest green space for the animal is on the west side of Meany.

We are pleased to offer these accessibility services at our venues, and they are provided at no additional cost to ticket holders. Please contact us with any questions and feedback about how we can be more accessible and inclusive. Our Patron Services Manager is available at boxoffice@lectures.org, or Monday-Thursday from 12:00pm – 5:00pm and Friday from 11:00am – 1:00pm at 206.621.2230 x10.

For more accessibility information, please head to lectures.org/accessibility. If you would like to make accessibility arrangements you do not see listed here, please contact our box office or select “Other accessibility accommodations” from the Access Requirements section during your ticket checkout process, and we will contact you to confirm details.

Seating Chart