Michigan Humanities

Great Michigan Read partner event featuring Curtis Chin: Battle Creek
2026-04-09 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Detroit) | Binda Performing Arts Center, 450 North Ave, Battle Creek, MI, United States
Kellogg Community College will host award-winning author Curtis Chin as part of a free Great Michigan Read author visit on campus on April 9.
Chin’s memoir, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant, chronicles his experiences growing up as a gay Chinese American kid in 1980s Detroit, coming out in his working-class immigrant community and being a first-generation college student at the University of Michigan.
The KCC event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 1 p.m. Thursday, April 9, at the Binda Performing Arts Center, on campus at 450 North Ave. in Battle Creek.
Chin’s book is this year’s selection for the Great Michigan Read, the signature program of Michigan Humanities that brings communities across the state together to read a single Michigan-centered book.
KCC Director of Library Services Jenn Washburn said KCC is Chin’s first stop on his Great Michigan Read tour across the state this spring. Several copies of the book are available for checkout at KCC’s Morris Library, as well as from area public libraries.
Community members who’d like to check out the book and who reside in the College’s service area in Barry, Branch or Calhoun County can register for a free community borrower’s card at the library’s checkout desk. For more information, contact the library at 269-965-4122.
This program is made possible in part by a grant from Michigan Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Learn more at michiganhumanities.org/great-michigan-read.

Great Michigan Read partner event featuring Curtis Chin: Grand Rapids
2026-04-11 15:00 - 16:00 | Kent District Library – Kentwood Branch, 4950 Breton Rd SE, Kentwood, Michigan, 49508
Hear from Curtis Chin, award-winning author and social justice documentary filmmaker, as he discusses Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant, his memoir that is drawing all of Michigan together as the 2025-26 Great Michigan Read. This event will be moderated by Meena Ariagno, Host of Eavesdrop With Meena®️ Podcast, WMAAA Conversation Partner. A book signing with the author will take place after the event.
This event is made possible in part by a grant from Michigan Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program is also brought to the library in partnership with the West Michigan Asian American Association. For more information on the Great Michigan Read, visit michiganhumanities.org.

Great Michigan Read Spring Author Tour: Lansing
2026-04-12 13:00 - 15:00 | Riverwalk Theatre, 228 Museum Dr, Lansing, MI, 48933, United States
Join co-hosts, the Capital City Film Festival, Capital Area District Libraries, and Michigan State University Libraries in Lansing on April 12 for a free event featuring a conversation with Curtis Chin, author of the current Great Michigan Read, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant. Following a conversation with Curtis, books will be available for sale and signing. Registration is recommended, please register here.
The 2025–26 Great Michigan Read is presented by Michigan Humanities. Additional support is provided by national, statewide, and local partners, including the Library of Michigan and MSU Federal Credit Union.

Great Michigan Read Spring Author Tour: Muskegon
2026-04-13 18:30 - 20:00 | The Corner, 280 West Muskegon Avenue, Muskegon, MI, 49440, United States
Join co-hosts Muskegon Area District Library and Muskegon Community College in Muskegon on April 13 for a free event featuring a conversation with Curtis Chin, author of the current Great Michigan Read, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant. Following a conversation with Curtis, books will be available for sale and signing. Registration is required, please register here.
The 2025–26 Great Michigan Read is presented by Michigan Humanities. Additional support is provided by national, statewide, and local partners, including the Library of Michigan and MSU Federal Credit Union.

Great Michigan Read partner event featuring Curtis Chin: Alma
2026-04-14 13:00 - 15:00 | Ballyhoo Books, 111 W Superior St, Alma, MI, 48801, United States
Join Ballyhoo Books on April 14 as they host Curtis Chin, author of the 2025-26 Great Michigan Read title Everything I Learned, I Learned In a Chinese Restaurant.

Great Michigan Read partner event featuring Curtis Chin: University Center
2026-04-15 12:00 - 13:30 | Delta College Main Campus, Lecture Theater, 1961 Delta Rd, University Center, MI, 48710, United States
Curtis Chin, award-winning author, producer and activist, will visit Delta College, Wednesday, April 15 at noon on the main campus for a reading and discussion of his memoir, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant.
The Delta College Humanities Learning Center (HLC) and President’s Speaker Series committee partnered to bring this Great Michigan Read to our community. This event is free and open to the public.

Great Michigan Read Spring Author Tour: Flint
2026-04-15 18:00 - 19:00 | Gloria Coles Flint Public Library, C.S. Mott Foundation Community Room, 1026 E Kearsley St, Flint, MI, 48503, United States
Join co-host Gloria Coles Flint Public Library on April 15 for a free event featuring a conversation with Curtis Chin, author of the current Great Michigan Read, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant. Following a conversation with Curtis, books will be available for sale and signing.
The 2025–26 Great Michigan Read is presented by Michigan Humanities. Additional support is provided by national, statewide, and local partners, including the Library of Michigan and MSU Federal Credit Union.

Great Michigan Read Spring Author Tour: Port Huron
2026-04-16 18:00 - 19:00 | Don Dodge Auditorium, 200 Grand River Ave, Port Huron, MI, 48060, United States
Join co-hosts, St. Clair County Library System, Blue Water Allies, and St. Clair County Community College on April 16 for a free event featuring a conversation with Curtis Chin, author of the current Great Michigan Read, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant. Following a conversation with Curtis, books will be available for sale and signing. Registration is required, please register here.
The 2025–26 Great Michigan Read is presented by Michigan Humanities. Additional support is provided by national, statewide, and local partners, including the Library of Michigan and MSU Federal Credit Union.

Great Michigan Read partner event featuring Curtis Chin: Morenci
2026-04-18 13:00 - 14:00 | Stair District Library, 228 W Main St, Morenci, MI, 49256, United States
Join the Stair District Library for an author visit with the 2025–26 Great Michigan Read author, Curtis Chin, on April 18th at 1 p.m.

Great Michigan Read partner event featuring Curtis Chin: Ann Arbor
2026-04-18 19:00 - 20:30 | Cluster Museum, 307 N Main St, Ann Arbor, MI, 48104, United States
Chin will be joined in conversation by University of Michigan Professors Nadine Hubbs and William A. Calvo-Quirós exploring themes of immigration, identity, community and the experience of growing up queer in 1980’s American and outside its borders. Together, they will reflect on how a place of upbringing becomes the setting for an unlikely origin story: In Chin’s case a Chinese restaurant becomes the setting for how a closeted Chinese boy raised on republican politics transforms into a searingly honest Gay writer and activist for social and political activism in both the LGBTQ+ and AAPI communities. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Please register here.
The event is moderator by CLUSTER co-founder Chien-An Yuan.
This event is made possible in part by a grant from Michigan Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
