'Underground Railroad' author Colson Whitehead to speak Jan. 31 at UWM

Jim Higgins
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Colson Whitehead, author of the prizewinning novel "The Underground Railroad," will speak Jan. 31 at UWM. Tickets go on sale Nov. 28.

Colson Whitehead, author of "The Underground Railroad," will speak at 7 p.m. Jan. 31 at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

He's visiting Milwaukee on the paperback tour for his Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning novel, which imagines the Underground Railroad carrying escaping slaves to freedom as an actual railroad in an otherwise realistic and often harrowing novel. 

Related:Book Review: 'The Underground Railroad' a compelling story

Whitehead will speak at the UWM Union Wisconsin Room, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd. Tickets are $19; they include a signed paperback edition of "The Underground Railroad." 

Ticket sales begin at noon Nov. 28 via whiteheadmke.brownpapertickets.com and (800) 838-3006.

In January, the UWM box office will begin selling tickets to UWM students, faculty, and staff at a lower price.

Whitehead's other novels include "Zone One" and "The Intuitionist."