Author Nino Ricci, a former UWindsor writer-in-residence and recipient of a 2012 honorary doctorate, will deliver a keynote address to open the UWill Discover undergraduate conference, Thursday in the CAW Student Centre.

Ricci’s first novel, Lives of the Saints, won a host of awards, including the Governor General’s Award for Fiction. It formed the first volume of a trilogy that continued with In a Glass House and Where She Has Gone, shortlisted for the Giller Prize. The Lives of the Saints trilogy was adapted as a television miniseries starring Sophia Loren, Jessica Paré, and Kris Kristofferson.

Ricci is also the author of the novels Testament, winner of the Trillium Award, and The Origin of Species, which earned him a second Governor General’s Award. His most recent novel is Sleep, a national bestseller and winner of the Canadian Authors Award for Fiction.

We will deliver an address at 1 p.m. March 22 in Alumni Auditorium, CAW Student Centre.

Deborah Landers, vice president for cognitive, blockchain, and industry solutions at IBM Canada, will make a keynote address at 2 p.m. Friday, March 23, also in Alumni Auditorium. She serves on the board of advisors for the University of Windsor Entrepreneurship Practice and Innovation Centre (EPICentre).

Both talks are free and open to the public. Organizers ask that those planning to attend register in advance to ensure sufficient refreshments.