LAKELAND, Fla. (Sept. 3, 2008) — Da Chen, bestselling author of “Colors of the Mountain,” will address the FSC campus during the college’s opening convocation on Sept. 10. The event will take place at 10:10 a.m. in Branscomb Auditorium. The author will be available following the talk for a book signing in the Honeyman Pavilion. The event is free and open to the public.

Chen has written several autobiographical books about his youth in China. His bestseller, “Colors of the Mountain,” is a coming-of-age story of a boy in China that takes place during that country’s Cultural Revolution. It grapples with issues of poverty and hunger, family and friends, and the impact of political shifts on daily life. The college selected “Colors” as the common reading assignment for this year’s Examined Life first-year seminar.

Chen has appeared on several television programs, including CNN International, CSPAN Book TV, Talk of the Nation, Weekend Edition and Fox News Channel, and he has been featured in magazines and newspapers. His books are used as textbooks in Yale, Vassar, Wellesley, in the New York State University system, and in high schools and middle schools throughout the country.

After graduating from Beijing Language and Culture University with top honors, Chen served at the school as an assistant professor. He came to America at age 23, attended Columbia University Law School on a full scholarship, and after graduation worked for the Wall Street firm of Rothschild, Inc. He lives in upstate New York with his wife and their two children.