Julia Flynn Siler
Julia Flynn Siler is a New York Times best-selling author and journalist. Her most recent book, The White Devil's Daughters: The Women Who Fought Slavery in San Francisco's Chinatown (Knopf) and was a New York Times Editors’ Choice and a nonfiction finalist for the California Book Award. Her other books include The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty (Gotham Books, Penguin Random House), a finalist for a James Beard Award and a Gerald Loeb Award for distinguished reporting, and Lost Kingdom: Hawaii’s Last Queen, the Sugar Kings, and America’s First Imperial Adventure (Grove/Atlantic). She co-directs the Nonfiction/Memoir program at the Community of Writers, and is a contributor to National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. She is also a member of the National Book Critics Circle and a juror for the Commonwealth Club’s California Book Awards. She has spoken at TEDX, Google, and Harvard University, and was named a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar. She is currently at work on a book of narrative nonfiction that explores the world of polar exploration.
The Jeniam Conversations: Spring 2026
The Jeniam Conversations will be a literary series hosted by Oxford's Centre for Life-Writing in the spring of 2026. Over three evenings, it will bring celebrated writers together to discuss their creative processes and the art of storytelling. These intimate conversations will explore the moments where craft meets inspiration.
The Story Behind It
Andrew M. Clarkson graduated from St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, in 1960, then attended Harvard Business School before building a distinguished career in finance. After retiring, he founded Jeniam—named for his two children, Jennifer and William—and helped save a cherished independent bookstore in his hometown. Andrew and his family are passionate readers devoted to the power of words.
This series honors Andrew's legacy by bridging his Oxford roots with his family's lifelong love of literature. Events will take place at Wolfson College at the University of Oxford during Trinity term (April 26–June 20, 2026).
The Programme
We envision three evening conversations open to the university community as well as the public with distinguished writers. The conversations will be followed by a wine reception and book signings. The series is supported by the Jeniam Foundation and directed by Julia Flynn Siler, an author and journalist who was an Academic Visitor at Oxford in 2025.
