Undated handout photo of US author Jonathan Franzen whose remarks about the US war in Iraq will appear in the 18 September 2003 editions of Stern Magazine. Acclaimed U.S. writer Jonathan Franzen, making clear his antipathy to President George W. Bush's actions in Iraq, said Europeans should leave Bush "dangling" at least for another year - until the November 2004 presidential elections. He said the U.S. public would not have supported a war in Iraq if the Bush administration had not declared it to be a war about the U.S. internal security. Europe should let Bush dangle - "preferably until the elections next year" - regarding his request for support in Iraq, Franzen said. EPA PHOTO/EPA/FARRAR, STRAUS AND GIROUX/HO/ COPYRIGHT PRESSENS BILD Code: 455

Award-winning novelist Jonathan Franzen will open the Mondavi Center’s distinguished speaker series at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8.

Franzen’s 2001 novel, “The Corrections,” won the National Book Award for fiction and was nominated or was a finalist for, among others, the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction and PEN/Faulkner Award.

In 2005, Time magazine included it on a list of the 100 best English-language novels.

He is the author of three other novels — including “Freedom,” a New York Times notable book in 2010 — as well as a collection of essays and a memoir.

Franzen has on occasion also made waves with his opinions, among them sounding a note of regret that “The Corrections” had been made a selection by Oprah Winfrey’s book club (he later appeared on her show and “Freedom” was made a book club selection) and penning a 1996 essay for Harper’s magazine essay lamenting the state of American fiction.

At the Mondavi lecture, Franzen intends to discuss the personal dynamics of fiction writing through questions novelists are often asked, including, “Is your fiction autobiographical?” and “Who are your influences?”

Tickets remain for Franzen’s talk, as well as for those of the other speakers in the series — filmmaker Oliver Stone (Feb. 3) and singer-songwriter Patti Smith (May 9). For information, see mondaviarts.org or call (530) 754-2787.

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