Khaled Hosseini, the celebrated author of Elon University’s 2009-2010 Common Reading selection, comes to campus Oct. 13 for a moderated discussion during Fall Convocation. Hosseini’s novel A Thousand Splendid Suns traces the volatile events of Afghanistan's most recent decades as told through the eyes of two women whose lives are thrust together by war.
Convocation begins at 4 p.m. in Alumni Gym. Admission is $12 or free with Elon ID. Tickets remain available.
Hosseini was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 1965, the son of a diplomat with the Afghan Foreign Ministry and a Farsi and history teacher at a large high school. The Hosseinis sought and were granted political asylum in the United States after a communist coup overthrew the government in 1980.
Hosseini earn a bachelor’s degree in biology at Santa Clara University in 1988. The following year, he entered the University of California-San Diego’s School of Medicine, where he earned a medical degree in 1993. He completed his residency at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.
While in medical practice, Hosseini began writing his first novel, The Kite Runner, which was published in 2003. In 2006 he was named a goodwill envoy to UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency. His second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns, was published in May 2007.
Khaled has been recently working to provide humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan through The Khaled Hosseini Foundation. He lives today in northern California.