Souvankham Thammavongsa, winner of the 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize, will discuss and sign copies of her debut novel “Pick a Color” at Vroman’s Bookstore on Monday, November 10 at 7 p.m. Earlier that evening, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., she will appear at DYM Books & Boba for an author meet-and-greet.
Published September 30 by Little, Brown and Company, “Pick a Color” follows Ning, a retired boxer working in a nail salon under the alias “Susan.” The novel unfolds over a single day in a workplace where all employees wear name tags reading “Susan” at the owner’s instruction.
“I live in a world of Susans,” Thammavongsa explained in a recent NPR interview.
Born in a refugee camp in Nong Khai, Thailand, and raised in Toronto, Thammavongsa won acclaim for her 2020 short-story collection “How to Pronounce Knife.”
“I’m really interested in the way people work, whether they’re a bartender or a nail salon worker or someone who works on a farm,” she told Publishers Weekly. The author draws inspiration from her own background: “My parents never went to school, but they are the most intelligent people you will ever meet. … I wanted to write about such a person.”
Souvankham Thammavongsa discusses and signs “Pick a Color” will run on Monday, November 10 at 7 p.m. Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., in Pasadena. For more information, call (626) 449-5320 or visit https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2025-11-10/souvankham-thammavongsa. Ticket prices: Free (book purchase appreciated).
