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Ross King, whose latest book Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling  is a New York Times bestseller, will kick off the º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ Bookstore’s author series for this semester.

King will speak at 7 p.m. Friday at 27 Persson Hall on the º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ University campus. The free event is open to the public.

In Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling,  King tells the story of the four years ‘ 1508-1512 ‘Michelangelo spent painting the ceiling of the Sistine chapel. 

Here are the other authors taking part in the º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ Bookstore series. All sessions are free and open to the public and will be held on the third floor of the bookstore.

‘  Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of 365 Presciptions for the Soul,  will appear at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8

‘ Local author Dale Soderberg will read from his most recent novel, The Winds of Change,  at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12 

‘  Samina Ali, a new voice in international fiction, will read from her debut novel, Madras on Rainy Days,  at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14.

‘ Robert Alexander, author of the national bestselling historical novel The Kitchen Boy, will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18.

‘ Comedian and columnist Steve Hofstetter will sign copies of his college humor book Student Body Shots  at 4:30 p.m. – Thursday, Feb. 19. 

‘ Kathryn Bertine, figure skater, º¬Ð߲ݴ«Ã½ alumna, and author of the memoir All The Sundays Yet to Come: A Skater’s Journey, will speak at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28.

‘  An informal reception for central New York’s local authors will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 6.

‘ Local historian and columnist Mark Simonson will discuss his Reminiscing Across the Valleys book series, which highlight the Susquehanna, Chenango, Schoharie, and Delaware River valleys, at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 21.

‘  A knit-in will be held in conjunction with a reading from the new knitting anthology KnitLit Too: Stories from Sheep to Shawl at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 27.M

For more information about any of these events, please contact Heather Hawn at 315-228-6943.

The book has earned widespread praise:

‘[An] intricately detailed history of the making of one of the signal masterpieces of Western civilization. . . . A cornucopia of intriguing information.’ – The Boston Globe

‘An enthralling thriller.  . . . King’s account of titanic creativity in the maelstrom of 16th century Rome is a triumph.’ – The London Independent

‘ [King] neatly combines scholarship with a novelist’s sense of narrative and character. He brings to life the temperamental artist, his formidable patron, Pope Julius II, and his arch-rival, Raphael, peppering his narrative with oddly intriguing information about Renaissance Italy.’ – The London Sunday Times

King also is the author of two historical novels, Domino (1995), which looks at the world of masquerades and opera in 18th century London, and Ex-Libris (2001),  a thriller about books and booksellers also set in 18th century London.

In Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture (2000), another New York Times bestseller, King uses his knowledge of European cultural history to tell the story of the father of Renaissance architecture and the largest dome ever built using only bricks and mortar.

Born and raised in Canada, King has lived in England since 1992. Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling was nominated for a 2003 Governor General’s Literary Award, Canada’s highest literary honor.