GRANVILLE -- Culinary award-winning author Molly O'Neill will return to her home town andalma materto read from her recently published book, "Mostly True: A Memoir of Family, Food, and Baseball." The Beck Lecture Series and the Academic Lecture Fund are sponsoring the Denison alumna's appearance at 8 p.m. on Tuesday (April 24) in the Barney-Davis Hall Board Room. The reading is free and open to the public.

Molly O'Neill '75

The oldest child in her family, O'Neill was born in Columbus and by the time she was 10 had been joined by five brothers. Her father, Chick, believed that baseball was his family's destiny -- her great-grandfather had played on one of the earliest traveling teams in organized baseball, her grandfather played barnstorming ball, and her father had pitched in the minor leagues. Her youngest brother, Paul, did grow up to play for the New York Yankees. Molly became "Deputy Mom" and found her niche in cooking crab melts, cream cheese dips, and tuna noodle casseroles.

"Cooking keeps one in the present," says Molly. "It is a thing that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. If you don't pay attention you cut off your finger, burn yourself or your meal." She added "Baseball saved my brothers but cooking saved me."

O'Neill was the food columnist for The New York Times Magazine and host of the PBS series "Great Food" for 10 years. She has written three cookbooks, including the award-winning "The New York Cookbook," "A Well-Seasoned Appetite," and "The Pleasure of Your Company." She also edited "American Food Writing: An Anthology: With Classic Recipes." After graduating from Denison, O'Neill attended the renowned cooking school, LaVarenne, in Paris where she earned a culinary graduate degree. She won both the Julia Child/International Association of Culinary Professionals and the James Beard Awards.

Calendar Listing:

CALENDAR LISTING: Denison University, Granville -- Molly O'Neill, author and Denison alumna, will read from her book "Mostly True: A Memoir of Family, Food, and Baseball"; 8 p.m., Tuesday (April 24), Barney-Davis Hall Board Room (200 West Loop). Free and open to the public. Contact 740-587-6207 to confirm information.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

Position Title

Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

Business Phone

(740) 587-8575