Colum McCann brings storytelling event to University of Michigan

Narrative 4, the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities and Michigan Public will host a free evening event in Ann Arbor on Sept. 30 featuring National Book Award winner Colum McCann and host April Baer. The program includes a public conversation and a community story exchange focused on connection, empathy and perspective-taking.

Why it matters: - The event uses storytelling as a tool for building compassion, curiosity and human connection. - The program is free and open to the public, which broadens access to a conversation about loneliness, listening and shared experience. - The evening pairs a public interview with a hands-on story exchange, turning the theme into a participatory experience.

What happened: - Narrative 4, the University of Michigan Institute for the Humanities and Michigan Public are hosting The Stories We Carry: Writer Colum McCann in Conversation with Michigan Public’s April Baer. - The event takes place Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. at the University of Michigan Museum of Art’s Helmut Stern Auditorium in Ann Arbor. - The event is free, open to the public and does not require registration. - A Community Story Exchange led by Narrative 4 follows at 7:00 p.m. in the same auditorium.

The details: - The conversation will focus on how stories help people listen more deeply, understand differences and expand what it means to be human. - Colum McCann said storytelling can help people imagine lives beyond their own and address what he called an epidemic of loneliness. - McCann said his work as a writer and with Narrative 4 has shown him that stories can bridge deep divides. - Jason Young, director of the U-M Institute for the Humanities, said the university looks forward to the power of human connection at a time when technology and algorithms shape much of daily interaction. - The Community Story Exchange will pair participants with another attendee, ask them to share a personal story in response to a prompt and then retell their partner’s story in the first person. - The exchange is designed to build connection, deepen understanding and practice perspective-taking. - The event is part of the Jill S. Harris Memorial Lecture series, an annual program created in memory of a University of Michigan undergraduate student. - The Jill S. Harris Memorial Endowment, established in 1985, brings a distinguished visitor to campus each year who has made significant contributions to the humanities and the arts. - Colum McCann is the author of eight novels, three collections of stories and two works of nonfiction. - McCann has won the National Book Award and the International Dublin Literary Prize. - McCann is also the co-founder of Narrative 4. - His 2009 novel Let the Great World Spin has sold 1 million copies in the United States and was included on The New York Times list of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. - April Baer hosts Michigan Public’s Stateside and previously hosted State of Wonder at Oregon Public Broadcasting. - Before joining Michigan Public, Baer covered government, legal affairs, changing demographics and the arts as a reporter and host. - Narrative 4 is a not-for-profit organization founded by artists, educators and students. - Narrative 4 says its mission is to equip young people to use stories to drive change in their communities. - The organization says its programs replace loneliness and isolation with connection, community and action. - Narrative 4 operates in 12 countries across Africa, Europe, the Middle East and North and South America. - Narrative 4 says more than 1 million stories have been shared through its programs. - More information and registration details are available through the University of Michigan event listing and the Community Story Exchange page.

Between the lines: - The event is framed as both a literary conversation and a civic exercise in empathy. - The partnership reflects a broader push to use arts programming to address social disconnection. - The story-exchange format shifts the audience from listeners to participants, which may deepen the event’s impact beyond a typical lecture.

What's next: - The university will host the conversation and the story exchange on Sept. 30. - Organizers are directing attendees to the event listing for details on the program. - Narrative 4 will continue promoting its story-based programming across its international network.

The bottom line: - The University of Michigan is turning a public event into a direct experiment in storytelling, empathy and human connection.