CHIMACUM — Every day, writer Jess Walter feels like he’s got himself a winning lottery ticket.
“I’m so lucky to get to write for a living,” said the journalist and author of Beautiful Ruins, a book that got him rave reviews from critics the world over.
The son of an aluminum factory worker who now has eight books — fiction and non — to his credit, Walter will give the Huntingford Humanities Lecture today at the Chimacum High School auditorium, 91 West Valley Road.
As ever, admission is free to the 6:30 p.m. event, sponsored by the Jefferson County Library.
In an interview earlier this month from his home in Spokane, Walter said he didn’t have a speech all mapped out.
“For me, writing is a really democratic sort of endeavor. I like to talk to people who don’t have MFAs [Master of Fine Arts degrees], or first-generation college students, or someone in their 70s who’s writing their first book.”
The lecture “won’t be polished,” added the soft-spoken Walter.
At 50, he does have plenty to talk about. There’s Beautiful Ruins, the story of an Italian innkeeper who travels to Hollywood in search of the movie star he fell in love with back in 1962.
Released three years ago, the book spent 69 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, including five weeks at No. 1. Maureen Corrigan of NPR’s “Fresh Air” called it “a literary miracle.”
His previous novels have done well, too: The Financial Lives of the Poets, a dark, comic look at the economic crisis of 2008, was named one of the best books of the year by Time, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, “Fresh Air” and others.
His 2006 novel The Zero, a trip through the post-9/11 climate, was a finalist for the National Book Award, and a year earlier, Walter won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for his book Citizen Vince.
Walter has also written short stories — his “Mr. Voice” will be in the Best American Short Stories 2015, to be released in October — and worked on the screenplays of his novels. Both The Financial Lives of the Poets and Beautiful Ruins have been purchased for film development.
Yet, “my favorite is still the writing [of books],” he said. Walter rises at 5 a.m., works until 10 a.m. or 11 a.m., then plays basketball or rides his bicycle, then comes back to the computer to answer emails.
He also collaborates with his friend and fellow author Sherman Alexie on “A Tiny Sense of Accomplishment,” a podcast available via American Public Media. They talk about writing and life, answer letters from listeners and interview other authors.
Walter also savors the chance to get out and talk to readers. As the giver of the Huntingford Lecture, he’s the 14th annual speaker honoring the late Sally L. Huntingford, a teacher and mother who helped establish the public library for rural Jefferson County.
For information about the lecture and other free activities, see www.jclibrary.info, phone 360-385-6544 or visit the county library at 620 Cedar Ave., Port Hadlock.
“My path being a writer,” Walter said, “is to inspire people who want to write — or just love to read.”
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
