Join us for the Denver launch of Searches, the genre-defying new book from Pulitzer Prize finalist and Colorado Book Award winner Vauhini Vara.

This special evening features a conversation between Vara and Suma Nallapati, Chief Information Officer for the City and County of Denver. Together, they’ll delve into the central themes of Searches—artificial intelligence, technological capitalism, and the intimate complexities of grief and memory—followed by an audience Q&A and book signing.

When ChatGPT was released in 2022, it sparked a global reckoning with the possibilities and consequences of machine-generated language. But Vara was already ahead of the curve. In 2021, she asked an early AI writing model to help her tell the story of her sister’s death. The result was a haunting and deeply moving essay that went viral, launching her into an ongoing investigation of the emotional, ethical, and creative implications of AI.

Part memoir, part journalism, and part digital archive, Searches weaves together Google queries, Amazon reviews, and algorithmic encounters to examine how we live, grieve, and tell stories in the age of AI.

Whether you're fascinated by emerging technology, drawn to literary nonfiction, or simply curious about how digital life is reshaping our inner worlds, this conversation is not to be missed.

Doors open at 6:00 p.m. The talk begins at 6:30 p.m.Onsite book sales provided by Petals & Pages and Vara will be on hand to sign copies.

This special event will  take place at the Denver Public Library's new Park View space, located at Central Library. Attendees should enter through the Pavilion entrance off 14th Street. 

Registration is required.

To request ASL, CART, or other disability related accommodations, contact programs@denverlibrary.org or call 720-865-1111 with a minimum five (5) business day notice.