One Book, One San Diego Author Event with Chanel Miller

Please join KPBS, presenting sponsor The University of San Diego, and our community partners for a special in-person event with Chanel Miller, author of our 2024 One Book, One San Diego adult selection, “Know My Name: A Memoir*.”

Content warning: This book explores mature themes including sexual assault, subsequent trauma, and other challenging subject matter. Reader discretion is advised. A link to resources is included below.

New York Times Readers’ Choice Best Book of the Century

Universally acclaimed, rapturously reviewed, and an instant New York Times bestseller, Chanel Miller’s breathtaking memoir “gives readers the privilege of knowing her not just as Emily Doe, but as Chanel Miller the writer, the artist, the survivor, the fighter.” (The Wrap).
She was known to the world as Emily Doe when she stunned millions with a letter. Brock Turner had been sentenced to just six months in county J*il after he was found sexually assaulting her on Stanford's campus. Her victim impact statement was posted on BuzzFeed, where it instantly went viral—viewed by eleven million people within four days, it was translated globally and read on the floor of Congress; it inspired changes in California law and the recall of the judge in the case. Thousands wrote to say that she had given them the courage to share their own experiences of assault for the first time.

Now she reclaims her identity to tell her powerful story of trauma, transcendence, and the power of words. It was the perfect case, in many ways--there were eyewitnesses, Turner ran away, physical evidence was immediately secured. But her struggles with isolation and shame during the aftermath and the trial reveal the oppression victims face in even the best-case scenarios. Her story illuminates a culture biased to protect perpetrators, indicts a criminal justice system designed to fail the most vulnerable, and, ultimately, shines with the courage required to move through suffering and live a full and beautiful life.

Know My Name will forever transform the way we think about sexual assault, challenging our beliefs about what is acceptable and speaking truth to the tumultuous reality of healing. It also introduces readers to an extraordinary writer, one whose words have already changed our world. Entwining pain, resilience, and humor, this memoir will stand as a modern classic.

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THIS EVENT IS IN-PERSON AND FREE. Check-in begins at 6:15pm and the program will begin promptly at 7:00pm.

Event Schedule:

Author Talk with Q&A: 7:00-8:00pm

Book Signing*: 8-8:30pm

Complimentary parking will be available.

ADA accommodations are available. If you require accommodations, please email [email protected].

*Book signing will be first come, first served as time allows.

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"Know My Name: A Memoir" may be purchased at the event, or online prior from the Library Shop. Proceeds support the entire San Diego Public Library System. Or check out "Know My Name: A Memoir" for free through the San Diego County Library (ebook and audiobook unlimited access in English!) or the San Diego Public eLibrary.

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Wednesday, September 18 · 4 - 5:30pm

Vassiliadis Family Black Box Theatre, University of San Diego

Prior to the event with Chanel Miller, USD College of Arts and Sciences and the Humanities Center will host faculty who have recently published books. Join us for this presentation of works spanning from academic publications to a novella to a work of photography.

Co-moderated by Noelle Norton, PhD, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Brian Clack, PhD, Professor of Philosophy and the A. Vassiliadis Director of the Humanities Center.

Register today!

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One Book, One San Diego is a partnership, led by KPBS, with the San Diego Public Library, the San Diego County Library, San Diego State University, One Book Sin Fronteras and more than 40 organizations. For more information about One Book, One San Diego, please visit: kpbs.org/onebook

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More about Chanel Miller

Chanel Miller was known under the alias of Emily Doe when she astonished the world with an unforgettably powerful letter. Brock Turner had been sentenced to just six months in county J*il after he was found sexually assaulting Miller on Stanford’s campus. Her response, a powerful victim impact statement she read in court, immediately went viral after it was posted on Buzzfeed. Within days it had been viewed by over eleven million people, translated globally, and read on the floor of Congress. Miller’s testimony ultimately inspired changes in California law and the recall of the judge who presided over her case.  Thousands of assault survivors wrote that her letter had given them the courage to speak up about their own experiences.

In Know My Name, Chanel Miller reclaims her identity and her narrative, turning pain into a declaration of power in this memoir of trauma and transcendence. Her story underscores that even in a “perfect” sexual assault case—one with eyewitnesses and plenty of evidence—justice is never a guarantee, and often the inciting incident is just the beginning of the trauma. Know My Name shines as a story of dignity, resilience, and the strength required to maintain humanity under a criminal justice system designed to fail the most vulnerable. Now, in her intimate, inspiring events, Miller shares her insights on writing, art, and how one brave voice can change the world.

Chanel Miller received her BA in Literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her critically acclaimed memoir, KNOW MY NAME, was a New York Times bestseller, a New York Times Book Review Notable Book, and a National Book Critics Circle Award winner, as well as a best book of 2019 in Time, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, NPR, and People, among others. She was named one of the Forbes 30 Under 30 and a Time Next 100 honoree and was a Glamour Woman of the Year honoree under her pseudonym Emily Doe.

For more information, please visit https://chanel-miller.com/ and follow Chanel on Instagram: @chanel_miller.

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Thank you to our sponsors!

One Book, One San Diego Author Event Presenting Sponsor, The University of San Diego

One Book One San Diego is funded by the Linden Root Dickinson Foundation, the Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation, the Frieda Berlinski Foundation, the Payne Family Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, the University of San Diego, Francis Parker School, the City of San Diego, and Lloyd Pest Control.

Host or Publisher KPBS Public Media