‘Matrix’ author, National Book Award finalist Lauren Groff talks Nov. 18 at Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND — National Book Award finalist Lauren Groff will talk about her latest novel, “Matrix,” at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 18 at the University of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

Set in the 12th century, “Matrix” reimagines the life of the medieval poet Marie de France as the abbess of a Benedictine monastery in England.

Groff also is the author of the novels “The Monsters of Templeton,” “Arcadia” and “Fates and Furies” and the short story collections “Delicate Edible Birds” and “Florida.”

She has been a finalist for the National Book Award three times, including for “Matrix” this year. The 2021 National Book Award winners will be announced Nov. 17.

Notre Dame assistant professor Katie Bugyis will moderate the event. Bugyis — whose research on religious women in the Middle Ages inspired Groff’s work — is a historical consultant for “Matrix.”

A Q&A will follow Groff’s talk.

Admission is free, but tickets are required.

The event also will be livestreamed at http://pls.nd.edu/groff.

For more information, visit performingarts.nd.edu.