Ohio University Libraries, in association with the Ohio University Press and the Center for International Studies, will host the Authors @Alden series with Nancy Tingley, author of the Jenna Murphy Mysteries on April 4 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Alden Library’s fourth floor. The live-streamed event is free and open to the public.

The event will include dialogue between Dr. Marion Lee, associate professor of art history, Tingley and the audience. Tingley, whose interest is in Southeast Asia, where most of her novels take place, will not only speak about her writing but also share insights of her experiences and research gained from traveling Asia.

Tingley began her career as a curator at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, California before working independently as a curator, art historian and consultant. She has curated numerous exhibits before becoming the author of the Jenna Murphy Mystery Series.

The Jenna Murphy Mysteries, an art mystery series published by Ohio University Press’ Swallow Press, includes her first novel “A Head in Cambodia,” that follows Jenna Murphy, a young purple-haired, mini-skirted California museum curator of Asian art, who is drawn into a murder case while investigating an 11^th century Cambodian art forgery. And her second novel, “A Death in Bali,” lands Murphy in Ubud, a small tourist town in Bali, to research Balinese paintings from the 20^thcentury. Immediately upon her arrival, she encounters a gruesome murder. She’s soon working with an old friend to find the killer.

“This person, [Jenna Murphy] who’s the main character, knows the back rooms of the museum world and the art world, and how it all works — and she’s able to see some of the deception that goes on,” said Jeff Kallet, sales manager of the Ohio University Press.

According to Kallet, these books are “founded on the notion of authenticity.” Is the artwork real, or is it fake? This question, voiced by many whose occupations are based on certain assumptions, is a basic foundation of academia and museums.

For more information visit: https://www.library.ohio.edu/2019/03/art-mystery-author-discusses-writing-and-research-in-southeast-asia/.