Tucson Festival of Books

Glenn Kurtz



Beowulf Sheehan

Glenn Kurtz is the author of the newly released “Men at Work: The Empire State Building and the Untold Story of the Craftsmen Who Built It," which identifies the men in Lewis Hine's iconic photos of the Empire State's construction. Kurtz's previous books include “Three Minutes in Poland: Discovering a Lost World in a 1938 Family Film,”  an NPR, New Yorker, and Boston Globe Best Book of 2014, and his memoir “Practicing: A Musician's Return to Music.” A Guggenheim Foundation Fellow, Kurtz currently lives in San Francisco.

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Awards: Guggenheim Fellow


Scheduled events:
Curiosity, Critters and Craft
Join authors Caroline Paul, Katherine Larson, and Glenn Kurtz as they swap stories about the weird, wonderful ways we make sense of the world—through adventure, imagination, and the everyday work people do.

Student Union Sabino (Seats 87)  View this venue on the Festival map
Sat, Mar 14, 1:00 pm - 1:55 pm
Memoir / Essays / Creative Nonfiction
Signing area: UA Campus Store Book Sales (Mall) (following presentation)  View this venue on the Festival map

Panelists: Glenn Kurtz, Katherine Larson, Caroline Paul
Moderator: Patty Machelor
Sponsors: Session made possible courtesy of Joan and Adrian Van Loozenoord, Pima Foundation
The Real Work Behind Great Events
The daily lives and labor of the people whose work underpins history’s greatest events often go unseen. From the early players of the "Basket Ball" league to the workers who built the Empire State Building, these authors reveal how they bring overlooked individuals to life for readers across generations.

UA Library/Special Collections (Seats 110)  View this venue on the Festival map
Sun, Mar 15, 10:00 am - 10:55 am
History / Biography
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area - Integrated Learning Center (following presentation)  View this venue on the Festival map

Panelists: Glenn Kurtz, Kadir Nelson
Moderator: Jaynie Adams
Sponsors: Session made possible courtesy of University of Arizona Libraries, University of Arizona Press, Wick Communications

Books:
Men at Work
The Empire State Building and the Untold Story of the Craftsmen who Built It
Memoir / Essays / Creative Nonfiction
Seven Stories Press
November 2025
ISBN 9781644215029
320 pages
Buy now

Three Minutes in Poland
Discovering a Lost World in a 1938 Family Film
History / Biography
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
November 2015
ISBN 9780374535797
432 pages
Buy now