Columbia Gorge Community College is hosting Oregon Book Award winner Omar El Akkad for a reading on Wednesday evening at the school’s lecture hall in building 2 on The Dalles campus. El Akkad’s latest title, What Strange Paradise, was selected as one of the year’s best books by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, and the Globe and Mail, among others. Omar El Akkad is an author and journalist who was born in Egypt, grew up in Qatar, moved to Canada as a teenager, and now lives in the United States. He’s reported from Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, and many other locations around the world. His debut novel, American War, is an international bestseller. His second novel, What Strange Paradise, won the 2021 Giller Prize, the Pacific Northwest Book Award, and the Oregon Book Award in fiction. The reading will be followed by a Q&A, and starts at 6 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.