Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Michael Biesecker and Sarah Kaufman are set to be the featured speakers at this year’s Foster-Foreman Conference of Distinguished Writers, offering insights on storytelling and reporting, on Tuesday, October 8, and Wednesday, October 9, in Kern Auditorium.

Both sessions are free and open to the public. Each day of the conference will begin at 6 p.m. with question-and-answer segments following both sessions.

Biesecker, a global investigative reporter for the Associated Press (AP), will kick off the two-day conference, discussing his reporting experiences on human conflict, political corruption, conflict change, and war crimes. Investigative Reporters and Editors presented Biesecker with its highest honor, the 2022 Gold Medal, in recognition of his efforts in tracking possible war crimes in Ukraine.

Biesecker was a member of the AP team that was awarded the Overseas Press Club of America’s top honor and the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. Biesecker also contributed to the production of two PBS Frontline documentaries which focused on Russian actions in Ukraine and were nominated for four Emmy Awards.

Kaufman, the Pulitzer Prize-winning dance critic of the Washington Post and the author of “The Art of Grace: On Moving Well Through Life,” will conclude the event the following day, sharing her experiences writing about the arts and entertainment.

Kaufman has held the titles of Ferris Professor of Journalism, McGraw Professor of Writing at Princeton University, and Nieman Fellow at Harvard. Along with mentorship, she teaches at the National Critics Institute and runs a number of initiatives for aspiring authors. Kaufman worked as a U.S. Senate page and as a journalism fellow of the French-American Foundation after working for the Buffalo News and the Arlington Heights Daily Herald.