Bernice L. McFadden's Blog, page 13
March 14, 2012
March 1, 2012
Good News in ABUNDANCE!!!
So I've been popping champagne and running myself ragged which led to a complete and total physical meltdown. Which of course led to me having to cancel my Mississippi tour dates. But I'm pulling it together and hopefully I will be able to reschedule those dates very, very soon.
So I guess ya'll are wondering what all of the champagne popping was about!
Well - there was the New York Times Review of Gathering of Waters - by none other than the 2011 National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward - this was followed by the New York Times Editor's Choice, topped off by me inking a Film/Stage option deal for SUGAR with actress, Kimberly Elise!!
So needless to say February was a very exciting month....I hope that March offers more of the same!
Bernice L. McFadden
So I guess ya'll are wondering what all of the champagne popping was about!
Well - there was the New York Times Review of Gathering of Waters - by none other than the 2011 National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward - this was followed by the New York Times Editor's Choice, topped off by me inking a Film/Stage option deal for SUGAR with actress, Kimberly Elise!!
So needless to say February was a very exciting month....I hope that March offers more of the same!
Bernice L. McFadden
Brooklyn!!!
Hello Brooklynites!
Please come out to see me tonight at 6:30PM
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation - Skylight Gallery, 1368 Fulton Street, 3rd Floor (between Brooklyn and New York Avenues) , Brooklyn, New York, United States
The Buzz around Gathering of Waters:
"McFadden works a kind of miracle -- not only do her characters
retain their appealing humanity; their story eclipses the bonds of
history to offer continuous surprises . . . Beautiful and evocative,
Gathering of Waters brings three generations to life . . .ÊThe real
power of the narrative lies in the richness and complexity of the
characters. While they inhabit these pages they live, and they do so
gloriously and messily and magically, so that we are at last sorry to
see them go, and we sit with those small moments we had with them and
worry over them, enchanted, until they become something like our own
memories, dimmed by time, but alive with the ghosts of the past, and
burning with spirits."
--Jesmyn Ward, New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice)
"Read it aloud. Hire a chorus to chant it to you and anyone else
interested in hearing about civil rights and uncivil desires, about
the dark heat of hate, about the force of forgiveness."
--Alan Cheuse, All Things Considered, NPR; click here to hear the entire review
"McFadden combines events of Biblical proportions--from flooding to
resurrection--with history to create a cautionary, redemptive tale
that spans the early twentieth century to the start of Hurricane
Katrina. She compellingly invites readers to consider the distinctions
between 'truth or fantasy' . . . In McFadden's boldly spun yarn,
consequences extend across time and place. This is an arresting
historical portrait of Southern life with reimagined outcomes,
suggesting that hope in the enduring power of memory can offer healing
where justice does not suffice."
--Publishers Weekly
"The rich text is shaped by the African American storytelling
tradition and layered with significant American histories. Recalling
the woven spirituality of Toni Morrison's Beloved, this work will
appeal to readers of mystic literature."
--Library Journal
"McFadden makes powerful use of imagery in this fantastical novel of
ever-flowing waters and troubled spirits."
--Booklist
"As strange as this may sound, Bernice L. McFadden has created a
magical, fantastic novel centered around the notorious tragedy of
Emmett Till's murder. This is a startling, beautifully written piece
of work."
--Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River
"In her new novel, Gathering of Waters, Bernice McFadden brings her
own special vision to the unfortunate story of Emmett Till and his
murder in Money, Mississippi. This moving and magical novel, which
traces the generations leading up to and away from that horrible night
in 1955, drew me in immediately and swept me along through its richly
imagined world. I couldn't stop reading, caught up as I was in that
enticing place between truth and fantasy, the here-and-now and the
what-was, the living and the dead, the ugliness and the beauty, the
hatred and the love. What a rich chorus of voices Bernice McFadden has
fashioned from this place called Money."
--Lee Martin, author of Break the Skin and The Bright Forever
Please come out to see me tonight at 6:30PM
Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation - Skylight Gallery, 1368 Fulton Street, 3rd Floor (between Brooklyn and New York Avenues) , Brooklyn, New York, United States
The Buzz around Gathering of Waters:
"McFadden works a kind of miracle -- not only do her characters
retain their appealing humanity; their story eclipses the bonds of
history to offer continuous surprises . . . Beautiful and evocative,
Gathering of Waters brings three generations to life . . .ÊThe real
power of the narrative lies in the richness and complexity of the
characters. While they inhabit these pages they live, and they do so
gloriously and messily and magically, so that we are at last sorry to
see them go, and we sit with those small moments we had with them and
worry over them, enchanted, until they become something like our own
memories, dimmed by time, but alive with the ghosts of the past, and
burning with spirits."
--Jesmyn Ward, New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice)
"Read it aloud. Hire a chorus to chant it to you and anyone else
interested in hearing about civil rights and uncivil desires, about
the dark heat of hate, about the force of forgiveness."
--Alan Cheuse, All Things Considered, NPR; click here to hear the entire review
"McFadden combines events of Biblical proportions--from flooding to
resurrection--with history to create a cautionary, redemptive tale
that spans the early twentieth century to the start of Hurricane
Katrina. She compellingly invites readers to consider the distinctions
between 'truth or fantasy' . . . In McFadden's boldly spun yarn,
consequences extend across time and place. This is an arresting
historical portrait of Southern life with reimagined outcomes,
suggesting that hope in the enduring power of memory can offer healing
where justice does not suffice."
--Publishers Weekly
"The rich text is shaped by the African American storytelling
tradition and layered with significant American histories. Recalling
the woven spirituality of Toni Morrison's Beloved, this work will
appeal to readers of mystic literature."
--Library Journal
"McFadden makes powerful use of imagery in this fantastical novel of
ever-flowing waters and troubled spirits."
--Booklist
"As strange as this may sound, Bernice L. McFadden has created a
magical, fantastic novel centered around the notorious tragedy of
Emmett Till's murder. This is a startling, beautifully written piece
of work."
--Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River
"In her new novel, Gathering of Waters, Bernice McFadden brings her
own special vision to the unfortunate story of Emmett Till and his
murder in Money, Mississippi. This moving and magical novel, which
traces the generations leading up to and away from that horrible night
in 1955, drew me in immediately and swept me along through its richly
imagined world. I couldn't stop reading, caught up as I was in that
enticing place between truth and fantasy, the here-and-now and the
what-was, the living and the dead, the ugliness and the beauty, the
hatred and the love. What a rich chorus of voices Bernice McFadden has
fashioned from this place called Money."
--Lee Martin, author of Break the Skin and The Bright Forever
February 7, 2012
Gathering of Waters makes the Charlotte, NC Local News...
This is so cool...
My daughter attended college in Charlotte, NC -- I have a a home there... I seriously entertained the idea of relocating to that gorgeous city...
Thank you Charlotte for recognizing this book...
Bernice L. McFadden
My daughter attended college in Charlotte, NC -- I have a a home there... I seriously entertained the idea of relocating to that gorgeous city...
Thank you Charlotte for recognizing this book...
Bernice L. McFadden
February 6, 2012
Book to Beach Vacation Give-A-Way (EXTENDED UNTIL 3/15/12)
Are you itching to get away from your everyday ho-hum life and swim in the warm, crystal waters of the Caribbean Sea?
Well then Barbados is the place you want to be!
In Barbados you and a guest can spend your days snorkeling, jet-skiing, swimming with the turtles, spelunking in Harrison Cave or just lazing on the beach sipping on rum punch. Whatever you choose to do, you'll never get bored with Barbados!
Thankfully, if you've purchased or plan to purchase a copy (Hardcover/Paperback/Ebook) of Gathering of Waters before March 1st, 2012 then you and a guest will be entered to win a Five Day, Four Night Stay at Becky's By The Sea Guesthouse located in Fitts Village, Barbados.
In order to be entered to win you must fax/email or snail mail a copy of your Gathering of Waters purchase receipt (please include your full name, mailing address and telephone contact) postmarked no later than March 15th, 2012
Mailing Address:
Book to Beach Contest
c/o Akashic Books
232 Third St.,
#B404,
Brooklyn, NY 11215.
Fax: 718 – 643 – 9195
Email: gatheringofwaters12@gmail.com
The winner be drawn on March 20th.
The accommodation will be available for use between 3/15/2012 – 10/31/2012. The winner must book directly with Davette Reid, the proprietor of Becky's By The Sea
**This offer includes room & tax ONLY. The offer is transferable. Bernice L. McFadden reserves the right to accommodate the winner in an alternate location on the island of Barbados.**
Click HERE to view Becky's By The Sea.
Bernice L. McFadden
Well then Barbados is the place you want to be!
In Barbados you and a guest can spend your days snorkeling, jet-skiing, swimming with the turtles, spelunking in Harrison Cave or just lazing on the beach sipping on rum punch. Whatever you choose to do, you'll never get bored with Barbados!
Thankfully, if you've purchased or plan to purchase a copy (Hardcover/Paperback/Ebook) of Gathering of Waters before March 1st, 2012 then you and a guest will be entered to win a Five Day, Four Night Stay at Becky's By The Sea Guesthouse located in Fitts Village, Barbados.
In order to be entered to win you must fax/email or snail mail a copy of your Gathering of Waters purchase receipt (please include your full name, mailing address and telephone contact) postmarked no later than March 15th, 2012
Mailing Address:
Book to Beach Contest
c/o Akashic Books
232 Third St.,
#B404,
Brooklyn, NY 11215.
Fax: 718 – 643 – 9195
Email: gatheringofwaters12@gmail.com
The winner be drawn on March 20th.
The accommodation will be available for use between 3/15/2012 – 10/31/2012. The winner must book directly with Davette Reid, the proprietor of Becky's By The Sea
**This offer includes room & tax ONLY. The offer is transferable. Bernice L. McFadden reserves the right to accommodate the winner in an alternate location on the island of Barbados.**
Click HERE to view Becky's By The Sea.
Bernice L. McFadden
Book to Beach Vacation Give-A-Way
Are you itching to get away from your everyday ho-hum life and swim in the warm, crystal waters of the Caribbean Sea?
Well then Barbados is the place you want to be!
In Barbados you and a guest can spend your days snorkeling, jet-skiing, swimming with the turtles, spelunking in Harrison Cave or just lazing on the beach sipping on rum punch. Whatever you choose to do, you'll never get bored with Barbados!
Thankfully, if you've purchased or plan to purchase a copy (Hardcover/Paperback/Ebook) of Gathering of Waters before March 1st, 2012 then you can and a guest will be entered to win a Five Day, Four Night Stay at Becky's By The Sea Guesthouse located in Fitts Village, Barbados.
In order to be entered to win you must fax/email or snail mail a copy of your Gathering of Waters purchase receipt (please include your full name, mailing address and telephone contact) postmarked no later than March 1st, 2012
Mailing Address:
Book to Beach Contest
c/o Akashic Books
232 Third St.,
#B404,
Brooklyn, NY 11215.
Fax: 718 – 643 – 9195
Email: gatheringofwaters12@gmail.com
The winner be drawn on March 5th
The accommodation will be available for use between 3/15/2012 – 10/31/2012. The winner must book directly with Davette Reid, the proprietor of Becky's By The Sea
**This offer includes room & tax ONLY. The offer is transferable. Bernice L. McFadden reserves the right to accommodate the winner in an alternate location on the island of Barbados.**
Click HERE to view Becky's By The Sea.
Bernice L. McFadden
Well then Barbados is the place you want to be!
In Barbados you and a guest can spend your days snorkeling, jet-skiing, swimming with the turtles, spelunking in Harrison Cave or just lazing on the beach sipping on rum punch. Whatever you choose to do, you'll never get bored with Barbados!
Thankfully, if you've purchased or plan to purchase a copy (Hardcover/Paperback/Ebook) of Gathering of Waters before March 1st, 2012 then you can and a guest will be entered to win a Five Day, Four Night Stay at Becky's By The Sea Guesthouse located in Fitts Village, Barbados.
In order to be entered to win you must fax/email or snail mail a copy of your Gathering of Waters purchase receipt (please include your full name, mailing address and telephone contact) postmarked no later than March 1st, 2012
Mailing Address:
Book to Beach Contest
c/o Akashic Books
232 Third St.,
#B404,
Brooklyn, NY 11215.
Fax: 718 – 643 – 9195
Email: gatheringofwaters12@gmail.com
The winner be drawn on March 5th
The accommodation will be available for use between 3/15/2012 – 10/31/2012. The winner must book directly with Davette Reid, the proprietor of Becky's By The Sea
**This offer includes room & tax ONLY. The offer is transferable. Bernice L. McFadden reserves the right to accommodate the winner in an alternate location on the island of Barbados.**
Click HERE to view Becky's By The Sea.
Bernice L. McFadden
January 31, 2012
Can we talk about Providence?
The other night I watched Morgan Freeman on Master Class, which airs weekly on Oprah Winfrey's OWN channel. I had had a glum sort of day. I wasn't feeling very good about a number of things that are going on in my life. But try as I might to distract myself, the best I could do was climb onto my couch and curl up in my comforter.
There is where I remained until Morgan Freeman's glowing face filled my television screen. He spoke about the challenges, obstacles and struggles he faced at the dawn of his career. He spoke incessantly about the hand of providence – the divine guidance that we all experience, but so many of us fail to acknowledge.
I am well aware of providence and have tried to live with the idea in the forefront of my life. But I am a flesh and blood woman and so it's not always easy to see the forest for the trees.
Thirteen years ago, I had put nearly ten years into shopping the manuscript which would eventually become my debut novel: SUGAR.
Back then I was told in more than 75 rejection letters that there was no audience for my book.
Those letters made me angry. Sometimes I cried out of frustration because I knew the editors and agents were wrong. They didn't live in my heart, soul and memory. They couldn't feel the constant prodding I felt. They didn't know that as much as I wanted to abandon the ridiculous idea of becoming a published writer –there was stronger force urging me forward.
And then one day, during the early months if 1999, I received the letter that would forever change my life! Sugar was published in January of 2000 and my literary career was born.
It was nothing for me to quit my job, buy a house and car. My friends thought I was crazy. "How do you expect to make a living as a writer?" They asked.
Why would I think that I couldn't make a living as a writer? I had hundreds of examples that were doing just that! And besides, I told those doubters – this is what I was put here to do. This is my destiny!
Fast forward to 2006.
I was notified by my long time publisher that Nowhere is a Place would be the last novel of mine that they would publish. Okay, I thought to myself. No problem. I'll find another publisher in a few days. A few days turned into three years.
During those three years, I felt as if I was reliving those years before I secured my first book contract. I received numerous rejection letters that echoed one major theme: "I think Bernice L. McFadden's career is over."
I thought, well maybe it is. Maybe I should be grateful for the run I had. Maybe I should apply for a job at the post office and just forget about this writing thing. I said all of that but that "thing" inside of me wouldn't go quietly away. And the urge to continue on – no matter how heartbreaking the journey – continued to beat like a drum. And so I remained obedient to the call and in 2009 I finally secured publishing deal with Akashic Books, a small, very well respected press here in my hometown of Brooklyn, NY.
They published GLORIOUS, my first literary novel in four years. The book went on to win numerous awards and accolades.
I'm hoping my newest novel GATHERING OF WATERS will achieve much of the same.
I thought I'd share this story with you because there is something to be said about staying true to your calling. Much to be said about holding on and weathering the storms that blow through your life – about passing the test so you can have a testimony….
Bernice L. McFadden
There is where I remained until Morgan Freeman's glowing face filled my television screen. He spoke about the challenges, obstacles and struggles he faced at the dawn of his career. He spoke incessantly about the hand of providence – the divine guidance that we all experience, but so many of us fail to acknowledge.
I am well aware of providence and have tried to live with the idea in the forefront of my life. But I am a flesh and blood woman and so it's not always easy to see the forest for the trees.
Thirteen years ago, I had put nearly ten years into shopping the manuscript which would eventually become my debut novel: SUGAR.
Back then I was told in more than 75 rejection letters that there was no audience for my book.
Those letters made me angry. Sometimes I cried out of frustration because I knew the editors and agents were wrong. They didn't live in my heart, soul and memory. They couldn't feel the constant prodding I felt. They didn't know that as much as I wanted to abandon the ridiculous idea of becoming a published writer –there was stronger force urging me forward.
And then one day, during the early months if 1999, I received the letter that would forever change my life! Sugar was published in January of 2000 and my literary career was born.
It was nothing for me to quit my job, buy a house and car. My friends thought I was crazy. "How do you expect to make a living as a writer?" They asked.
Why would I think that I couldn't make a living as a writer? I had hundreds of examples that were doing just that! And besides, I told those doubters – this is what I was put here to do. This is my destiny!
Fast forward to 2006.
I was notified by my long time publisher that Nowhere is a Place would be the last novel of mine that they would publish. Okay, I thought to myself. No problem. I'll find another publisher in a few days. A few days turned into three years.
During those three years, I felt as if I was reliving those years before I secured my first book contract. I received numerous rejection letters that echoed one major theme: "I think Bernice L. McFadden's career is over."
I thought, well maybe it is. Maybe I should be grateful for the run I had. Maybe I should apply for a job at the post office and just forget about this writing thing. I said all of that but that "thing" inside of me wouldn't go quietly away. And the urge to continue on – no matter how heartbreaking the journey – continued to beat like a drum. And so I remained obedient to the call and in 2009 I finally secured publishing deal with Akashic Books, a small, very well respected press here in my hometown of Brooklyn, NY.
They published GLORIOUS, my first literary novel in four years. The book went on to win numerous awards and accolades.
I'm hoping my newest novel GATHERING OF WATERS will achieve much of the same.
I thought I'd share this story with you because there is something to be said about staying true to your calling. Much to be said about holding on and weathering the storms that blow through your life – about passing the test so you can have a testimony….
Bernice L. McFadden
January 19, 2012
Run Tell That!
Gathering of Waters received a really wonderful review from Alan Cheuse on NPR - He suggests that you:
"Read it aloud. Hire a chorus to chant it to you and anyone else interested in hearing about civil rights and uncivil desires, about the dark heat of hate, about the force of forgiveness!"
Click here to listen/read the entire review.
On Friday, George Lucas' newest film: REDTAILS will be released in the theaters. We must go out and support this movie. Lucas used 93 million of his own dollars to bring this film to life. Why? Because the major studios balked at the film simply because it has an all black cast. Don't believe me? Watch this! (Maybe now that a powerful white man is talking about racism in the industry, people will now believe it exists!)
Bestselling authors, Victoria Christopher Murray and Reshonda Tate Billingsley are on the road promoting there new novel: Sinners and Saints -- look out for them at a bookstore near you!
In stores next week: PASSING LOVE by Jacqueline Luckett
Summary: Nicole-Marie Handy has loved all things French since she was a child. After the death of her best friend, determined to get out of her rut, she goes to Paris, leaving behind a marriage proposal. While there, Nicole chances upon an old photo of her father-lovingly inscribed, in his hand, to a woman Nicole has never heard of. What starts as a vacation quickly becomes an investigation into his relationship to this mystery woman.
Moving back and forth in time between the sparkling Paris of today and the jazz-fueled city filled with expatriates in the 1950s, Passing Love is the story of two women dealing with lost love, secrets, and betrayal...and how the City of Light may hold all of the answers.
Until next time!
Bernice L. McFadden
"Read it aloud. Hire a chorus to chant it to you and anyone else interested in hearing about civil rights and uncivil desires, about the dark heat of hate, about the force of forgiveness!"
Click here to listen/read the entire review.
On Friday, George Lucas' newest film: REDTAILS will be released in the theaters. We must go out and support this movie. Lucas used 93 million of his own dollars to bring this film to life. Why? Because the major studios balked at the film simply because it has an all black cast. Don't believe me? Watch this! (Maybe now that a powerful white man is talking about racism in the industry, people will now believe it exists!)
Bestselling authors, Victoria Christopher Murray and Reshonda Tate Billingsley are on the road promoting there new novel: Sinners and Saints -- look out for them at a bookstore near you!
In stores next week: PASSING LOVE by Jacqueline Luckett
Summary: Nicole-Marie Handy has loved all things French since she was a child. After the death of her best friend, determined to get out of her rut, she goes to Paris, leaving behind a marriage proposal. While there, Nicole chances upon an old photo of her father-lovingly inscribed, in his hand, to a woman Nicole has never heard of. What starts as a vacation quickly becomes an investigation into his relationship to this mystery woman.
Moving back and forth in time between the sparkling Paris of today and the jazz-fueled city filled with expatriates in the 1950s, Passing Love is the story of two women dealing with lost love, secrets, and betrayal...and how the City of Light may hold all of the answers.
Until next time!
Bernice L. McFadden
January 12, 2012
Gathering of Waters hits the road in 2012
Happy New Year!!
On January 31st my new novel Gathering of Waters will be available in Hardcover, Paperback and Ebook.
So many of you have pre-ordered your preferred format and I'm so grateful. Thank you very, very much!
Keep in mind that it is critical to go and support the book during it's first week of publication. Just the same way you would for your favorite actors and their movies...
I'll be traveling around the country promoting Gathering of Waters - so I hope I get to meet you in one the cities that I'll be visiting. Keep mind this is just the preliminary tour schedule - I expect I'll be adding many more dates and venues as the year begins to unfold.
Please share this on your social networking sites and with your friends and family!
--Sun., Jan 22nd 9PM EST Bernice L. McFadden hosts #Blacklitchat on Twitter
--Sun., Feb. 5th 2PM – 4:30PM Word Theater presents Bernice L. McFadden's short story "Black Power" @SoHo House NY, 29-35 9th Avenue New York, NY 10014
Doors open at 2 PM Performances and Q & A from 2:30 to 4:30
Tickets are $28 in advance, $35 at the door. Soho House members and those under 25 years of age may call the box office for $23 tickets (310) 915-5150.
--Thurs., Feb. 9, 7:00pm NYC book launch for GATHERING OF WATERS Center for Fiction 17 E. 47th St. NEW YORK, NY RSVP required, please email events@centerforfiction.org or call 212 755 6710
-- Wed. Feb 15th Author Reading at Independence Blue Cross, 1900 Market Street Philadelphia
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Author Reading and Book Signing
12:05 p.m. to 12:50 p.m. Lunch Break
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Author Reading and Book Signing
AND
Art Sanctuary, 628 South 16th Street Philadelphia
6:00 p.m. to 8PM Author Reading, Discussion and Question & Answer
--Sun., Feb. 19, 3PM -6PM "Arts in the Afternoon" First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens 771 Somerset St., Somerset NJ / Tickets are $35.
For more information, please e-mail Karen Seabrook at ksea11126@aol.com
--Tues., Feb. 21, 3PM - 6PM Hammonds House Museum 503 Peeples St. SW ATLANTA, GA * Written Magazine presents Wine & Words with Bernice L. McFadden and Nelson George
--Thurs., Feb. 23, 5:00pm Lemuria Books 202 Banner Hall 4465 I-55 North JACKSON, MS
--Fri., Feb. 24, 5:00pm Square Books 160 Courthouse Sq. OXFORD, MS
--Mon., Feb 27th Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY Reading and Signing with Hillary Jordan (Mudbound and When She Woke)
--Thurs., March 1, 6:30pm Skylight Gallery at Restoration Plaza 1368 Fulton St. 3rd Fl. BROOKLYN, NY
--Sat., March 3, 6:00pm Literary Feast FORT LAUDERDALE, FL * Details TBA
--Sun., March 4, 2012, 12:30pm LitLIVE! Nova Southeastern University FORT LAUDERDALE, FL * Lecture/discussion/book signing * Details TBA
--Mon., March 5, 2012, 8:00pm Novel Day for Students Broward High School FORT LAUDERDALE, FL * Craft talk and short story contest for Broward High students * Details TBA
--Sat., March 10, 1:00pm Enoch Pratt Free Library 400 Cathedral St. BALTIMORE, MD * The Antigua & Barbuda International Literary Festival presents Bernice McFadden on panel (with others TBA) in celebration of International Women's History Month
--Mon., March 19, 7:00pm St. Mark's Bookshop 31 Third Ave. NEW YORK, NY * Akashic All-Stars event featuring Robert Arellano, Bernice L. McFadden, Eliza Factor, and Sterling Watson
--Tues., March 20, 7:00pm Brookline Booksmith 279 Harvard St. BROOKLINE, MA * Akashic All-Stars event featuring Robert Arellano, Bernice L. McFadden, Eliza Factor, and Sterling Watson
--Thurs., March 22, 7:00pm Books on the Square 471 Angell St. PROVIDENCE, RI * Akashic All-Stars event featuring Robert Arellano, Bernice L. McFadden, Eliza Factor, and Sterling Watson
--Sat., March 31, time TBA National Black Writers Conference Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College 1650 Bedford Ave. BROOKLYN, NY
Bernice L. McFadden
On January 31st my new novel Gathering of Waters will be available in Hardcover, Paperback and Ebook.
So many of you have pre-ordered your preferred format and I'm so grateful. Thank you very, very much!
Keep in mind that it is critical to go and support the book during it's first week of publication. Just the same way you would for your favorite actors and their movies...
I'll be traveling around the country promoting Gathering of Waters - so I hope I get to meet you in one the cities that I'll be visiting. Keep mind this is just the preliminary tour schedule - I expect I'll be adding many more dates and venues as the year begins to unfold.
Please share this on your social networking sites and with your friends and family!
--Sun., Jan 22nd 9PM EST Bernice L. McFadden hosts #Blacklitchat on Twitter
--Sun., Feb. 5th 2PM – 4:30PM Word Theater presents Bernice L. McFadden's short story "Black Power" @SoHo House NY, 29-35 9th Avenue New York, NY 10014
Doors open at 2 PM Performances and Q & A from 2:30 to 4:30
Tickets are $28 in advance, $35 at the door. Soho House members and those under 25 years of age may call the box office for $23 tickets (310) 915-5150.
--Thurs., Feb. 9, 7:00pm NYC book launch for GATHERING OF WATERS Center for Fiction 17 E. 47th St. NEW YORK, NY RSVP required, please email events@centerforfiction.org or call 212 755 6710
-- Wed. Feb 15th Author Reading at Independence Blue Cross, 1900 Market Street Philadelphia
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Author Reading and Book Signing
12:05 p.m. to 12:50 p.m. Lunch Break
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Author Reading and Book Signing
AND
Art Sanctuary, 628 South 16th Street Philadelphia
6:00 p.m. to 8PM Author Reading, Discussion and Question & Answer
--Sun., Feb. 19, 3PM -6PM "Arts in the Afternoon" First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens 771 Somerset St., Somerset NJ / Tickets are $35.
For more information, please e-mail Karen Seabrook at ksea11126@aol.com
--Tues., Feb. 21, 3PM - 6PM Hammonds House Museum 503 Peeples St. SW ATLANTA, GA * Written Magazine presents Wine & Words with Bernice L. McFadden and Nelson George
--Thurs., Feb. 23, 5:00pm Lemuria Books 202 Banner Hall 4465 I-55 North JACKSON, MS
--Fri., Feb. 24, 5:00pm Square Books 160 Courthouse Sq. OXFORD, MS
--Mon., Feb 27th Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY Reading and Signing with Hillary Jordan (Mudbound and When She Woke)
--Thurs., March 1, 6:30pm Skylight Gallery at Restoration Plaza 1368 Fulton St. 3rd Fl. BROOKLYN, NY
--Sat., March 3, 6:00pm Literary Feast FORT LAUDERDALE, FL * Details TBA
--Sun., March 4, 2012, 12:30pm LitLIVE! Nova Southeastern University FORT LAUDERDALE, FL * Lecture/discussion/book signing * Details TBA
--Mon., March 5, 2012, 8:00pm Novel Day for Students Broward High School FORT LAUDERDALE, FL * Craft talk and short story contest for Broward High students * Details TBA
--Sat., March 10, 1:00pm Enoch Pratt Free Library 400 Cathedral St. BALTIMORE, MD * The Antigua & Barbuda International Literary Festival presents Bernice McFadden on panel (with others TBA) in celebration of International Women's History Month
--Mon., March 19, 7:00pm St. Mark's Bookshop 31 Third Ave. NEW YORK, NY * Akashic All-Stars event featuring Robert Arellano, Bernice L. McFadden, Eliza Factor, and Sterling Watson
--Tues., March 20, 7:00pm Brookline Booksmith 279 Harvard St. BROOKLINE, MA * Akashic All-Stars event featuring Robert Arellano, Bernice L. McFadden, Eliza Factor, and Sterling Watson
--Thurs., March 22, 7:00pm Books on the Square 471 Angell St. PROVIDENCE, RI * Akashic All-Stars event featuring Robert Arellano, Bernice L. McFadden, Eliza Factor, and Sterling Watson
--Sat., March 31, time TBA National Black Writers Conference Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College 1650 Bedford Ave. BROOKLYN, NY
Bernice L. McFadden
December 19, 2011
Be a Pearl and fly through life like a Bumble Bee..
Yesterday, I spent the day on the couch, in the dark, dwelling on what is not going right in my life and what if anything my future holds.
I was beyond blue..
Besides my financial situation, what weighs heaviest on my heart is this writing life. A life that I did not choose - it chose me. If I could have chosen something else - I would have, 'cause this writing thing can be heartbreaking on levels that I will not even go into.
But here's the thing - it's a gift, this writing thing. And one should never turn a gift away or ask the giver to explain it. One should accept gifts with grace and humility. The gift - no matter how small - should be put to use, no matter what the naysayers have to say.
I was reminded of this very thing yesterday as I sat watching (for the umpteenth time) the documentary: A Man Named Pearl, which tells the inspiring story of self-taught topiary artist Pearl Fryar.
What stands out for me in this story is when a gentleman, after viewing and carefully inspecting Pearl's magnificent garden, turned to Pearl and said, "You should not be able to do this. You don't have any formal horticultural training."
Pearls response was, "I didn't know that I shouldn't be able to do this."
I get chills every time I hear him say that!
It's similar to the story of the Bumble Bee. Did you know that based on the shape of the Bumble Bee, it should not be able to fly? It is not aerodynamically designed for flight! But it flies nonetheless. Maybe if someone told it early on that it couldn't fly then we'd have Bumble Bee's crawling all over the ground. If someone told Pearl Fyar that he couldn't grow plants in the spectacular way he does - then we wouldn't have his beautiful garden to visit and wonder at.
I've had people say that I should not know how to write - the way I write - because I did not have any formal training. I've also been told that because I do not hold an MFA I will never be able to break into the Literary Circles that one needs to be connected to in order to secure certain residencies, awards, grants and fellowships.
It is so true the adage: Knowledge is a powerful thing. Knowledge can build you up and sometimes it can break you down.
So yesterday, at least for part of the day - I was on the downside of the knowledge is power thing. But today - is a better day. It's a bright, frigidly cold day and I feel renewed!
I went to bed thinking about Pearl and the Bumble Bee and woke up this morning with the decision to do away with the so-called "rules" of this writing life and return to the blissful ignorance that has carried me through the writing and publication of thirteen novels.
I'm going to relish in my gift and not worry it away. I'm going to be a pearl and fly like a bumble bee straight into 2012.
Won't you join me?
This is my holiday wish for myself and for all of you.......
Until next year.....
I was beyond blue..
Besides my financial situation, what weighs heaviest on my heart is this writing life. A life that I did not choose - it chose me. If I could have chosen something else - I would have, 'cause this writing thing can be heartbreaking on levels that I will not even go into.
But here's the thing - it's a gift, this writing thing. And one should never turn a gift away or ask the giver to explain it. One should accept gifts with grace and humility. The gift - no matter how small - should be put to use, no matter what the naysayers have to say.
I was reminded of this very thing yesterday as I sat watching (for the umpteenth time) the documentary: A Man Named Pearl, which tells the inspiring story of self-taught topiary artist Pearl Fryar.
What stands out for me in this story is when a gentleman, after viewing and carefully inspecting Pearl's magnificent garden, turned to Pearl and said, "You should not be able to do this. You don't have any formal horticultural training."
Pearls response was, "I didn't know that I shouldn't be able to do this."
I get chills every time I hear him say that!
It's similar to the story of the Bumble Bee. Did you know that based on the shape of the Bumble Bee, it should not be able to fly? It is not aerodynamically designed for flight! But it flies nonetheless. Maybe if someone told it early on that it couldn't fly then we'd have Bumble Bee's crawling all over the ground. If someone told Pearl Fyar that he couldn't grow plants in the spectacular way he does - then we wouldn't have his beautiful garden to visit and wonder at.
I've had people say that I should not know how to write - the way I write - because I did not have any formal training. I've also been told that because I do not hold an MFA I will never be able to break into the Literary Circles that one needs to be connected to in order to secure certain residencies, awards, grants and fellowships.
It is so true the adage: Knowledge is a powerful thing. Knowledge can build you up and sometimes it can break you down.
So yesterday, at least for part of the day - I was on the downside of the knowledge is power thing. But today - is a better day. It's a bright, frigidly cold day and I feel renewed!
I went to bed thinking about Pearl and the Bumble Bee and woke up this morning with the decision to do away with the so-called "rules" of this writing life and return to the blissful ignorance that has carried me through the writing and publication of thirteen novels.
I'm going to relish in my gift and not worry it away. I'm going to be a pearl and fly like a bumble bee straight into 2012.
Won't you join me?
This is my holiday wish for myself and for all of you.......
Until next year.....
