News from Heidi

What a cool night! Writer Barbara DeMarco-Barrett hosts a monthly literary salon in Corona del Mar, CA and I was glad to be a part of it. I shared the stage with Danzy Senna (You Are Free) as we talked about the writing process, permission and fear. Thanks for a wonderful evening, everyone!

I can't stop buzzing about the wonderful experience I had last week as a participant on CNN Dialogue's inaugural discussion in Atlanta. I was more than little nervous that I would flub the whole thing up. The panel, which was moderated by CNN's Wolf Blitzer, included fellow panelists Kris Marsh, Yul Kwon, Dana Young and Edward James Olmos. I was there as the author of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky-- talking about the Census and the New America. I wish I could give you a whole play-by-play but it all went by in a kind of blur. There were some interesting highlights --like when Wolf joked that I didn't "sound black" and then I didn't sound Danish -- well, until I busted on with some Danish on stage--I never get to do that. I also really enjoyed hearing from the young people in the audience. Two in particular stood out -- a young woman who clearly got her hackles raised when I said kids didn't necessarily know enough history (she obviously did--and she will definitely be a force) and another young woman who lamented that despite having the best education and access possible, she still found colorism to be so confounding. I wish I had an answer for her--all I could say was "Girl, I wish I knew. I straightened my hair this morning!" We came up with zero answers, but it was a spirited dialogue and I was so excited to be a part of the discussion. There's talk that it will be webcast on the CNN website. I'll keep you posted!

It was a great pleasure to help wrap up the first-ever Summer Blend Book Club created by Michel Martin of NPR's Tell Me More. If you haven't read these books, you must. You will love them. You will often laugh. Check out the interview here.

In the September issue of Woman's Day magazine, Kathryn Stockett, best-selling author of The Help, lists The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, as one of her top 5 all-time favorites!  The Girl . . .  is in some great company on her list!  Thank you Kathryn!

I'll be part of the very first installment of Dirty Laundry Lit hosted by the PEN USA Center featuring some talented writers and musicians (I'm part of the talented writer part ) at The Mandrake which is located at 2692 South La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA. For ticket information visit the event website. Hope to see you there

I'm excited to be a part of this new series CNN Dialogues on Race moderated with Wolf Blitzer on August 31 in Atlanta. Other panelists include actor Edward James Olmos, Survivor winner Yul Kwon, and Professors Kris Marsh, and Dana White. For ticket information visit the university website.

It's official! I am beyond thrilled and honored that Portland has picked The Girl Who Fell From the Sky for its city-wide read, Everybody Reads for 2012! Details to come about events and appearances! Whoo hoo!

Algonquin is giving away 20 copies of The Girl Who Fell From the Sky in honor of the upcoming Algonquin Book Club event on 8/18 at 7pm. The awesome, best-selling writer, Terry McMillan will interview at Book Passage in Corte Madera. Can't make it? Well, it's going to be webcast LIVE! Just add a comment to the Algonquin blog here to enter to win the giveaway. For all the information about the event and webcast click here.

One of the best things about publishing my book about an African-American Dane--what I like to call an Afro-Viking--is meeting other Afro-Vikings. I recently had a chance to meet up with half of the U.S. population of Afro-Vikings in New York City. It was so much fun. If you or someone you know is an Afro-Viking, please email me! We want to meet you!

Words cannot express how excited I am about this upcoming event.  Literary luminary Terry McMillan has agreed to interview me at Book Passage in the Bay Area for the next Algonquin Book Club event.  No worries if you're on the other side of the country or even the world, because the event will be webcast LIVE.  Algonquin also has all sorts of other goodies to share with you around the book--an excerpt, some recipes, and some seriously good wine pairings.  Check it all out here.  And mark your calendars August 18, 2011 at 7pm (Pacific)!