Conversations: Terry McMillan and Bernice L. McFadden

The Harlem Book Fair was founded in 1999 by QBR/The Black Book Review as a community event and forum for African American readers to discover, experience, and celebrate African American history and culture through books.

The success of that first book fair began what has become a weeklong event and the country’s largest community gathering of African American readers and book lovers. It has evolved into a national brand that is expanding into new markets each year. The Harlem Book Fair now draws over 50,000 attendees, with an additional viewership of over 15 million via C-SPAN’s Book TV. Last year, the Harlem Book Fair was live-telecasted overseas (Europe and Asia) for the first time.

The 2010 Harlem Book Fair will offer two avenue-long blocks on West 135th Street with tents, pavilions of books, food, and cultural concessions. Fair space has more than doubled since its inception. Events will also be held at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Countee Cullen Library, Harlem Hospital, the Thurgood Marshall Academy, and other venues throughout New York City.

CONVERSATIONS: TERRY MCMILLAN AND BERNICE MCFADDEN
The Future of African American Fiction
ONE BOOK/ONE HARLEM
Events at TMA (Thurgood Marshall Academy)
Harlem Book Fair
July 17, 2010
Time: 1:30p to 2:45p
Thurgood Marshall Academy (Auditorium)
214 West 135th Street
New York, NY 10030

Presentation Description:
In the 1920s, the Harlem Renaissance catapulted Harlem’s artistic achievements onto the global literary stage. In 1999, the annual Harlem Book Fair emerged to show the world that the tradition of Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston is alive and kicking. In 2002, Hue-Man Bookstore moved into Harlem to further establish the neighborhood as a major hub of 21st-century literary creativity. Now, in 2010, the Harlem Book Fair and Hue-Man Bookstore team up to select the novel Glorious by Bernice L. McFadden as the inaugural title in a groundbreaking annual program: ONE BOOK, ONE HARLEM.

Join bestselling novelist Terry McMillan and author Bernice McFadden as they discuss Bernice’s acclaimed new release, Glorious, and the future of African American fiction. In a glowing review of Glorious (published May 2010, Akashic Books), Booklist writes: “McFadden interweaves fiction with the historic period of the Harlem Renaissance in this novel about a woman’s struggle against hate and disappointment.” Glorious has also has been hailed by The Oprah Magazine as “riveting” and “brilliant”; Publishers Weekly describes it as “powerful” and “triumphant.”

Group Bookselling and Autographing: 2:50p to 3:20p

Bernice L. McFadden