McConnell Library, the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, and the Women's Studies Program are co-sponsoring an opportunity to receive a free book by author Lynne Bryant and to be a guest at a dinner with the author so you can meet her and have conversation about her work.  There is no charge for the book or the dinner.  Your only obligation is to read the book before the dinner.

Dr. Bryant writes about race and gender in the deep South.  She grew up in rural Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement.  No place in this country saw as much racially motivated violence as did Mississippi during those years.  Bryant uses her story-telling to come to grips with, and to try to understand, the complexities of race and racism in the South.

If you are interested in participating in this, you must make a commitment to read the book, which will be provided to you free of charge, and you must attend the dinner on Monday, February 25, from 6:30 - 8:30.  Please see the attached flyer with additional information.

Please let Alyssa Archer, McConnell Library, know if you are intereseted in participating.  Please note that seating is limited and registration is required.  Alyssa can be reached via email at Alyssa Archer or phone at 540-831-5688.

About Lynne Bryant
"I was born and raised in rural Mississippi, where my maternal grandparents farmed cotton and my mother is one of their fifteen children.  I grew up during the era of the Civil Rights Movement and came of age during the volatile integration of Mississippi's schools.  I attended nursing school at Mississippi University for Women, and then went on to complete both a masters in nursing from Ole Miss an a PhD in nursing from the University of Colorado.  I now teach nursing full-time in Colorado, but the home of my heart will always be Mississippi.

I came to writing later in life, finally allowing myself to unleash a love of storytelling and a lifetime of struggling to understand the complex race relations in Mississippi.  My stories tackle issues most southerners can identify with, and, like me, have struggled to understand.  My debut novel, Catfish Alley, will be released by NAL/Penguin in Spring 2011.  Contemporary stories defined by the context of Southern history continue to intrigue me as I work on my second novel.  Writing is my way to wrestle with what I can't explain and I am compelled to do that through the voices and stories of the American South."