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ANCA hosts noted author

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Author Evelyn Coleman will be the featured speaker at the first meeting of ANCA, the Arne Nixon Center Advocates, a support group of the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children's Literature at the Henry Madden Library. Coleman's appearance is co-hosted by the African American Historical and Cultural Museum of the San Joaquin Valley and sponsored by the Fresno Area Reading Council and Rosellen Kershaw.

The public is invited to attend Coleman's talk on Saturday, Sept. 29, in Room 200 of the University Center. Doors open at 9 a.m. with the meeting scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Coffee and juice will be served. The program, which will allow time for questions and answers, will last about an hour. All ages are welcome. Admission is free for ANCA members, $2 for non-members, and $1 for students. Reservations are required: call ext. 8-8116 or E-mail to jcrow@csufresno.edu. Free parking is available in Lot D.

Coleman's award-winning picture books include "To Be a Drum," "The Foot Warmer and the Crow," "The Glass Bottle Tree," "The Riches of Osceola McCarty," and "White Socks Only." The last title is based on her own childhood experience, when she was too young to realize that some people hated her for the color of her skin. Many of her stories include supernatural elements. "Born in Sin," her first young adult novel, stirred critical controversy with its theme of different kinds of prejudice and its hip-talking, "bilingual" heroine. Coleman has written two books for the American Girl History Series: "Mystery of the Dark Tower," and most recently, "Circle of Fire," based on a actual 1958 Ku Klux Klan plan to bomb a school where Eleanor Roosevelt was scheduled to speak on race relations.

Coleman will sign books from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 28, at Petunia's Place Bookstore, 2017 W. Bullard. Her books will also be available for sale and autographing following her lecture on Sept. 29, and the Arne Nixon Center will be open for tours after the program.

The Arne Nixon Center is located in the Henry Madden Library. For more information, call the Center at ext. 8-8116.

Back to University Journal, 9/10/01 Issue