Author Nic Stone on January 23 will be the final speaker in Williston’s 20th Writers’ Workshop Series.
Stone’s debut YA novel, Dear Martin (Crown Books for Young Readers), is the story of a smart, successful black 17-year-old young man with a promising future who gets caught in the crossfire of police violence. Seeking answers, he begins a diary to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The book, which spent time on the New York Times bestseller list, is part of a surge of young adult books addressing race and social justice in society (see an article about it in The Atlantic). A Times review noted, “Stone packs an impressive spectrum of characters and viewpoints into 210 fast-paced pages.”
While on campus, she will lead a master class in English following an address to the community and a meeting with students in the Multicultural Student Union and Black Students Alliance. Her talk, in the Dodge Room at 7 p.m., is open to the public.
After graduating from Atlanta’s Spelman College, Stone mentored teens and lived in Israel before returning to the U.S. to write full time. Having grown up among people with a wide range of cultures, religions, and backgrounds, Stone strives to bring these diverse voices and stories to her work.