Amherst, MA – The Jones Library is holding its third On the Same Page community reading program, this year featuring the novel The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by bestselling author Heidi Durrow. The entire Amherst community is invited to read the book and participate in the upcoming programs and events. The following series of programs will be held during February and March at the Jones Library, and are based on topics and themes from the novel. On the Same Page – Amherst will culminate in an appearance by author Heidi Durrow to be held at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 at the Munson Memorial Library Hall in South Amherst. For complete program descriptions, visit the program’s webpage at http://www.joneslibrary.org/onthesamepage/osp2015.html
February 6 - March 14, 2015 – Atrium Jones Library
Of Many Colors Exhibit - Of Many Colors includes photographs and interviews with families who have bridged the racial divide through interracial relationships and/or adoption. The exhibit and its companion book were created by Family Diversity Projects.
Tuesday, February 24 at 7 pm - Woodbury Room Jones Library: Book Discussion - An interactive book discussion will explore the impact of community on identity with fun & engaging activities, and then lead into sharing and discussing The Girl Who Fell from the Sky. This event is co-sponsored by the Jones Library, Amherst Together, and the Equity Project Intergenerational Team at Amherst College.
Thursday, March 5 at 7:00 pm - Woodbury Room Jones Library: Multiracial Families: The Amherst Experience - A panel of Amherst parents share their personal experiences of parenting biracial and adopted children in our community. The panel will be moderated by Peggy Gillespie, Co-Founder/Director of Family Diversity Projects.
Wednesday, March 11 at 5:30 pm – Munson Memorial Library, South Amherst
Friends’ Reception - Please join the Friends of the Jones Library System and author Heidi Durrow at this special reception. Sponsored by the FOJLS, this event is free & open to the public.
Wednesday, March 11 at 7:00 pm – Munson Memorial Library Hall, South Amherst
On the Same Page...with Heidi Durrow - Join us for this author appearance! Heidi Durrow will talk about her book and the issues it explores. Books will be available for purchase & signing.
Copies of The Girl Who Fell from the Sky can be borrowed from the Jones Library and branches, requested and checked out from the C/W Mars library catalog, or purchased at Amherst Books in Amherst. The Girl Who Fell from the Sky was the winner of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction in 2008, which is awarded biennially to the author of a previously unpublished novel of high literary caliber that promotes fiction which addresses issues of social justice and the impact of culture and politics on human relationships. The Girl Who Fell from the Sky was a has been hailed as one of the Best Novels of 2010 by the Washington Post, a Top 10 Book of 2010 by The Oregonian, and named a Top 10 Debut of 2010 by Booklist, as well as being a New York Times Bestseller, a Los Angeles Times Bestseller, and an Indie Next Pick.
Heidi W. Durrow, the New York Times best-selling author of The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, is a graduate of Stanford, Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism, and Yale Law School. She is the host of a new audio and video podcast called The Mixed Experience, and has been featured as a leading expert on multiracial and multicultural issues and identity by the NBC Nightly News, the New York Times, CNN, National Public Radio, the BBC, Ebony Magazine, and the San Francisco Chronicle. She is an occasional contributor to National Public Radio and blogs for the Huffington Post.
On the Same Page – Amherst and its programs are sponsored by the Friends of the Jones Library System. For further information about the On the Same Page - Amherst, please contact Janet Ryan at 413/259-3223.
