I'm happy you could brave the storm to come out tonight.
I hope you can stay and have some lemonade and cookies,
and meet Terry McMillan after the reading.
Terry has just joined the Creative Writing Faculty here
at the university this year.
She's a real shot in the arm for all of us.
It's so good to have her here.
Her first novel, Mama, was published
by Houghton Mifflin in 1987.
And we have some copies on sale tonight,
if you'd like to buy one.
It received a Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award.
Her stories, and essays, and excerpts
from her work-in-progress have appeared in such magazines
as Other Voices, Callaloo, Yardbird Reader,
and Esquire magazine.
She's written essays and reviews for The New York
Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and others.
Her second novel, Disappearing Acts,
will be published by Viking Penguin next year.
And also for Viking Penguin, she is
editing an anthology of contemporary fiction
by Black authors.
Her honors include a fellowship from the National Endowment
for the Arts, and fellowships at Yaddo,
and the MacDowell Colony.
It's a real pleasure to introduce to you tonight,
Terry McMillan.
[APPLAUSE]