FAMU’s 14th Annual Spring Literary Forum features regional and national artists whose presentations address our 2022 theme: “Music, Authority, and Racial Identity.” Dawnie Walton is our 2022 headliner. A FAMU alumna and former executive-level editor at  Essence, Entertainment Weekly, and Life, Walton was one of 2021’s greatest success stories in the literary world. Her debut novel, The Final Revival of Opal and Nev, attracted a great deal of critical acclaim; moreover, in December, President Barack Obama’s listed it as one of his favorite books of 2021. Walton, a Jacksonville native, will share details about her meteoric rise to literary stardom with us at 6:30 PM. Here is a link to Dawnie Walton’s interview with Terri Gross on NPR: ’70s Music Journalism Gets An Overdue Rewrite In Debut Novel ‘Opal & Nev’ | Fresh Air Archive: Interviews with Terry Gross.

Event is 2/24/22.

Please remember to join our Literary Guild’s discussion on Walton’s novel Wednesday, February 23: https://famu.zoom.us/j/92654243073.

We also welcome you to talks by our other outstanding speakers: Devan Renea, Andrew Skerritt, Dr. Jamil Drake, Brian Forbing, and Lyneisha Watson: https://famu.zoom.us/j/97082253661?pwd=a3hGMkZwK1RaaDdBMkNIM1VLdys3QT09. For additional information, please contact us at natalie.kingpedroso@famu.edu or alexander.brickler@famu.edu. Sponsors: FAMU’s Department of English and Modern Languages; the Literary Guild; the Writing Resource Center; and FAMU’s College of Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities.