Tag: Mississippi State University

Some Surprises!

Earlier this week, I spent a few days in Starkville, Mississippi, home to Mississippi State University.

Home.

I grew up in Fentress, Mississippi, thirty minutes away from Starkville, down Mississippi Highway 12. I graduated with my B. A. and M. A. from there in the early ’90s.

Never did I ever dream that one day, a book I wrote would be required reading in a class offered by that university. Never did I ever think a book of mine would greet visitors to the English Department by being in a display next to the likes of Brad Watson, God rest his soul. (see photo–credit to Daughter #3 for that picture).

I did a lot of dreaming when I was a student there–but I never went that far in my mind.

I read my work to an audience while I was there that was so appreciative and seemed so interested in what I had to say about writing and the writing life. It was all I could do not to pinch myself standing in front of them.

(You can see the video of the event if you go to the Hurricane Baby: Stories page and click on “Press”)

And I sold and signed some books at that event as well. So lovely to be able to do that.

Then this weekend, I went to a small town new to me–Picayune, Mississippi. They had a street fair downtown; one of the booth organizers had reached out on social media for Mississippi authors, and I volunteered to go. Spent this afternoon talking to folks and selling my dark little story collection. I didn’t really know what to expect as far as sales there–I’d never done an outdoor venue like that before.

And I sold half the books I took–about as many books than I’d actually sold at the university event.

Readers are everywhere, y’all. Make hay while the sun shines.

Lots to Celebrate with Lots of Links!

So today represents the first fiction I’ve placed since I published Hurricane Baby–this work is a storyline I first created in 2009 as part of a novel about a week of loss in the small community of Rock Star, Mississippi. Much later on, I took one of those stories told in the book and turned it into a short story of the day Glenn Crawford buried his wife, Gina, who died of breast cancer at 33, leaving him with two young children. That story, “This Side of Heaven“, published today in Salvation South, a magazine committed to telling the multiplicity of stories that feature the mind and sensibility of the modern southeastern United States. Thanks so much to Chuck Reese for taking this story and putting it out to the world.

Also this weekend, my alma mater, Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi, put out a news release about my upcoming appearance there. You can see the whole story here: From the Eye of the Storm: New accounts of Katrina shared at MSU Price Caldwell Lecture | Mississippi State University.

But this is my favorite paragraph: “I admire the way Whitehead brings her characters to life so vividly and makes us care about them. This collection is a literary page turner that my students and I have enjoyed reading and discussing,” said Becky Hagenston, MSU English professor and director of the department’s creative writing emphasis. Hearing this about the student reaction makes me really look forward to the classroom Q&A I’m scheduled for.

I also got word about what sounds like a cool event in Picayune, Mississippi, the Picayune Semi-Annual Spring Street Festival: Events. I am partnering with Tracy Ledford and other authors to man a bookish tent at the event where I can sell and sign books from 1-3 p.m. on Sunday, April 12. Picayune is about as far southwest you can go and still be in Mississippi. I’m really looking forward to visiting and seeing what all they have going on in their creative communities.

Whew. That’s a lot going on. I really never thought I’d still be promoting my book six months after the one-year anniversary of its publication. But it’s a lovely surprise to be doing so.