BPL Hosts Nic Stone, Author of Best-Seller Dear Martin, on January 8

Nic Stone will talk about her new novel, Clean
Getaway, and sell/sign copies of her books at
Central Library January 8

What: The Birmingham Public Library Presents New York Times Bestseller Nic Stone
When: Wednesday, January 8, 2020, 6:00 p.m.
Where: Central Library’s Linn-Henley Research Library, Arrington Auditorium
Details: The Nic Stone Southern book tour for her new novel, Clean Getaway, comes to Birmingham, one of the cities featured in the book. Stone will talk with fans and sell/sign copies of Clean Getaway, the funny and unforgettable road trip adventure of a 11-year-old black boy and his white grandmother to historical landmarks in the South. They visit places she hoped to visit with his grandfather, but was unable to due to their interracial marriage, segregation, and racial prejudice.

On January 8, 2020, the Birmingham Public Library presents New York Times best-selling author Nic Stone at the Central Library downtown. Stone is stopping by Birmingham during a Southern book tour that will also take her to Atlanta, Memphis, New Orleans, Houston, Dallas, and Jackson, Mississippi. Stone will speak to students at two Birmingham schools prior to greeting and talking with her fans beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the Linn-Henley Research Library's Arrington Auditorium.

Birmingham is among cities featured in Stone’s middle-grade novel, Clean Getaway, which will be released January 7, 2020, by publisher Crown Books for Young Readers. Born in 1985 in Atlanta as Andrea Nicole Livingstone, Nic Stone is a New York Times best-selling author of young adult fiction best known for her 2017 debut novel, Dear Martin, a New York Times best-seller.

Dear Martin made Nic Stone a household name with its portrayal of 17-year-old Justyce McAllister, a black male at the top of his class at a private school but struggling to fit in after leaving his rough neighborhood behind. After being unjustly arrested by a white cop, Justyce struggles to understand racism and searches for answers by writing a journal focused on the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In her new novel Clean Getaway, Stone explores what would happen if a young black boy took a road trip with his white grandmother and visited sites associated with the civil rights era. Stone invites readers of all ages to hop aboard as she explores race relations both past and present in a poignant, humorous and unforgettable story of an 11-year-old boy’s discovery of a history he is not familiar with and a grandmother he thought he knew.

In Clean Getaway, 11-year-old Scoop is set for the most boring vacation of all time after his spring break trip was canceled and he faced house arrest for some recent school wrongdoings. That changes when his grandmother pulls up in a brand-new Winnebago and offers to take him on an unforgettable road trip. Guided by the Green Book—his grandmother’s most prized possession—the pair embarks on a journey to important historical landmarks in the South. The landmarks are places Scoob’s grandmother hoped to visit with his grandfather, but was unable to due to their interracial marriage, segregation, and racial prejudice.

An Atlanta native and Spelman College graduate, Stone lived in Israel for several years before returning to the United States to write full-time. Her first book, Dear Martin, was a 2017 finalist for the William C. Morris Award, presented since 2009 to debut novels written by first-time authors. Stone has written two other books, Jackpot and Odd One Out.

Read more about Nic Stone and follow her on social media @nicstone.

Stone is currently working on a sequel to Dear Martin, which reportedly will be called Dear Justyce. No release date has been set.