PINE BLUFF, Ark. —
Critically acclaimed and The New York Times bestselling author Terry McMillan will be the featured speaker in the Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture Series' A Day with Terry McMillan.
The event will be hosted by the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff on Wednesday, Oct. 9 in the J.M. Ross Theatre in Hathaway-Howard Fine Arts Building.
The Day begins McMillan’s lecture and Q&A at 10:30 a.m. followed by a book signing of her most recent bestseller “I Almost Forgot About You.” The event is free and open to the public.
“The University is honored to have Ms. McMillan join us and share her experiences as one of the voices that helped shift the narrative surrounding Black readers and their appreciation for Black female protagonists in literature,” said Dr. Ann White-Taylor, chairman of the Governor Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture Series committee at UAPB. “Our commitment to the Lecture Series is ongoing and provides our student body with an immeasurable opportunity for exposure to today’s relevant thinkers and newsmakers.”
McMillan first encountered the power of words and storytelling while shelving books as a public library page at the age of 14. She became the first in her family to attend college, earning degrees from UC Berkeley and Columbia University.
As an aspiring writer and single mother in New York City, McMillan started her days before dawn, writing as much as she could before getting her baby ready for the day and taking the train to work. She edited on the subway, rewrote during her lunch break, and edited again on the ride home.
McMillan’s hard work and commitment paid off with the debut of her first novel, “Mama.” It received critical acclaim, including an American Book Award.
Her second novel, “Disappearing Acts,” immediately sold more than two million copies. McMillan wrote “Waiting to Exhale” during her tenure as a professor at University of Arizona. The hardcover release spent more than 38 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list before being adapted as a movie and becoming a Grammy and MTV Movie Award-winning blockbuster.
Her next #1 bestseller, “How Stella Got Her Groove Back,” also became a hit major motion picture. McMillan’s next book, “A Day Late and a Dollar Short” debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List. Her body of work also includes the bestsellers “The Interruption of Everything,” “Getting to Happy,” and “Who Asked You?”
Her latest book, “I Almost Forgot About You” is the inspiring story of a woman who shakes things up in her life to find greater meaning—personifying the author’s empowering messages about reinvention at any age.
McMillan’s books have sold millions of copies worldwide, and four have been made into major motion pictures and made-for TV movies. She is an Essence Lifetime Achievement Award winner, a featured guest in Oprah’s Life Class and has appeared on shows ranging from The View to The Daily Show.