As part of Rider University's celebration of Black History Month, Shirley Hailstock, a Plainsboro-based romance author of 12 novels and president-elect of Romance Writers of America, will speak about the contemporary romance novel and read from her work, Monday, February 18 at 7 p.m. in Sweigart Hall Auditorium.
     Dr. Pearlie Peters, associate professor of English, will open the evening with an introduction of Hailstock, whose latest book Family Affair, will be published by BET (Arabesque Line) in August. This semester, Dr. Peters has incorporated three of Hailstock's books – His 1-800 Wife, Opposites Attract, and Whispers of Love (BET Books) – into her classroom reading assignments for "Women in Literature" and "Global Women's Literature."
     Hailstock will become president of Romance Writers of America, an organization with more than 8,000 members, this November. When she assumes this role, she will be the first African- American president in the group's 22-year history. She was recently featured in The New York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine.
     "Shirley Hailstock is an exciting, multigenerational novelist," said Dr. Peters. "I'm excited to see how Rider students will respond to the definitions and expressions of love in traditional romance literature. Hailstock's novels are diverse and they offer readers a wealth of knowledge about the age-old concept of love. In the tradition of Zora Neale Hurston in the classic novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hailstock presents multiple dimensions of love in all of its complexities."
     The event is free and open to the public. A book signing for Hailstock will follow her presentation. Refreshments will be served.

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