Nat Turner To Meet Langston Hughes in New York City — Sharon Ewell Foster — AAPEX

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Nat Turner To Meet Langston Hughes in New York City


Following Fruitful Hollywood Visit, Author Eyes the Big Apple for Screen and Stage

Durham, NC - On Saturday, October 22nd, Sharon Ewell Foster, acclaimed author of the new fact-based novel, The Resurrection of Nat Turner, Part One: The Witnesses (Howard/Simon & Schuster), takes her
Nat Turner Truth Tour to the Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center of Queens Library in New York City.

Foster's recent trip to Los Angeles, which included book signings at bookstores and churches, created a tremendous buzz within the Hollywood film community about taking the real Nat Turner story to the big screen.

Next stop on the Nat Turner Truth Tour is East Coast media Mecca-NYC, Spike Lee and other movie, TV and theatre moguls' territory, in hopes of contacting important figures and extending the buzz from coast-to-coast.

Foster's novel challenges the accepted history of Nat Turner, one of America's most notorious historical figures. In 1831, he led what has been considered the most successful slave revolt in US history that left more than 50 whites dead.As the 180th anniversary of his hanging approaches (11-11-11), she feels the world is ready for a new perspective on Nat Turner. Part Two: The Testimony releases February 2, 2012.

"The image of Turner we have been bequeathed is one of a religious fanatic, a lunatic who attacked without cause," says Foster. "Perhaps, he was like Nathan Hale, a man seeking liberty, a man protecting his family and community. I think we are mature enough to look at our complete history, knowing the beauty of it is also in the terror of it."

Foster's five years of research included interviewing descendants of those killed, as well as Turner's family, review of Governor John Floyd's original diary, analysis of trial transcripts and related documents. She uncovered proof that discredits the primary historical document on Nat Turner, The Confessions of Nat Turner, written in 1831 by Thomas Gray, who purported to be Turner's attorney.

The original trial transcripts reveal: (1) Nat Turner did NOT confess; (2) Nat Turner pled "innocent;" and (3) Thomas Gray was NOT Nat Turner's lawyer.

"Langston Hughes, the most well-known of the Harlem Renaissance writers, now gets to hear the truth about Nat Turner from an African-American author. It's truly an American story-one man's fight for liberty, a community's fight for freedom." says Foster.

The Los Angeles leg of the Nat Turner Truth Tour was featured in an article on Indiewire.com, Another Possible Slave Revolt Film, This Time with Nat Turner. The article propelled the buzz in the Hollywood.

Additional press includes articles written by Ms. Foster published in TheRoot.com, The Truth About Nat Turner; and EbonyJet.com, Moonshine and Lies: The Truth About Nat Turner. Her book was also featured at this year's 41st Annual Congressional Black Caucus Conference in Washington, DC. Radio interviews included: NPR, Michael Eric Dyson Show, Bev Smith Show and Joe Madison Show. During the Michael Eric Dyson interview, he said to his listeners, "She's blowing our minds."

Publishers Weekly reviewed Part One as "fast-paced, " "riveting," and "expertly told." Foster describes it as "Roots meets The Da Vinci Code." The book is available wherever books, eBooks, and audio books are sold.

To visit the author's website, please click the post's title.

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