Have you ever wondered how historical fiction writers are able to stay period-accurate while creating an engaging story? Then join us for Sidney Thompson’s virtual program “The Bass Reeves Trilogy: The Rememory of a Legend.” Thompson is the author of two (eventually to be three!) novels about real-life figure Bass Reeves, the first Black deputy U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi. Thompson will discuss reconstructing the past with a fictional bent and the line between fact and fiction. He will talk about how historical research allows him to piece together the Reeves’s life and patch those with ideas from the present. For anyone who has ever been curious about the process of writing a story about a real-life figure or how to include realistic details in period pieces, this program is for you!

Dr. Sidney Thompson teaches creative writing and African-American literature at Texas Christian University, where he also serves as a writing consultant for the William L. Adams Center for Writing. He holds a Ph.D. in American literature, with a specialization in African-American narratives, and an M.F.A. in creative writing (fiction). He is the author of Follow the Angels, Follow the Doves: The Bass Reeves Trilogy, Book One (Bison Books, 2020), historical fiction about the legendary African-American lawman Bass Reeves. Hell on the Border, Book Two is due out April 2021. Thompson’s other books include You/Wee: Poems from a Father (Prolific Press, 2018) and Sideshow, winner of Foreword Magazine’s Silver Award for Short Story Collection of the Year (River City, 2006).

** Click here to register – it’s free!**