ULM professor launches young reader novel

In January 2014, Dr. Shalanda Stanley, assistant professor of education at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, inked a book deal with Knopf Books for Young Readers—an imprint of Random House Kids—for her book “Drowning is Inevitable.”  

With the novel now complete, Stanley will host a book launch event at 6 p.m., on Tuesday, Sept. 8, in Walker Hall, Room 2-105.

Stanley

            This event is free and open to the public.

Stanley will talk about the novel and the publication process. A reception and book signing will follow the presentation in Walker Hall, Room 2-101. Some books will be available for purchase during the event.

“Drowning is Inevitable” is also available at Books-A-Million and other major retailers.

“I’m very excited to share this novel with the university, particularly my former students. I teach a reading methods course where we read lots of books together, so I am very excited to share my book with them,” said Stanley.

The book is a contemporary young adult novel set in St. Francisville, known for its abundance of Live Oak trees and festivals. The story is narrated by Olivia, who is near her eighteenth birthday and is about to outlive her mother, who took her own life by drowning the day she turned eighteen, when Olivia was only three days old. Olivia is expected to follow in her mother’s footsteps, resulting in the town putting her on suicide watch from a very early age.

Stanley received her Bachelor’s degree in English from Florida State University, focusing on creative writing.

She was awarded with a Master’s in Education from ULM in 2008, after teaching for ten years in Ouachita Parish. InDecember 2012, she received a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Louisiana State University.

For more information, contact Stanley at 318-342-1270 or sstanley@ulm.edu or Susan Jennings at 318-342-1482 orjennings@ulm.edu.

—University of Louisiana at Monroe Press Release