Novelist, poet, and memoirist Lucinda Roy’s latest book is the speculative novel THE FREEDOM RACE (Tor/Macmillan), Volume I of THE DREAMBIRD CHRONICLES trilogy. Among her previous books are the memoir NO RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT: What We’ve Learned from the Tragedy at Virginia Tech, the novel LADY MOSES (a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection) and the poetry collection THE HUMMING BIRDS, winner of the Eighth Mountain Poetry Prize. A Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech, she gives keynotes and presentations around the country on creative writing, race and racism, diversity, and campus safety. Her commentaries and poetry have been published in numerous newspapers and journals, including USA Today, the Guardian, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and the New York Times. Her passions include writing, teaching, oil painting, and (when all else fails) laughing till it hurts. Lucinda Roy joined Sylvester Johnson in October of 2021 to discuss her writing, her art, the power of stories, and the way in which imagination can be an antidote to despair.