KU News Release

LAWRENCE — Alex Heard will discuss his latest book, “The Eyes of Willie McGee: A Tragedy of Race, Sex and Secrets in the Jim Crow South,” at the Dole Institute of Politics as a part of the Read Across Lawrence program through the Lawrence Public Library.

Heard will be featured in a program scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 20, at the Dole Institute. The program is free and open to the public. The event will feature a book sale and signing.

“Heard’s book is an intriguing chronicle of real-life ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ events during 1945,” said Bill Lacy, director of the Dole Institute. “We are excited to be a part of a community-wide program focusing on a book that has enabled constructive dialogue for so many years.”

“The Eyes of Willie McGee” was named a Best Book of 2010 by the Washington Post.

Heard is the editorial director at Outside magazine and the author of an additional book, “Apocalypse Pretty Soon.”

Heard has also worked as an editor at Wired and the New York Times Magazine. He has written for a wide range of publications, including the New Republic, Slate, the Daily Beast, the Washington Post Magazine, the New York Times, Spy, Mother Jones and Vanity Fair. Several stories he conceived and edited have been selected for the Best American Travel Writing and the Best American Sports Writing. He lives in Santa Fe, N.M.

Read Across Lawrence 2011: “To Kill a Mockingbird” is organized by the Lawrence Public Library and other community partners. The campaign encourages everyone to get on the same page this spring by reading, discussing and watching Harper Lee’s enduring story about tolerance, justice and innocence. For more information, visit www.lawrencepubliclibrary.org/readacrosslawrence. The program is co-sponsored by Friends of the Public Library, Wells Fargo Advisors and Douglas County Community Foundation.