Hidden Figures’ author to visit Hampton Roads Convention Center
By Roger Wynn
On Tuesday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m., writer, researcher and author Margot Lee Shetterly will hold a book signing for her No. 1 selling book "Hidden Figures" in Hampton, Virginia.
Shetterly, 48, will speak at the Hampton Roads Convention Center, which is open to the public. Initially, the event was to be held at the Virginia Air and Space Center, but it was moved to a larger venue due to the expected 1,000 people to attend, according to a NASA Langley Research Center announcement.
Shetterly will also hold a book signing for pre-purchased copies of her book immediately after her talk. Since September, the Hampton History Museum has sold more than 500 copies of the "Hidden Figures," according to the museum staff.
Shetterly's talk in Hampton is the most recent stop she has done since her national tour started in early September. The film based on her book was nominated for three Academy Awards. The "Hidden Figures" author was in attendance at the Academy Awards last Sunday, while the cast members, Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae, presented the award for best documentary.
The "Hidden Figures" story takes readers through a historical period about the untold story of the African-American women who helped win the space race. The book is a USA Today best seller, a top book for both Time and Publisher's Weekly, and a No. 1 New York Times best seller.
The book that was released in September gained a boost in sales due to the release of the movie on Jan. 13.
In early January, Shetterly was at the Hampton History Museum for a previous "Hidden Figures" book signing where over 200 people were in attendance. A couple of weeks after Shetterly was present for that event, the museum opened an exhibit inspired by Shetterly's book and called it "When the Computer Wore a Skirt: NASA's Human Computers," which was open to the public. The exhibit shines light on the stories of Dorothy Vaughan, Katherine Johnson and Mary Jackson, the women who contributed to NASA's success in the space race during the period in time of Jim Crow segregation in Virginia. These women were mathematicians whose calculations helped American make some of its biggest achievements in space.
After Shetterly's national tour ends, she said she will continue writing her next book. The 7:30 p.m. event is at 1610 Coliseum Dr.
The writer is a student in the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications./
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