ABC correspondent Linsey Davis to sign books in St. Pete Tuesday
ABC News correspondent Linsey Davis, who’s due to speak Wednesday in Tampa as part of the Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival, will be in St. Pete Tuesday, for a 6 p.m. book-signing event at the Carter G. Woodson African American Museum.
Davis’ children’s book, The World is Awake: a Celebration of Everyday Blessings, was a bestseller in 2018. An Emmy Award-winning journalist, she’s been with ABC since 2007 and files reports for World News, Good Morning America, 20/20 and Nightline.
In a recent interview with novelpro, Davis explained that the inspiration for The World is Awake came from her 2-year-old son. “Out of nowhere he asked, ‘Who opens the flowers, God?’ I was both shocked and thrilled at the same time that he would make such a connection, and that he was so curious about God and the world. And it made me believe that toddlers are ready to get those answers and have a very gentle and meaningful introduction to God.”
She accomplishes this through sweet, simple verse and direct allusions to nature and our place in it.
Davis is particularly proud of the illustrations, by Lucy Fleming: “More than 90 percent of the protagonists in children’s books are still white,” she said on The View. “Half of the children in this country are not white. And kids look to books for self-affirmation. They need to find mirrors and windows in children’s books – mirrors to reflect themselves, and windows to be able to peer out into a world to see.
“If you’re living in a non-diverse area, white children need to be able to see black children – especially in this world, as we’re becoming more colorful and at the same time our country seems to be more divided.”
According to her official ABC biography, Davis’ major news coverage has included the 2016 elections, the Las Vegas massacre, the Harvey Weinstein allegations and subsequent MeToo Movement, the Boston Marathon bombing and several of President Obama’s trips overseas. She’s reported on natural and unnatural disasters, social injustice and racial barriers. She famously got the only interview with Bill Cosby in the wake of dozens of sexual assault allegations.
The Tuesday book event at the Woodson Museum is free and open to the public.
Davis’ Wednesday talk is part of the Tampa Bay Black Heritage Festival Leadership Luncheon, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the University Area Community Development Center in Tampa. She’s expected to speak at length on her extraordinary career in journalism. Tickets are $20 here.
Joyce “Fenderella” Irby and Klymaxx (“I Miss You”) perform for the Heritage Gala Thursday (Jan. 17), at the TPepin Hospitality Centre.
The 10 day cultural arts and music festival annually concludes with a couple of big-name concerts at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. Midnight Star and CC Peniston headline Jan. 19; on Jan. 20, it’s R2R (trumpeter Rick Braun and saxophonist Richard Elliot). The Curtis Hixon events kick off at 1 p.m. each day and go until around 10.
All details, info and tickets here.
