Published September 04, 2015
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.
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. In December 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 or jennings@ulm.edu.
