Debra Monroe (left) with daughter Marie Credit: photo by John Anderson

Since the Chronicle profiled Debra Monroe back in May, the novelist and Texas State prof has received good notices for her memoir On the Outskirts of Normal: Forging a Family Against the Grain, and the news gets even better: The book will be featured in the August issue of O: The Oprah Magazine.

“Oh thank you, God of Book Launches,” Monroe wrote us recently regarding the high-profile O appearance, which marks a pretty big coup for a small press publication (and even more so, considering said small press’ recent troubles).

Monroe’s official book launch party goes down Thursday night (6/17) 7pm at BookPeople. Monroe will read from her memoir, a single-mom narrative about raising her adopted daughter Marie and negotiating slow-to-change public perceptions in small-town Texas. Proceeds from sales at the BookPeople event will benefit a local nonprofit Extend-A-Care for Kids, which provides subsidized after-school and summer daycare to parents who otherwise can’t afford it.

You can check out Scott Blackwood’s Q&A with her in our archives.

This article appears in June 11 • 2010.

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A graduate of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas, Kimberley has written about film, books, and pop culture for The Austin Chronicle since 2000. She was named Editor of the Chronicle in 2016; she previously served as the paper’s Managing Editor, Screens Editor, Books Editor, and proofreader. Her work has been awarded by the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for excellence in arts criticism, team reporting, and special section (Best of Austin). The Austin Alliance for Women...