Sherri L. Smith & Elizabeth Wein Live at Tattered Cover Colfax

Join us for a conversation with Sherri L. Smith and Elizabeth Wein about the extraordinary history and contributions of Black aviators in Chicago in the early 20th century, whose efforts and accomplishments laid the groundwork for the Tuskegee Airmen in WWII, the desegregation of the Armed Services in 1948, and the first Black woman astronaut to launch into space.

Registration includes the following options:

• A signed copy of the book … OR

• A $5 Gift Card to Tattered Cover Book Store

We will have additional books for guests to purchase in store!

If you are unable to attend the event after purchasing a ticket, you are required to pick up your copy of the book (with proof of purchase from your event registration) within 7 days after the event date. If the book is not picked up by that date, you relinquish your copy to Tattered Cover Book Store.

ABOUT THE BOOK

From the acclaimed author of Flygirl and the bestselling author of Code Name Verity comes the thrilling and inspiring true story of the desegregation of the skies.
“This beautiful and brilliant history of not only what it means to be Black and dream of flying but to, against every odd, do so, completely blew me away.” —Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award Winner for Brown Girl Dreaming
In the years between World War I and World War II, aviation fever was everywhere, including among Black Americans. But what hope did a Black person have of learning to fly in a country constricted by prejudice and Jim Crow laws, where Black aviators like Bessie Coleman had to move to France to earn their wings?
American Wings follows a group of determined Black Americans: Cornelius Coffey and Johnny Robinson, skilled auto mechanics; Janet Harmon Bragg, a nurse; and Willa Brown, a teacher and social worker. Together, they created a flying club and built their own airfield south of Chicago. As the U.S. hurtled toward World War II, they established a school to train new pilots, teaching both Black and white students together and proving, in a time when the U.S. military was still segregated, that successful integration was possible.
Featuring rare historical photographs, American Wings brings to light a hidden history of pioneering Black men and women who, with grit and resilience, battled powerful odds for an equal share of the sky.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Sherri L. Smith is the author of multiple award-winning fiction and nonfiction books for young people including the 2021 Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Golden Kite Award winner, The Blossom and the Firefly and the California Book Awards Gold Medalist, Flygirl. Her novels appear on multiple state reading lists and have been named Amelia Bloomer, Junior Library Guild, Children's Book Council, Southern California Independent Booksellers Award, and American Library Association Best Books for Young People selections. She also writes comics, including Bart Simpson Comics, James Cameron's Avatar and most recently, Wonder Woman. Sherri was a 2014 National Book Awards judge in the Young People’s Literature category. She has been a writer-in-residence at Hedgebrook in Washington State, Wellstone-in-the-Redwoods and Dorland Mountain Arts Colony in California, and Wassard Elea in Ascea, Italy.

Elizabeth Wein is the New York Times #1 Best-Selling author of Code Name Verity, along with several other historical works of fiction and non-fiction featuring women in aviation for young adult readers, including her most recent novel, Stateless, which won the International Thriller and Crimefest Awards for Best Young Adult Novel in 2024. Wein holds a Ph.D. in Folklore, and her early works are retellings of Arthurian legend. After earning her pilot’s license, Wein was inspired to feature heroic women in aviation history in her stories. She is the recipient of the Edgard Award for Best Novel, Michael Printz Award Honor Book, Boston Globe/Hornbook Awards Honor Book, among many others. Wein holds dual citizenship in the US and UK and lives in Scotland.

Host or Publisher Tattered Cover Book Store