(Updated 12/02/2022, 2:45 p.m.)

THIS EVENT IS CURRENTLY SOLD OUT. PLEASE REGISTER FOR THE WAITLIST.

WAITLIST WILL CLOSE AT 4:00 p.m.on 12/02/2022! NO OTHER ATTENEES WILL BE ABLE TO REGISTER!

Please remember that masks are required in the venue. Have your ticket ready to be scanned (we'll need the QR code) when you approach the entrance, so we can get everyone in quickly. We can scan a printed copy of the ticket or a digital version on your phone.

First Baptist Church Decatur is located at 308 Clairemont Ave. Decatur. There is a seal parking lot off the Clairemont entrance, and there is an additional park deck off the Commerce Drive entrance.

Doors will open at 6:15 p.m. There is no assigned seating for the event. Seating is first come, first served.

We recommend arriving early for this event to get a good seat, and if you do, you'll be rewarded with a little pre-show performance called “Holiday Spectacular!” from Rise City Dance featuring young ballerinas from Atlanta! And do stay for a few minutes after the talk as a group from DeKalb School of the Arts will send us off with a bit of holiday cheer with a selection from “The Nutcracker.”

Join the Georgia Center for the Book for an evening with principal ballerina at the American Ballet Theatre, Misty Copeland, to discuss her new memoir The Wind At My Back. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. This event will take place in the Sanctuary of First Baptist Church Decatur.

THERE WILL BE NO BOOKSIGNING FOLLOWING THE EVENT. Ms. Copeland will pre-sign all copies of her books prior to the start of the event. There will be limited quantities available, so if you would like to secure signed copies, we strogly encourage attendees to pre-purchase copies of the book ahead of the event. There will be copies of Ms. Copland's The Wind At My Back , and her other children's titles available.

To purchase a copy of The Wind At My Back to be picked up at the event, please use the ordering link from our friends at Brave + Kind Bookshop, here: PURCHASE

We are committed to a safe environment. For the safety of our invited speakers, staff, and all attendees, masks must be worn in the venue for the duration of the event. We continue to limit the capacity of the Auditorium to promote social distancing, so registration is strongly encouraged. We encourage groups to sit together, but please only sit in the designated rows, and keep a respectful distance from other attendees.

THIS EVENT IS CURRENTLY SOLD OUT. PLEASE REGISTER FOR THE WAITLIST. The event has reached capacity. If you would like to register for the waitlist should a ticket/s become available, click the orange "Reserve A Spot" button on the main event page, then the "Join The Waitlist" button, and fill in the registration form. We will notify waitlisted guests on December 1, 2022 if tickets become available. PLEASE NOTE: Eventbrite will only permit you to enter ONE name for the waitlist. If you plan to bring a guest, you must register the guest separately.

About the Book:

Misty Copeland made history as the first African-American principal ballerina at the American Ballet Theatre. Her talent, passion, and perseverance enabled her to make strides no one had accomplished before. But as she will tell you, achievement never happens in a void. Behind her, supporting her rise was her mentor Raven Wilkinson. Raven had been virtually alone in her quest to breach the all-white ballet world when she fought to be taken seriously as a Black ballerina in the 1950s and 60s. A trailblazer in the world of ballet decades before Misty’s time, Raven faced overt and casual racism, hostile crowds, and death threats for having the audacity to dance ballet.

The Wind at My Back tells the story of two unapologetically Black ballerinas, their friendship, and how they changed each other—and the dance world—forever. Misty Copeland shares her own struggles with racism and exclusion in her pursuit of this dream career and honors the women like Raven who paved the way for her but whose contributions have gone unheralded. She celebrates the connection she made with her mentor, the only teacher who could truly understand the obstacles she faced, beyond the technical or artistic demands.

A beautiful and wise memoir of intergenerational friendship and the impressive journeys of two remarkable women, The Wind at My Back captures the importance of mentorship, of shared history, and of respecting the past to ensure a stronger future.

About the Author

Misty Copeland is a principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre and the author of the New York Times bestsellers Life in Motion, Ballerina Body, Black Ballerinas, and the children’s picture book Bunheads, as well as the award-winning children’s book, Firebird. She made her Broadway debut in 2015’s On the Town, putting a show that had reportedly been suffering financially for months into the Broadway box office top ten for the two weeks that she guest starred as Ivy Smith. She’s been featured in the New York Times and on CBS Sunday Morning and 60 Minutes, and she was named one of Glamour’s Women of the Year and Time magazine’s 100 most influential people. Misty is the recipient of the Young, Gifted & Black Honor at the Black Girls Rock! Awards and the Spingarn Medal, the NAACP’s highest honor.

About the Bookseller:

Brave + Kind Bookshop, Black owned and Mom operated, is a thoughtfully curated neighborhood bookshop that focuses on an intentional collection of inclusive children’s literature, and a few grown-up books, to help us all become better humans.

722 W. College Ave., Decatur, GA 30030