I had a joyous time at two literary events in Tallahassee early this month.

On April 4, I was honored to accept the silver medal in general nonfiction for Melted Away from the Florida Book Awards, at a ceremony held in downtown Tally. They gave me a silver medal (!) to hang around my neck, plus FBA winner stickers to affix to my book jacket, and I got to schmooze with authors, judges and booklovers from around the state. Here I am with Keith Simmons, the FBA’s dynamic executive director:

I didn’t mind missing out on the gold medal because it went to our nation’s foremost civil-rights historian, Ray Arsenault, whose latest book is John Lewis: In Search of the Beloved Community. Arsenault has mentored generations of historians, writers and activists, and it was a privilege spending time with him at various FBA events that weekend. Here he is signing a copy of his book for me:

Can you tell I’m over the moon?

That wasn’t the end of my Tally adventure. On Saturday, April 5, Ray and I joined historian and fellow FBA winner Evan Bennett on a nonfiction panel at the Word of South music/literary festival, in downtown. We had a full crowd, thanks to Ray, and after the panel was over, we enjoyed signing books and talking to readers, a number of whom were very familiar with Melted Away and asked insightful questions.

Jorge and I got to hear loads of great music at Word of South, including the Shindellas (below) and George Clinton with Parliament Funkadelic.

I had always thought of Tallahassee as a sleepy, conservative town, but this visit proved me wrong. The capital is vibrant and diverse and knows how to have a good time.