User:Beethoven901/Noni carter

Noni Carter (born May 23, 1991) is a young American author from Fayetteville, Ga., whose first book, “Good Fortune” (Simon & Shuster, $16.99), was released nationwide Jan. 5, 2010, when Carter was 18. The young-adult novel is about the life of a slave girl who was snatched from her homeland in Africa in the early 1800s and brought to the United States, where she eventually escaped from a plantation and fled to freedom. Carter, who left her family’s home in Fayetteville in the fall of 2009 to start attending Harvard University, is one of the youngest writers signed by Simon & Schuster.

Story’s inspiration Carter was inspired to pen a novel after sitting around a kitchen table at age 12 with her family listening to a great-aunt tell the story of Rose Caldwell, Carter’s great-great-great-great-grandmother. Carter took notes. She was especially struck by a description of how her Grandma Rose as a young girl watched as her mother was sold across the Mississippi River.

Early writing Carter was known for writing since elementary school. At the age of 8, she turned her short stories and poems into a collection for the family. “Good Fortune" isn’t her first slave story; she wrote a short story about an escaped slave when she was 9. Later, Carter was busy as a student with dual enrollment at Sandy Creek High School in Tyrone, Ga., where teachers recall her as an avid reader, and Clayton State University in Morrow, Ga. She also won honors as a classical pianist and was involved in community work. She spent many hours from ages 12 to 15 writing and researching black history for her story inspired by Grandma Rose, and what began as a short story eventually became the 479-page “Good Fortune.” A busy girl, she was editing her book by the 11th grade. Then a writing mentor suggested she start speaking at book festivals. The idea paid off, and her book was picked up by Simon & Schuster at BookExpo America in 2008. In the bedroom of her family’s Fayetteville home, the wall above her bed is filled with many of her favorite quotes, which she wrote out by hand. They include “Know thyself,” “Just do it” and “This too shall pass.”

Book summary The protagonist of Good Fortune is Ayanna Bahati, who is captured with her mother in Africa and brought to the American South to be slaves. Ayanna,who is heartbroken when her mother is sold as Ayanna watches across the Mississippi River, eventually escapes slavery and starts a new life. Along the way, she discovers herself and hears her past echoing in her name, Bahati, which means “good fortune.”

Education Carter is currently a student at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., where she is focusing on history and music. She is interested in postcolonial cultures in Africa and Latin America and social anthropology and is considering a major in social anthropology or history and literature.

External links

Jan. 10, 2010 article in The Birmingham Times: http://www.birminghamtimesonline.com

Jan. 11 video interview on National Public Radio’s “On Point” show: http://www.onpointradio.org/2010/01/noni-carter-and-good-fortune

Video of Carter discussing Good Fortune: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Noni-Carter/60934157

Jan. 12 article in The Citizen: http://archive.thecitizen.com/node/41486

Jan. 13, 2010 article in The Triangle Tribune: http://triangletribune.com/index

Jan. 28, 2010 article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: http://www.ajc.com/lifestyle/fayetteville-teen-s-novel-285760.html

Personal Web page (retrieved Feb. 9, 2010) http://www.nonicarter.com

Article on Simon & Schuster teen site (retrieved Feb. 9, 2010): http://www.teen.simonandschuster.com

Facebook page (retrieved Feb. 9, 2010): http://www.facebook.com/noni.carter