HEIDI DURROW, WINNER OF FIRST NOVEL PRIZE

NY Times best-selling author Heidi Durrow wins First Novel Prize

The Writer’s Center to host book signing and award presentation

BETHESDA, MD - Heidi W. Durrow, author of the New York Times best-seller, “The Girl Who Fell From the Sky,” will be presented with the McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns First Novel Prize at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 12 at The Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh St., Bethesda, MD, 20815.

Durrow is the first recipient of the prize, named after renowned local authors Ann McLaughlin and Barbara Esstman of Montgomery County and Lynn Stearns of Fairfax County.

The event is free and open to the public. A reception and book signing will follow the reading and award presentation. Pre-registration is requested by calling 301-654-8664.

Heidi Durrow is a graduate of Stanford University, Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and Yale Law School. Durrow has received grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the American Scandinavian Foundation, the Lois Roth Endowment and a Fellowship for Emerging Writers from the Jerome Foundation. Originally from Portland, Oregon, she is cofounder of the Mixed Roots Film & Literary Festival and is a contributor to National Public Radio.

Inspired by real events, “The Girl Who Fell From The Sky” is a compelling story of a biracial girl who must learn to cope with society’s idea of race and class. www.heidiwdurrow.com