Pamela Newkirk talked about the book she edited, Letters from Black America (Farrar, Straus and Giroux; February 3, 2009). It is a history of African-American men and women through their personal correspondences spanning three hundred years. She talked about how she selected and organized the letters, her surprise at at how well some slaves managed to maintain contact with their relatives, and her current activities.

She was interviewed at the 32nd Annual National Press Club Book Fair and Authors' Night, a fundraiser for the Eric Friedheim National Journalism Library held Tuesday, November 17, 2009 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.