Summer Author Series ft. Bridgett M. Davis and Felicia B. George

The Detroit Writing Room Summer Author Series is excited to feature Bridgett M. Davis and Felicia B. George for our July event that dives into the Detroit Numbers!

Bridgett M. Davis is the author of the memoir, “The World According To Fannie Davis: My Mother’s Life In The Detroit Numbers” (Little, Brown and Company, 2019), a New York Times Editors’ Choice and 2020 Michigan Notable Book. The upcoming film adaptation will be produced by Plan B Entertainment and released by Searchlight Pictures.

Felicia B. George is the author of "When Detroit Played the Numbers" (Wayne State University Press, 2024). The book sheds light on the lives of Detroit’s numbers operators — many self-made entrepreneurs who overcame poverty and navigated the pitfalls of racism and capitalism by both legal and illegal means.

Join us Wednesday, July 31, 2024 from 7 - 8:30 p.m. for an intimate book talk and signing at the historic Whitney mansion in Detroit.

Guests will enjoy drinks and hors d'oeuvres during a meet-and-greet with the authors in the Whitney’s garden (weather permitting). The event includes two author talks, an opportunity to ask questions during Q&A and book signings. There will also be signed book giveaways and other raffle prizes!

All 2024 Author Series proceeds benefit the DWR's nonprofit arm Coaching Detroit Forward, which offers free writing and photography programs for Detroit high school students.

7 - 7:20 p.m. - Meet-and-Greet, Drinks & Appetizers

7:20 - 7:50 p.m. - Book Talks

7:50 - 8:10 p.m. - Q&A

8:10 - 8:30 p.m. - Book Signing

The Detroit-based independent bookstore 27th Letter Books is our bookstore partner for this series. Guests can order the books online and have them shipped before the event, or you can purchase them onsite at the Author Series.

Single admission is $60. Includes passed appetizers and one glass of wine, Champagne or beer. There will also be a cash bar.

Tickets may be purchased as gifts. Please provide the recipient’s name and email so we can include them on our guest list.

Purchase a Detroit Writing Room Summer Author Series Pass to receive admission to each monthly event May through August 2024. Pass holders receive a 15% discount on books. Buy a pass here.

Tickets are nonrefundable, but may be transferred to another Summer Author Series event. Due to limited space, tickets cannot be purchased at the door and must be bought online in advance. Registration closes at 6 p.m. EST the day of the event.

The Whitney offers valet parking in their main lot for $10 per car. Guests may self-park in the lot located across the street at Woodward and Canfield. There is also street parking along Canfield Street.

Bridgett M. Davis is the author of the memoir, “The World According To Fannie Davis: My Mother’s Life In The Detroit Numbers,” a New York Times Editors’ Choice, a 2020 Michigan Notable Book, named a Best Book of 2019 by Kirkus Reviews, BuzzFeed, NBC News and Parade Magazine and most recently featured as a clue on the quiz show “Jeopardy!”  The upcoming film adaptation will be produced by Plan B Entertainment and released by Searchlight Pictures. 

Davis is currently writing a new memoir, “Love, Rita,” to be published by Harper Books in spring 2025. She is author of two novels, “Into the Go-Slow,” named a Best Book of 2014 by The San Francisco Chronicle, and “Shifting Through Neutral,” shortlisted for the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Legacy Award.

Davis is also writer/director of the 1998 award-winning feature film “Naked Acts,” newly restored by Milestone Films and Kino Lorber, and slated for select theaters in June 2024.Davis is Professor Emerita in the Department of Journalism and the Writing Professions at Baruch College and the CUNY Graduate Center, where she has taught creative, narrative and film writing.

Her essays have appeared most recently in The New York Times, The Millions, Real Simple, the LA Times and O, the Oprah Magazine. A graduate of Spelman College and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, she lives in Brooklyn with her family. Visit her website at bridgettdavis.com.

Felicia B. George is a native Detroiter who loves Detroit history and culture. She earned her doctorate in anthropology from Wayne State University, where she is now an adjunct professor.

In 1958, the very same year that an unknown songwriter named Berry Gordy borrowed $800 to found Motown Records, a pretty young mother from Nashville, Tennessee, borrowed $100 from her brother to run a numbers racket out of her home. That woman was Fannie Davis, Bridgett M. Davis’s mother.

Part bookie, part banker, mother, wife and granddaughter of slaves, Fannie ran her numbers business for 34 years, doing what it took to survive in a legitimate business that just happened to be illegal. She created a loving, joyful home, sent her children to the best schools, bought them the best clothes, mothered them to the highest standard, and when the tragedy of urban life struck, soldiered on with her stated belief: “Dying is easy. Living takes guts.”

A daughter’s moving homage to an extraordinary parent, “The World According to Fannie Davis” is also the suspenseful, unforgettable story about the lengths to which a mother will go to “make a way out of no way” and provide a prosperous life for her family — and how those sacrifices resonate over time. Order here.

A testament to the tenacious spirit embodied in Detroit culture and history, this account reveals how numbers gambling, initially an illegal enterprise, became a community resource and institution of solidarity for Black communities through times of racial disenfranchisement and labor instability. 

Author Felicia B. George sheds light on the lives of Detroit’s numbers operators — many self-made entrepreneurs who overcame poverty and navigated the pitfalls of racism and capitalism by both legal and illegal means. Illegal lottery operators and their families and employees were often exposed to precarity and other adverse conditions, and they profited from their neighbors’ hope to make it through another day. Despite scandal and exploitation, these operators and their families also became important members of the community, providing steady employment and financial support for local businesses. 

This book provides a glimpse into the rich culture and history of Detroit’s Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods, linking the growing gambling scene there with key characters and moments in local history, including Joe Louis’s rise to fame and the recall of a mayor backed by the Ku Klux Klan. In succinct and engrossing chapters, George explores issues of community, race, politics, and the scandals that sprang up along the way, discovering how “playing the numbers” grew from a state-proclaimed crime to an encouraged legal activity. Order here.

The Detroit Writing Room offers an inspirational community for writers, creatives and professionals. Whether you’re working on the next Great American novel or a resume, the DWR has 30 professional writing coaches to help with all your writing needs. We also host book talks, writing workshops, and literary events. Visit detroitwritingroom.com to sign up for coaching, memberships, events and more. Check out newyorkwritingroom.com to see our New York-based coaching team.

Coaching Detroit Forward is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that coaches Detroit high school students in writing, photography, graphic design and other creative fields. Award-winning local journalists, authors, communications professionals, photographers and designers teach students and share their expertise through summer camps, workshops and after-school programs. Through Coaching Detroit Forward, students gain mentors who guide them through internships, jobs and careers. Visit coachingdetroitforward.org to learn more.

Event Venue

The Whitney, 4421 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, United States