Marshall continues to receive critical acclaim for the connections she makes in her writing between African and American people, the Caribbean counterparts and their African ancestors. She has written five novels including "Brown Girl, Brownstones," "The Chosen Place, The Timeless People," "Praisesong for the Widow" and her most recent, "The Fisher King."

"The Fisher King" portrays a family's internal struggle and divisions through the eyes of an eight-year-old boy. Sonny-Rett Payne was a talented black jazz musician who fled to Paris in 1949 to escape both his family's disapproval of his art and the racism that shadowed his career. Leaving behind the rivalries and community, Payne never returned home, enjoying success in Europe until his death.

Decades later, when his Parisian grandson and namesake, is brought to Brooklyn for a memorial concert, the animosities that have lingered under the surface for years once again rear their heads. Caught in the midst of age-old feuds and bitterness, the young Sonny is both a harbinger of change and potential reconciliation, an a pawn in the struggle of familial pride between those who now wish to claim him as their connection to his grandfather.

The lineup of activities at Prince George's College (Largo Student Center) include:

10 a.m. - Tribute to the Author
11 a.m. - Writer's Group
1:30 p.m. - Readings from Marshall's books.

Admission to all events are free. Call 301-341-3043.

Then later than evening Marshall will read from "The Fisher King" in the Folger Elizabethan Theatre beginning at 8 p.m. This is part of the Folger's PEN/Faulkner Reading Series. The reading will be followed by a reception, book sale and signing in the Folger Great Hall. Admission is $13. Call 202-544-7077.