Randi Pink, an Alabama-based author, said she will visit Northern Tier Library on Feb. 22 after the district’s school board voted not to include her novel, “Angel of Greenwood,” in its ninth grade language arts classes.

The novel, a young adult romance set during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, was rejected 3-5-1 during the board’s meeting Jan. 13.

Although the board approved, 5-4, a revised ninth grade language arts curriculum that could have included the novel, members ultimately voted down Pink’s work.

Joseph Cassidy, Ashley Fortier and Amy Terchick voted in favor of the novel’s inclusion, while Phillip Morissette, Lisa Hillman, Marc Casciani, Christina Brussalis and Michael Wiethorn rejected it. Leslie Miller abstained.

Morissette, Hillman and Brussalis expressed skepticism about whether the novel was at a high enough literary level for a ninth grade curriculum.

Pink, a single mother, will be accompanied by her two young children and her mother, she said, and she has waived her normal speaking fee.

To help pay for Pink’s expenses, Rebeccah Hoffman, another Pine-Richland parent, created an online fundraiser at fundlibraries.org. She said it has mostly spread over social media, and it generally features small donations.

As of Feb. 3, the fundraiser had collected donations from 51 people and raised $3,761 of its $5,000 goal.

Though Hoffman said Pink’s appearance likely will not change the board’s decision, she said it will give students and community members the chance to “understand better how she came to share the story.”

Community members, Pink said, have been “encouraging, supportive and wonderful.” She said she was “shocked” by how much the fundraiser had already raised. The author said she is willing to pick up the tab if the collection falls short.

“I just appreciate that they’re even considering doing that,” Pink said. “That was unexpected, and I’m so grateful.”

Brittany Kindersmith, a Pine-Richland parent active in organizing the visit, said Pink’s publisher, Macmillan, will cover her flight, but the fundraiser will pay for her lodging and travel for her family. Kindersmith said she also is trying to set up book signings for Pink’s most recent young adult novel, “Under the Heron’s Light.”

As for those who opposed the book’s inclusion — and the board members who voted against it — Kindersmith said she hopes they will come out to meet the author.

“I think it’s a chance to put a face and a person to the book and maybe have more engaged and open conversations,” Kindersmith said.

Pink will speak to students at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 22 and to the general public at 4:30 at Northern Tier Library, which is not a sponsor of the event. Both talks will be free.

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