Laurie Halse Anderson is a New York Times bestselling author. Her first historical fiction novel, "Fever 1793," received multiple awards and is used in curriculums in classrooms around the nation. "Chains," the first book of her trilogy set during the Revolutionary War, was a National Book Award finalist, received the Scot O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and received the ALA Best Book for Young Adults award. She discusses the challenges of teaching history and slavery in a meaningful way through fiction. Laurie spoke at Mount Vernon's Educators' Evening on December 7, 2016.