Award-winning author and UC Berkeley graduate Terry McMillan visits the campus Wednesday, Feb. 19, as part of the African-American History Month celebration.

McMillan is probably best known for her book "Waiting to Exhale," which was also a top-grossing film starring Whitney Houston and Angela Basset. The story chronicles four black women and their relationships with men. McMillan co-wrote the screenplay for the film, which was directed by Forest Whitaker. The novel remained on the New York Times bestseller list for 38 weeks.

Her first short story was published while still in Berkeley's journalism school. In 1987 McMillan hit the streets to promote her first novel "Mama," contacting bookstores and colleges herself to get the word out. The hard work paid off -- in less than two months, the book had been reprinted three times.

Since then, she has published "Disappearing Act" (1989) and "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" (1996), another critically acclaimed bestseller.

McMillan's stories about black women cut across racial boundaries and have helped bring African-American literature by women to the forefront of our culture. Her books use humor and compassion to help explain what life can be like for middle-class black women.