Third World Interactive: Book Tour Winners and a Meetup Update

My book tour has officially been crowdsourced... and we have our winners!

After nearly 400,000 votes were cast, you have decided that I'll be going deep into the heart of Texas, to Harlem, and to the campus of Stony Brook University on Long Island to talk about the issues contributing to our country's slow slide into Third World America, and the practical steps we each can take to help one another through the hard times and strengthen our communities.

The top vote getter was the Texas Nature Project in Mason, Texas (approximately 95 miles west of Austin and San Antonio). In her initial submission of the group, Jan Pacopete wrote: "No one ever visits our rural communities any longer -- the places that grow and raise our food." Well, get ready, Jan, I'm coming.

I'll also be making tour stops at the LitWorld Girls Club for Literacy in Harlem, New York, and at an event at Stony Brook U hosted by the student-run publication Think Magazine.

Thanks to all who submitted their groups, schools, and community organizations -- and to everyone who voted.

I also want to remind everyone about the webcast we'll be hosting next Wednesday, October 6, at 8:30 pm EST, to talk about the problems facing America's beleaguered middle class -- and the steps we can all take to turn things around. Anyone with an Internet connection can join the event -- but we think the best way to be a part of it is to host or sign up for a HuffPost Meetup. Click on the Meetup tool to find a HuffPost Meetup near you -- or to start a new one.

I'll be answering questions live on the webcast. You can submit questions that night via email or by tweeting to @ariannahuff -- you can also post questions in the comment section below. I look forward to "meeting up" with all of you on October 6th.