Congratulations to Margaret Wilkerson Sexton, whose debut novel A Kind of Freedom has been nominated for a National Book Award for Fiction!
National Book Award fiction judges Alexander Chee, Dave Eggers, Annie Philbrick, Karolina Waclawiak and Chair Jacqueline Woodson have named A Kind of Freedom one of ten books nominated this year.
If that news isn’t quite enough to move this debut to the top of your to-be-read pile, A Kind of Freedom was also a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice following a rave review in those pages.
People magazine recently gushed, “Brilliantly juxtaposing World War II, the ’80s and post-Katrina present, Sexton follows three generations of a black New Orleans family as they struggle to bloom amid the poison of racism. The author’s deep knowledge of her city and unerring ear for dialogue help bring her unforgettable characters to life.”
The Washington Post calls the novel a “moving debut… ingeniously told,” The San Francisco Chronicle also highly recommended the book—and that’s just the beginning of what you’ll read and hear about Margaret Wilkerson Sexton this fall.
A KIND OF FREEDOM by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton
- New Orleans, LA: Octavia Books—reading/signing—8/30
HEART BERRIES by Terese Marie Mailhot
- Los Angeles, CA: Vroman’s Bookstore—Otherwise Reading Series/in conversation w/Elissa Washuta/reading/signing—8/31
IMPROVEMENT by Joan Silber
- Jamaica, NY: Queens Library, Forest Hills—reading/signing—8/11
- Brooklyn, NY: Greenlight Bookstore (Fort Greene)—in conversation w/Kate Walbert/reception—8/23
MAGDALENA MOUNTAIN by Robert Michael Pyle
- Seattle, WA: Elliot Bay Book Company—reading/signing—8/21
- Beaverton, OR: Powell’s at Cedar Hills Crossing—reading/signing—8/29
ONE DAY YOU’LL THANK ME by David McGlynn
- West Hollywood, CA: Book Soup—reading/signing—8/21
RESISTANCE by Jeff Biggers
- Chicago, IL: Unabridged Bookstore—#ReadingisResistance Series/reading/signing—8/1
- Iowa City, IA: Prairie Lights—reading/signing—8/9
SURVIVOR CAFÉ by Elizabeth Rosner
- Mendocino, CA: Mendocino Coast Writers Conference—conference—8/2
- Occidental, CA: Sonoma Coast Writer’s Camp—presentation/reading—8/9
- Oakland, CA: East Bay Booksellers—paperback launch/reading/signing—9/5
TERRARIUM by Valerie Trueblood
- Seattle, WA: Elliot Bay Book Company—reading/signing—8/7
THE WIDOW NASH by Jamie Harrison
- Seattle, WA: Horizon Books—reading/signing—8/11
- Hamilton, MT: Chapter One Book Store—Book club/skype with author—8/25
THE WILDLANDS by Abby Geni
- Chicago, IL: Women and Children First—book launch party/in conversation w/Frances de Pontes Peebles/signing—9/4
And many more listings coming soon….
In an interview with Colorado’s KGNU Radio Bookclub, author Laura Pritchett discusses her novel, The Blue Hour. Read the full interview here.
Thomas Dilworth’s biography, David Jones: Engraver, Soldier, Painter, Poet, receives a glowing review from The Spectator. Read the full review here.
San Francisco Chronicle‘s weekly “First Sentences from New Books” column features the first sentence from Anna Journey’s new essay collection, An Arrangement of Skin. Read the selection here.
The New York Public Library named Karen Bender’s Refund: Stories, Hiromi Kawakami’s Manazuru and Noo Saro-Wiwa’s Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria to their list of 365 notable books by women authors. See the full list here.
Bernadette Murphy, author of Harley and Me, wrote an autobiographical essay for Role Reboot that draws surprising comparisons between her childhood and the presidency. Read the full essay here.
In an interview with USC Dornsife magazine, author Anna Journey discusses the grotesque origins of her essay collection An Arrangement of Skin. Read the full interview here.
Anna Journey’s new essay collection, An Arrangement of Skin, is reviewed by the Rumpus. Read the full review here.
In an interview with High County News, author Lauret Savoy discusses memory, rewriting history and writing her book, Trace: History, Race and the American Landscape. Read the full interview here.
Electric Literature interviews Laurie Sheck about writing her book, Island of the Mad. Read the full interview here.
The Rumpus interviews Laurie Sheck about her new book, Island of the Mad. Read the full interview here.
