Thanks to The Coil magazine for including an excerpt from Malawi’s Sisters. If you haven’t read the book and not sure if you want to get it, maybe this piece will help you decide:
Downstairs: An Excerpt from ‘Malawi’s Sisters’
Huge Thanks to The Coil
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Tagged Black Literature, literary fiction, Malawi's Sisters, Novel excerpt
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Discussing Race and Crime in America
I had a wonderful visit to the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville, Va. in March. I was able to be both a reader in the audience of some engaging panel discussions, as well as a presenter on stage. My appearance at the festival was sponsored by the African American Authors Book Club, a long-time book club with a diverse membership. The members were lovely and invited me to a potluck lunch where we continued chatting about Malawi’s Sisters and so much more.
Thank you to all who came out to hear me read. The audience was engaged and asked some great questions during the Q&A section. You can watch it because it was captured by CSPAN’s BookTV!
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Tagged Books, Crime, Malawi's Sisters, Race, Reading, Virginia Festival of the Book
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2019 Reads for the Rest of Us
What a thrill to be included in Karla Strand’s amazing list, “2019 Reads for the Rest of Us” for Ms. Magazine.
Karla writes: “As a reader, I’m always surprised at how challenging it can be to quickly locate books written by women from historically marginalized or underrepresented groups. It’s not that the books aren’t being written—they just are often not afforded the same visibility as titles written by white women, and definitely not by white men.”
This is a pretty outstanding list of books, and I’m honored to be included. Thank you, Karla, for seeking reads beyond the typical big publishing houses.
CSPAN BookTV Famous!
I was honored to be included in the inaugural African American Breakfast Party, hosted by children’s author Caroline Brewer to kick off the African-American Read-In event founded by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). It was a wonderful morning full of joy and talented writers, including Marita Golden, Tracy Chiles McGhee, Alan King, and the legendary Eloise Greenfield.
You can check out the entire event on CSPAN’s BookTV, or just view the clip of my reading from Malawi’s Sisters.
Pre-order Malawi’s Sisters Now Available
Malawi’s Sisters is now available for pre-order from Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Order it now and it’ll be immediately shipped to you in March (publication day is March 15, 2019). Buy it for yourself, or as a gift (or both!).
Selected by Edwidge Danticat as the winner of the inaugural Kimbilio National Fiction Prize, Malawi’s Sisters is about the murder of a young black woman by a white man, and was inspired by the 2013 shooting of Renisha McBride.
Of Malawi’s Sisters, Edwidge Danticat writes:
“This story is both timely and well executed. We rarely see the private side of the devastating aftermath of police/vigilante/help-seeking and shot-related deaths that this writer describes here in such a suspenseful and nuanced manner. This is the kind of book that might encourage and inspire in depth conversations and discussions and help readers think more deeply about a subject they might have mistakenly thought they knew all about.”
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Tagged Black Literature, Black Women, Book Launch, Books, Gun Violence, literary fiction, New Release, Novel, Preorder, Race
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When Your Life Gets Dumped Out on the Curb
Walking home, “Tiana” tried to rush her three children passed a pile of belongings that had been dumped on the street – the sign of a recent eviction from her apartment building.
“Mommy, are those our things?” asked her daughter.
Tiana took a closer look; sure enough, there was her couch, her television, her children’s clothes, all her family’s possessions.
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Tagged Family Homelessness, Homelessness, Playtime
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We Have a Cover
We have finalized a cover for “Malawi’s Sisters,” due for release from Four Way Books next spring, and I hope you love it as much as I do.
Many thanks to Four Way Books associate director, Ryan Murphy, who designed the cover. I greatly appreciate having the chance to offer input throughout the process.
“Malawi’s Sisters,” was selected by Edwidge Danticat as the winner of the inaugural Kimbilio National Fiction Prize. The story was inspired by the 2013 shooting death of Renisha McBride and tells the story of a black family thrown into the national dialogue on race when the youngest (adult) daughter is killed by a white man. The family must overcome overwhelming grief, resentments and personal demons to find love and family unity once again.
Next step is promoting the book. I’m open to ideas, so if you have some thoughts, please pass them along. I know for sure that I’ll be in Portland for a writers conference in March 2019, and plan to schedule reading events throughout the year.
Word of mouth is the biggest way to get the word out. I’ll be working hard to make this book a success, and I’d love to have your help. Can you share with your networks? I’ll be sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Goodreads.
Thank you for supporting me along my writing journey.
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Malawi’s Sisters Coming in 2019
I’m thrilled to announce that my novel, “Malawi’s Sisters,” was selected by Edwidge Danticat as the winner of the inaugural Kimbilio National Fiction Prize. My novel will be published in the spring of 2019 by Four Way Books. I’m especially honored to have Ms. Danticat choose my work — she is an incredible writer who recently won the 2018 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, a biennial award known as the American Nobel.
I started this novel during my month-long visit in 2015 to Bali. For more than a year I’ve been submitting it to literary agents and receiving one rejection after another. So this prize was a most wonderful gift. As you can imagine, I’m overjoyed and look forward to the journey toward publication.
“Malawi’s Sisters” was inspired by the 2013 shooting death of Renisha McBride and tells the story of a black family thrown into the national dialogue on race when the youngest daughter is killed by a white man. The family must overcome overwhelming grief, resentments and personal demons to find love and family unity once again.
Panelist at AWP17 Conference
I’m excited to announce I will be participating on two panel discussions at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, the largest literary conference in North America, being held in Washington, D.C. next month. The annual event attracts more than 12,000 attendees each year.
The two panels I’m on are:
At AWP16 in LA, (l-r) Judy Grahn, Percival Everett, and Richard Bausch give a wonderful presentation on writing that changes the world.
- A Reading and Conversation from Paycock Press, featuring five writers who live (or have lived) in the DC area, whose work appears in the seven-volume Grace and Gravity series.
- Small Press, Big City: 45 Years of Washington Writers Publishing House (WWPH), featuring five recent winners, who will read from their work.
I attended the event last year in Los Angeles, and I’m thrilled to be a part of next month’s conference. If you plan to attend, please let me know.
Legacy Award Brings Together Writing Heroes
What a fabulous experience I had at this year’s ceremony for the Hurston/Wright Foundation Legacy Awards. The event was at the Washington Plaza hotel on Friday, Oct. 21.
After more than 20 years, I had the chance to chat 
briefly with Ernest Gaines, who received the North Star award for his work. He had been a guest speaker at Hampton University when I was a student there, and I admit, I was in awe to see him again all those years later. I took my worn copies of his two books – “A Gathering of Old Men” and “A Lesson Before Dying” – and asked him to sign them, recounting our first meeting. And he signed them both with a personal note: “Good to see you again after so many years.” What a joy!
I also met the Ella Baker award recipient, Junot Diaz, who was gracious and funny, and NPR’s Michel Martin, who a wonderful emcee for the evening. Sharing the room with 
so many inspiring fiction, non-fiction and poetry writers was a thrill beyond words. Visit the foundation’s website for a list of the winners.
There is no other such award ceremony that I know of. Introduced in 2001, the Legacy Award was the first national award presented to Black writers by a national organization of Black writers. In a world where people are censored for what they think, marginalized for what they believe, and attacked for the way they look, it’s vital to have opportunities such as the Legacy Awards to honor an array of voices, each one sharing their own perspective of the black experience.
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