Good afternoon, loves-
True story—I started Moonrise Over New Jessup thinking I just wanted to write a book about the Alabama that my family loved and loves. Craft was absolutely a factor in how I did that, but my family is full of storytellers. What was most important to me is to marry craft with the way I experienced story growing up. At the end of the day, truth of the thing was always my goal.
So please know that the blessings being bestowed upon Moonrise Over New Jessup feel special not just for me, but for Alabama. Publishing has been full of ups and downs, but ups and downs that I am navigating to tell a story of Black empowerment that makes my people proud. So at the end of the day, I feel like this is all for them.
So ALABAMA was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize today. It is a tremendous honor to be nominated among some extraordinary talent.
I am also thrilled that tonight is the night that I get to hang out with Glory Edim and the Well-Read Black Girl community at the DC Public Library. Glory is a sincere advocate for Black women and our stories, and I am truly excited to be in conversation with her about Alice and her kin. Join us either live or streaming, but make sure to RSVP HERE because space is limited. For those of you wishing to join us in person, we will be at the MLK branch on Wednesday at 7:00pm EST, and for those joining online, you can find us on YouTube at 7:00: https://youtube.com/live/TyCCPxkIeKo?feature=sharea
Thank you all for continuing to support and love on Alice and her folks. I am immensely grateful to each and every one of you🙏🏽
Blessings,
Jamila
I hope you have a wonderful reading tonight, and I'll hopefully be able to watch back on the DCPL site soon! I'll be at another happy hour, related to another publication I write and edit for, but I love what Glory and our library system is able to do for us!