Category: personal

What a pleasure and an honor it was to be part of the Chinua Achebe Legacy Series at CCNY! Thank you to all who came to my reading. I’m back home now, but already preparing for two other events. I will be in Arizona next week, for a reading at Yavapai College:

November 14, 2014
7:00 PM
Reading and on-stage conversation
Yavapai College
1100 E. Sheldon Street
Prescott, Arizona

The following weekend, I will be in Florida for the Miami Book Fair, doing a reading with Kathryn Harrison and Kristin Downey. Here are the details:

November 23, 2014
2:30 PM
Miami Book Fair
Room 8503
Building 8, 5th Floor
Miami, Florida

For those who may be interested, here is a short interview I did with PEN, and a longer, chattier one I did with Aaron Bady, as part of his ‘African Writers in a New World’ series. The great Michael Schaub also reviewed The Moor’s Account on his Book Report show.

I feel like I’ve been on an airplane for the last couple of weeks. I went to the Chicago Humanities Festival, where I gave a reading, followed by a conversation with Gina Frangello. (Here is a recap of the event, if you’re interested.) Then I went back home for one day and had to head right back out for the International Festival of Authors in Toronto. I met with my lovely Canadian editor, gave two readings at Harbourfront Centre, and did a panel conversation with Sarah Waters and Valerie Martin for Writers & Company on CBC.

In other news, I will be on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Monday night. (Set your DVR!) Then on Thursday, I will be giving a reading at CCNY, as part of their Chinua Achebe Legacy Series. The reading is free and open to the public. Details are below:

November 6, 2014
12:00 PM
City College of New York
Chinua Achebe Legacy Series
NAC Building, Amsterdam Room
Amsterdam Ave. at 137th Street
Harlem, New York

But one advantage of all this travel is that I’ve been able to some reading! I just finished Love Me Back by Merritt Tierce, On Immunity by Eula Biss, and The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert.

I just finished packing for my trip to the East Coast. I’ll be reading from and discussing The Moor’s Account in four cities: New York, Washington, DC, Williamstown, and Boston. The details are posted below:

October 6, 2014
8:00 PM

92nd Street Y

1395 Lexington Avenue

New York, New York

October 7, 2014
7:00 PM

Politics and Prose

5015 Connecticut Ave. NW

Washington, DC

October 8, 2014
6:30 PM

Williams College

Williamstown, Massachusetts

October 9, 2014
7:00 PM

Harvard Bookstore

1256 Massachusetts Ave

Cambridge, Massachusetts

For those who may be interested, here’s an interview I did with The Berkshire Eagle ahead of my reading at Williams. Reviews have continued to appear through last week. I particularly liked hearing Alan Cheuse’s review for NPR’s All Things Considered. Meanwhile, The Moor’s Account was published in Canada last week, so reviews have begun to appear there as well. Here, for instance, is a piece from the The Winnipeg Free Press. Details about my Canada appearances are on my Events page.

Thank you to all who came to my readings in Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco. I had a wonderful time talking about The Moor’s Account and enjoyed sharing anecdotes and stories. Now I’m getting ready to read in New Mexico, a state I’ve loved ever since my first visit, in the summer of 2010. First up is Albuquerque:

September 22, 2014
7:00 PM
Reading and Discussion
Bookworks
4022 Rio Grande Blvd NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico

After that, I will be reading in Santa Fe:

September 23, 2014
6:00 PM
Reading and Discussion
Collected Works Bookstore
202 Galisteo St.
Santa Fe, New Mexico

You can read an interview I did with The Santa Fe New Mexican, ahead of my events in the state. The Moor’s Account was the subject of a wonderful essay by Rubén Martínez in The Los Angeles Review of Books. It also made Ebony‘s list of recommended reads. Do come and say hi.

Photo credit: Powell’s Books.

I’m packing today for the West Coast portion of my book tour. If you happen to be in Seattle, Portland, or San Francisco, I would love to see you! In Seattle, I’ll be reading at the public library, a place I love both for its architecture and for the people who work in it. The event is co-sponsored by Elliott Bay Book Co., where the booksellers always have the best recommendations for what to read next. I had a wonderful time in Seattle when my previous novel, Secret Son, was a citywide read there, so I’m really looking forward to being back.

September 16, 2014
7:00 PM
Reading and Discussion
Seattle Public Library in conjunction with Elliott Bay Book Co.
1000 Fourth Avenue
Seattle, Washington

After that, I’ll be reading at the legendary City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco. I’m excited about the prospect of seeing family and friends from the area. Details are below:

September 17, 2014
7:00 PM
Reading and Discussion
City Lights Booksellers and Publishers
261 Columbus Avenue
San Francisco, California

My last stop of the week will be at Powell’s Books. All I can say about this bookstore is that I want to set up a tent and live there. It’s that great.

September 18, 2014
7:30 PM
Reading and Discussion
Powell’s Books
1005 W. Burnside Street
Portland, Oregon

If you want to know a little more about the genesis of The Moor’s Account, you can read this piece I wrote for Biographile. I also created a musical playlist for Largehearted Boy’s Booknotes. Several new reviews of the book appeared over the last few days: The Wall Street Journal called the novel “sensitive” and “elegant;” the literary magazine The Millions said it was “magnificent;” and the Seattle Times found it “meticulously researched and inventive.” The New York Times made it an Editors’ Choice this week.

My new novel, The Moor’s Account, comes out today. The journey from conception to publication has been long, but it has been wonderful in every way. I’m very proud of this book and I hope you enjoy reading it. I’m also thrilled to see that it has already received some notice. For instance, in its review, The New York Times called it “a fictional memoir told in a controlled voice that feels at once historical and contemporary.” The Los Angeles Times said it was a “rich novel (…) that muses on the ambiguous power of words to either tell the truth or reshape it according to our desires.” Other reviews and mentions appeared in BookPage, The Huffington Post, and The Village Voice. And you can hear me discuss the novel with Arun Rath on NPR’s All Things Considered.

I will be launching The Moor’s Account in Los Angeles this week, at two separate events. Tomorrow, I’ll read from and discuss it at Skylight:

September 10, 2014
7:30 PM
Reading and Discussion
Skylight Books
1818 N Vermont Ave.
Los Angeles, California

And then this Sunday, I’ll be speaking at Diesel in Brentwood. Details are below:

September 14, 2014
3:00 PM
Reading and Discussion
Diesel, A Bookstore
Brentwood Country Mart
225 26th Street, Ste. 33.
Brentwood, California

After that, I will be going on a huge tour to promote the book. All my scheduled readings are posted on my Events page. Do come.