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Three Novels Anchor Community Dialogues on Culture, Ambition and Human Interaction
DC Reads is back and more D.C. than ever. The DC Public Library is partnering with the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to celebrate three novels by local authors that navigate culture, ambition and the complexities of human relationships.
This year, DC Reads is using a new format in a collaborative effort with PEN/Faulkner. Instead of being one month, the program will start in November to showcase each author and build to a panel discussion called Voices of DC with all three authors in February.
This year's DC Reads invites readers to immerse themselves in richly imagined worlds crafted by three acclaimed DC authors. Morowa Yejide's "Creatures of Passage" navigates the social landscape of Washington, D.C., unraveling stories that resonate with the haunting realities of its neighborhoods. Tania James' "Loot" questions the ethics of treasure hunting and ownership of history through a journey across 18th-century India and Europe. Karin Tanabe's "The Sunset Crowd" illuminates the glamour and illusions of Hollywood, probing the lengths to which people go to achieve the American dream. With magical realism, nonlinear timelines, and Gatsby-esque narration, these novels open conversations on various issues, such as identity, grief, social justice and human ambition.
DC Reads is a DC Public Library program that promotes reading for pleasure through citywide discussions and events over a month, focusing on one book. In the past, DC Reads has focused on books like "The Refugees" by Viet Thanh Nguyen;" The Other Wes Moore" by Wes Moore; "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafisi and "A Lesson Before Dying" by Ernest J. Gaines.
Voices of DC is part of PEN/Faulkner’s Literary Conversations series, which brings together highly-acclaimed writers to discuss the urgent issues that surround their work and let fiction serve as the springboard for civil discourse.
The collaboration will foster community-wide discussions through virtual and in-person events over several months. The discussions are slated for Nov. 16 for “Creatures of Passage,” Jan. 10 for “Loot,” and Jan. 31 for “The Sunset Crowd,” culminating in a panel discussion with all three authors on Feb. 7. This finale will be hosted in partnership with PEN/Faulkner Foundation and moderated by D.C. novelist Lauren Francis-Sharma, an author and board member of PEN/Faulkner.
The Library will offer copies of the DC Reads books and discussion guides for the book clubs. For more information, click here.
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The PEN/Faulkner Foundation's participation is made possible by Shreve Williams Public Relations.