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Freedom Stories: Author Talk w/ Leslye Penelope

Join award-winning fantasy author Leslye Penelope, author of "Daughter of the Merciful Deep," for a captivating exploration of storytelling and its power to shape our understanding of history and identity. As part of the Freedom Stories Initiative, this event delves into the importance of representation and diverse narratives, particularly within the fantasy genre.

About the book:

"Our home began, as all things do, with a wish." Jane Edwards hasn't spoken since she was eleven years old, when armed riders expelled her family from their hometown along with every other Black resident. Now, twelve years later, she's found a haven in the all-Black town of Awenasa. But the construction of a dam promises to wash her home under the waters of the new lake. Jane will do anything to save the community that sheltered her. So, when a man with uncanny abilities arrives in town asking strange questions, she wonders if he might be the key. But as the stranger hints at gods and ancestral magic, Jane is captivated by a bigger mystery. She knows this man. Only the last time she saw him, he was dead. His body laid to rest in a rushing river. Who is the stranger and what is he really doing in Awenasa? To find those answers, Jane will journey into a sunken world, a land of capricious gods and unsung myths, of salvation and dreams made real. But the flood waters are rising. To gain the miracle she desires, Jane will have to find her voice again and finally face the trauma of the past.

Find the book in our collection here: Print | Ebook | Eaudiobook

About the author: Leslye Penelope has been writing since she could hold a pen and loves getting lost in the worlds in her head. She is an award-winning fantasy and paranormal romance author. Her novel "Song of Blood & Stone" was chosen as one of TIME Magazine's "100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time." Equally left and right-brained, she studied filmmaking and computer science in college and sometimes dreams in HTML. She hosts the My Imaginary Friends podcast, co-hosts the Ink & Magic podcast, and lives in Maryland with her feline dependents. Visit her at: www.lpenelope.com.

This program is a part of the Freedom Stories Initiative. Freedom Stories is an initiative between a coalition of organizations and agencies in Prince George’s County, Maryland to provide antiracist and social justice programs. It discovers the histories, stories, names, and places where freedom from enslavement and oppression began in Prince George’s County. Through dialogue facilitated by programs, Freedom Stories strives to connect legacy to present-day Prince George’s families and provide insight into the determination and resilience of black people living in Prince George’s County in the 1700s. We explore history to create a more just and equitable present experience.

*There will be a book signing and sale of "Daughter of the Merciful Deep" after the Author Talk.

Please visit Joe's Movement Emporium's website for more information about this program and the Freedom Stories Initiative.