Join us for an evening with Peace Adzo Medie to celebrate her new novel Nightbloom, a riveting depiction of class, friendship, and family in Ghana, a compelling exploration of memory, and an eye-opening story of life as an African-born woman in the US. She will be in conversation with Carmen Tanner Slaughter. Registration is free but required.

Praise for Nightbloom:

Named a Most Anticipated Book of Spring/Summer 2023 by ELLE, Essence, and SheReads

“Peace Adzo Medie is the doyenne of the emotional plot twist. Just when you're sure you've figured it out, she reminds you there are two sides to every story. A book to read and then find someone to discuss it with.”

— Chibundu Onuzo, author of Sankofa

"Peace Adzo Medie returns with a formidable exploration of friendship and the intricacies of the relationships that shape us. Told by two bright voices, Nightbloom is a journey that spans years and explores a different truths along a parallel journey. Touching, bold and thought-provoking, this story is one everyone should read.”

— Onyi Nwabineli, author of Someday, Maybe

About the Book:

Peace Adzo Medie, author of Reese’s Book Club pick His Only Wife, returns with a moving novel about the unbreakable power of female friendship.

When Selasi and Akorfa were young girls in Ghana, they were more than just cousins; they were inseparable. Selasi was exuberant and funny, Akorfa quiet and studious. They would do anything for each other, imploring their parents to let them be together, sharing their secrets and desires and private jokes.

Then Selasi begins to change, becoming hostile and quiet; her grades suffer and she builds a space around herself, shutting Akorfa out. Meanwhile, Akorfa is accepted to an American university with the goal of becoming a doctor. Although hopeful that she can create a fuller life as a woman in America, she discovers the insidious ways that racism places obstacles in her path once she leaves Ghana. It takes a crisis to bring the friends back together, with Selasi’s secret revealed and Akorfa forced to reckon with her role in their estrangement.

A riveting depiction of class and family in Ghana, a compelling exploration of memory, and an eye-opening story of life as an African-born woman in the United States, Nightbloom is above all a gripping and beautifully written novel attesting to the strength of female bonds in the face of societies that would prefer to silence women.

About the Author: Peace Adzo Medie's debut novel, His Only Wife, was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, a New York Times Notable Book of 2020, a Time magazine Must-Read Book of 2020, and a Reese’s Book Club pick. Her book Global Norms and Local Action: The Campaigns to End Violence against Women in Africa was published by Oxford University Press in 2020. She has won numerous awards for her scholarship and has held several fellowships, including the Oxford-Princeton Global Leaders Fellowship. She holds a PhD in public and international affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a BA in geography from the University of Ghana.

About the Moderator: Carmen Tanner Slaughter has been a voracious reader since age three. Her love of the written word and its importance led to a career in both the public library and public education systems. She also spent five years working as an event coordinator with independent booksellers, hosting literary festivals as well as moderating book discussion groups, reading series, and conference panels in metro Atlanta. Her passion for words is not limited to those on the page. Carmen has been a raconteur since she was a toddler telling stories to her dolls but in 2009 she achieved professional status and has been a featured storyteller at MothUp Atlanta, Carapace, Stories on the Square, and the Peach State Storytelling Festival series "Stories on the Edge of Night." Carmen is an avid cinephile and music lover who spends hours indulging in those forms of creative expression. She channels her passions into serving her community and is a former board member and executive officer of the Cherokee County Arts Center, the Cherokee County Historical Society, and the Cherokee High School advisory board. Carmen is currently a board member of the Broadleaf Writers Association, a trustee of the Sequoyah Regional Library System, and a contributing editor at The Woolfer, a feminist website and social platform for women over forty.