Arlington Reads Celebrates Afrofuturism And Fantasy
![afrofuturism-1200x1425 Graphic depicting UFO merged with a women head profile taking off into outer space.](https://library.arlingtonva.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/afrofuturism-1200x1425-1.jpg)
This fall, Arlington Public Library’s long-running signature author talk program Arlington Reads will celebrate the Afrofuturist and fantasy works of six award-winning authors and illustrators—Hope Larson (Sept. 19), Nnedi Okorafor and Roseanne Brown (Oct. 10), Damian Duffy and John Jennings (Oct. 24) and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Nov. 14).
Fantasy illustrator and cartoonist Hope Larson will kick off the fall series followed by five Afrofuturist artists and writers, who reimagine, reinterpret and reclaim the past and present by using science-fiction, history and fantasy to explore the Black experience.
2024 Fall Lineup
Hope Larson
September 19, 6:30-8 p.m.
Illustrator and cartoonist Hope Larson is best known for her graphic novel adaptation of “A Wrinkle in Time,” by Madeleine L'Engle's classic fantasy from 1962, which spent forty-four weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and for which she won an Eisner Award. Fifty years after the story originated, Larson elevates the classic fantasy story to a new level with her modern drawing aesthetic that reimagines the characters as soft-lined, large-eyed characters, largely omitting backgrounds and leaving readers room to add their own imagination.
Nnedi Okorafor and Roseanne Brown
October 10, 6:30-8 p.m.
Nnedi Okorafor is an international award-winning New York Times Bestselling novelist of science fiction and fantasy for children, young adults and adults. Born in the United States to Nigerian immigrant parents, Nnedi is known for drawing from African cultures to create captivating stories with unforgettable characters and evocative settings. Nnedi has received the World Fantasy, Nebula, Eisner and Lodestar Awards and multiple Hugo Awards, amongst others, for her books.
Roseanne “Rosie” A. Brown is an immigrant from the West African nation of Ghana and a graduate of the University of Maryland, where she completed the Jimenez-Porter Writers’ House program. Her debut novel “A Song of Wraiths and Ruin” was an instant New York Times Bestseller, an Indie Bestseller and received six starred reviews.
Damian Duffy and John Jennings
October 24, 6:30-8 p.m.
Damian Duffy is a Hugo Award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling graphic novelist. Duffy holds a MS and PhD in Library and Information Sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he teaches courses on computers & culture, and social media and global change.
John Jennings is a Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of California at Riverside and co-editor of the Eisner Award-winning collection “The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of the Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art.” Jennings' published works include the horror anthology “Box of Bones,” “Black Comix Returns” (with Damian Duffy) and the New York Times best-selling graphic novel adaptation of Octavia Butler's classic dark fantasy novel “Kindred.”
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
November 14, 6:30-8 p.m.
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah’s debut collection, “Friday Black,” was a New York Times bestseller, won the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Award and the Dylan Thomas Prize. His first novel “Chain-Gang All-Stars” was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction, shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize and the Books Are My Bag Awards, and selected as a New York Times Top Ten Books of the Year.
2024 Spring Lineup
This spring, Arlington Reads commemorated the work and legacy of acclaimed author, poet, screenwriter and civil rights activist James Baldwin (1924-1987). Baldwin’s work had a profound impact on contemporary American identity, as his contributions challenged America on its promises of equality and justice.
In numerous essays, novels, plays and public speeches, Baldwin’s eloquent voice echoed the pain and struggle of Black Americans, portraying the saving power of brotherhood while addressing race, politics, and sexuality to create distinct narratives alongside the civil rights movement.
"Baldwin was not afraid to write about or say aloud what he experienced as a black gay man in a racially divided America," said Library Director Diane Kresh. "If your reading journey has missed Baldwin, you are in for a treat."
The 2024 Arlington Reads spring series showcased four award-winning authors— Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr., Anna Malaika Tubbs, Jesmyn Ward and George M. Johnson—whose works are about or were influenced by James Baldwin.
For all programs, books will be available for purchase during the event, courtesy of One More Page Books. The conversation will be followed by an audience Q&A and book signing. Check event details for livestream and recording options.
Since its inception in 2006, Arlington Reads has featured both national and international fiction and nonfiction authors and cultural icons, such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Wendell Berry, Katherine Boo, Matthew Desmond, Anthony Doerr, Richard Ford, Roxane Gay, Colum McCann, Tim O’Brien, Ann Patchett, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Elizabeth Strout, Zadie Smith and Colson Whitehead.
Arlington Reads is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Friends of the Arlington Public Library.