Hybrid Event: Bianca Marais, Witches of Moonshyne Manor, with Jamise Harper

East City Bookshop welcomes author Bianca Marais for a hybrid event to discuss her new book, The Witches of Moonshyne Manor. She will be joined by Jamise Harper of Spines & Vines for a conversation and live Q&A.

Note on Format: This hybrid event will have both an in-person component with limited seating as well as a virtual broadcast via Zoom Webinar. Both in-person and virtual attendees will be able to pose questions to the authors during audience Q&A.

COVID-19 Information: Please note that East City Bookshop continuously monitors public health guidance to ensure the safety of customers, authors, and our staff and reserves the right to adjust in-person events. Masks and proof of vaccination are required for all attendees.

ABOUT THE WITCHES OF MOONSHYNE MANOR

A coven of modern-day witches. A magical heist-gone-wrong. A looming threat.

Five octogenarian witches gather as an angry mob threatens to demolish Moonshyne Manor. All eyes turn to the witch in charge, Queenie, who confesses they’ve fallen far behind on their mortgage payments. Still, there’s hope, since the imminent return of Ruby—one of the sisterhood who’s been gone for thirty-three years—will surely be their salvation.

But the mob is only the start of their troubles. One man is hellbent on avenging his family for the theft of a legacy he claims was rightfully his. In an act of desperation, Queenie makes a bargain with an evil far more powerful than anything they’ve ever faced. Then things take a turn for the worse when Ruby’s homecoming reveals a seemingly insurmountable obstacle instead of the solution to all their problems.

The witches are determined to save their home and themselves, but their aging powers are no match for increasingly malicious threats. Thankfully, they get a bit of help from Persephone, a feisty TikToker eager to smash the patriarchy. As the deadline to save the manor approaches, fractures among the sisterhood are revealed, and long-held secrets are exposed, culminating in a fiery confrontation with their enemies.

Funny, tender and uplifting, the novel explores the formidable power that can be discovered in aging, found family and unlikely friendships. Marais’ clever prose offers as much laughter as insight, delving deeply into feminism, identity and power dynamics while stirring up intrigue and drama through secrets, lies and sex. Heartbreaking and heart-mending, it will make you grateful for the amazing women in your life.

BIANCA MARAIS is the author of the beloved Hum If You Don't Know the Words and If You Want to Make God Laugh, as well as the Audible Original, The Prynne Viper.

She taught at the University of Toronto's School of Continuing Studies where she was awarded an Excellence in Teaching Award for Creative Writing in 2021.

She runs the Eunice Ngogodo Own Voices Initiative to empower young Black women in Africa to write and publish their own stories, and fundraises to assist grandmothers in Soweto with caring for children who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS.

She is the co-host of the popular podcast, The Shit No One Tells You About Writing, which is aimed at helping emerging writers become published.

She's an experienced public speaker who is in great demand for various events.

JAMISE HARPER is an avid reader, wine enthusiast, influencer, and champion for amplifying marginalized voices. A passion for reading diverse books led her to create the #diversespines hashtag and Diverse Spines® book community on social media, which highlights literature by Black women and women of color. She is the co-author (with Jane Mount) of Bibliophile: Diverse Spines (Chronicle Books, 2021), and the creator of Spines & Vines®, a blog dedicated to book and wine pairings. She is also the host of Literary Wine Down, a book + wine conversational series on Instagram Live featuring debut and bestselling authors.

Jamise is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and lives in the Washington, DC metro area.

Event Venue

East City Bookshop, 645 Pennsylvania Avenue Southeast, Washington, United States