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Renée Watson, the acclaimed young adult author, discusses her debut adult novel with local writer Jodi-Ann Burey. skin & bones is a soulful and lyrical novel exploring sisterhood, motherhood, faith, love, and ultimately what gets passed down from one generation to the next.In skin & bones, Lena Baker is at a steady and stable moment in life—between wine nights with her two best friends and her wedding just weeks away, she’s happy in love and in friendship until a confession on her wedding day shifts her world.
Unmoored and grieving a major loss, Lena finds herself trying to teach her daughter self-love while struggling to do so herself. Lena questions everything she’s learned about dating, friendship, and motherhood, and through it all, she works tirelessly to bring the oft-forgotten Black history of Oregon to the masses, sidestepping her well-meaning co-workers that don’t understand that their good intentions are often offensive and hurtful.
Through Watson’s poetic voice, skin & bones is a stirring exploration of who society makes space for and is ultimately a story of heartbreak and healing.
Renée Watson is a #1 New York Times bestselling author. Over the past decade she has authored twenty books for young readers, which have collectively sold more than a million copies. She received a Coretta Scott King Award and a Newbery Honor for her novel Piecing Me Together and high praise for 1619 Project: Born on the Water, co-written with Nikole Hannah-Jones. Her debut adult novel, skin & bones, will be published May 7th. Watson is on the Council of Writers for the National Writing Project and is a member of the Academy of American Poets’ Education Advisory Council. She splits her time between Portland, Oregon and New York City.
Jodi-Ann Burey (she/her) is a sought-after speaker and writer who works at the intersections of race, culture, and health equity. Jodi-Ann is also the creator and host of Black Cancer, a podcast about the lives of people of color told through their cancer journeys. Jodi-Ann is the author of Authentic, forthcoming in 2025 with Flatiron Books.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122-3806, United States,Seattle, Washington