About this Event
Join us for an in-person event with singer and songwriter Willow Smith and writer Jess Hendel for the launch of their debut novel Black Shield Maiden. Joining Willow and Jess in conversation is Tomi Adeyemi, author of Children of Blood and Bone. This event will be hosted in the Strand Book Store's 3rd floor Rare Book Room at 828 Broadway on 12th Street.
All tickets will include a copy of the book.
Can’t make the event?
STRAND IN-PERSON EVENT COVID-19 POLICY:
Masks and vaccination checks are not required for entry.* Attendees are welcome to wear a mask if they choose. If you do not have a mask and would like one, The Strand will provide masks at the door.
*Please note this is subject to change any time before or during the event per the author’s request.
ACCESSIBILITY:
Strand Book Store is an ADA compliant venue. The event space is accessible via elevator. Please ask a Strand employee upon arrival for directions to accessible seating if preferred.
ASL interpretation is available for this event by request only. Please reach out to our events team at [email protected] by April 23rd to request.
For further information on accessibility in this space, or to make a request, please contact
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From Willow Smith and Jess Hendel comes a powerful and groundbreaking historical epic about an African warrior in the world of the Vikings.
Lore, legend, and history tell us of the Vikings: of warrior-kings on epic journeys of conquest and plunder. But the stories we know are not the only stories to tell. There is another story, one that has been lost to the mists of time: the saga of the dark queen.
That saga begins with Yafeu, a defiant yet fiercely compassionate young warrior who is stolen from her home in the flourishing Ghanaian Empire and taken to a distant kingdom in the North. There she is thrust into a strange, cold world of savage shield maidens, tyrannical rulers, and mysterious gods.
And there she also finds something unexpected: a kindred spirit. She comes to serve Freydis, a shy princess who couldn’t be more different than the confident and self-possessed Yafeu.
But they both want the same thing: to forge their own fate. Yafeu inspires Freydis to dream of a future greater than the one that the king and queen have forced upon her. And with the princess at her side, Yafeu learns to navigate this new world and grows increasingly determined to become one of the legendary shield maidens. To fight not only for her freedom but for the freedom of others.
For Yafeu may have lost her home, but she still knows who she is, and she’s not afraid to be the flame that burns a city to the ground so a new world can rise from the ashes. She will alter the course of history—and become the revolutionary heroine of her own myth.
Willow Smith is a singer, songwriter, and activist.
Photo credit: Ian Buosi
Jess Hendel is a writer based in Los Angeles. She received her MFA in Writing for Screen and Television from the University of Southern California and her BA in Sociology from Amherst College.
Photo credit: Erika Muggins
Named one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, Tomi Adeyemi is a Hugo- and Nebula Award–winning Nigerian American writer and storyteller based in New York, New York. After graduating from Harvard University with an honors degree in English literature, she studied West African mythology, religion, and culture in Salvador, Brazil. Her first novel, Children of Blood and Bone, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. Its highly anticipated sequel, Children of Virtue and Vengeance, also debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. The third and final book of the series, Children of Anguish and Anarchy will publish on June 25, 2024. Tomi’s Legacy of Orïsha trilogy is being developed into a feature film by Paramount Pictures with Gina Prince-Bythwood of The Woman King set to direct. Tomi can be found teaching creative writing online at thewritersroadmap.net. In 2020, she was named one of Forbes’s 30 Under 30 in Media, and her website was named one of the 101 Best Websites for writers by Writer’s Digest. Learn more at tomiadeyemi.com.
Photo credit: Djeneba Aduayom
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway, New York, United States
USD 30.00
