Aisha Saeed in conversation with Shelly Anand | The Wedding Week
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Long-buried secrets resurface when a woman returns home for her sister’s lavish resort wedding in the Everglades, where gossiping aunties and Burmese pythons aren’t the only threats, in this suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of “The Matchmaker.”
A Cappella Books and Georgia Center for the Book welcome author Aisha Saeed in honor of her new book, “The Wedding Week.” The author will appear in conversation with author and activist Shelly Anand.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the venue. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is not required, but preferred—signing up guarantees your seat.
This event is free and open to the public. It takes place in the Decatur Library Auditorium after the library has closed. Please enter through the Ground Floor, rear doors (from the lower level of the parking lot). Doors open at 2:30 PM.
About the Book
It’s been three years since Hena Mirza saw her family. Three years since her fiancé mysteriously vanished on their wedding day. Three years since everyone decided she was to blame.
When her younger sister, Lulu, calls with shocking news—she’s getting married in forty-eight hours and their mother is dying—Hena’s plan is simple: fly home, say goodbye, and leave before she reopens old wounds. But nothing about the trip is simple. This isn’t a one-day event. It’s an eight-day desi wedding with a guest list that eerily mirrors the one from her own failed nuptials. And though Hena feels unexpected sparks fly with two men in the wedding party—a childhood friend and a newcomer unfamiliar with her history—the remaining guests quickly make it clear: No one is happy she’s back.
Then Lulu’s carefully planned itinerary goes awry. Hena initially dismisses the strange incidents, but as days pass and the sabotage escalates, it becomes clear that someone is determined to destroy the wedding, just as Hena’s was destroyed years ago. To survive this week, she’ll have to uncover the culprit behind these attacks . . . before the past she’s tried to outrun finally catches up to her.
About the Author
Aisha Saeed is an award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of books for children, including her middle grade novels “Hafsa’s Way,” “Omar Rising” (a Kirkus Best Book), and “Amal Unbound” (a New York Times bestseller and Global Read Aloud). Her picture book “Bilal Cooks Daal” received an APALA honor, and she also wrote the picture books “You and Me, Baby,” “Zuni and the Memory Jar,” and “The Together Tree.” Aisha is also a founding member of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books™. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her family.
About the Conversation Partner
Shelly Anand is the author of the acclaimed picture book "Laxmi’s Mooch" (Kokila, an Imprint of Penguin Random House / 2021), a joyful, body-positive picture book about a young Indian American girl’s journey to accept her body hair and celebrate her heritage after being teased about her mustache. Laxmi was featured on the Today show, NBC News, and Glamour magazine, and received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist. Shelly’s second book, "I Love My Body Because"(Simon & Schuster/2022), co-authored by Nomi Ellenson, is a gentle and poetic picture book for the youngest readers about celebrating your own body and all the different, wonderful bodies that make up our world. Her third, and most recent picture book, "In This Family "(Simon & Schuster/ 2024) has been celebrated as " a rich and inviting portrait of a loving multiracial family" by Kirkus Reviews.
In addition to writing children’s picture books, Shelly has had a 15 year legal career dedicated to advancing the rights of immigrants and workers across the Deep South as a bilingual staff attorney with Georgia Legal Services Program, a litigator with the US Department of Labor, and an immigrant rights attorney with Tahirih Justice Center. In October 2020, she co-founded Sur Legal Collaborative, an immigrant and worker rights nonprofit legal organization, in response to COVID-19 after seeing that many of her immigrant clients had been deemed essential workers and knew nothing about their labor rights, particularly in the safety and health context.
A Cappella Books and Georgia Center for the Book welcome author Aisha Saeed in honor of her new book, “The Wedding Week.” The author will appear in conversation with author and activist Shelly Anand.
Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the venue. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is not required, but preferred—signing up guarantees your seat.
This event is free and open to the public. It takes place in the Decatur Library Auditorium after the library has closed. Please enter through the Ground Floor, rear doors (from the lower level of the parking lot). Doors open at 2:30 PM.
About the Book
It’s been three years since Hena Mirza saw her family. Three years since her fiancé mysteriously vanished on their wedding day. Three years since everyone decided she was to blame.
When her younger sister, Lulu, calls with shocking news—she’s getting married in forty-eight hours and their mother is dying—Hena’s plan is simple: fly home, say goodbye, and leave before she reopens old wounds. But nothing about the trip is simple. This isn’t a one-day event. It’s an eight-day desi wedding with a guest list that eerily mirrors the one from her own failed nuptials. And though Hena feels unexpected sparks fly with two men in the wedding party—a childhood friend and a newcomer unfamiliar with her history—the remaining guests quickly make it clear: No one is happy she’s back.
Then Lulu’s carefully planned itinerary goes awry. Hena initially dismisses the strange incidents, but as days pass and the sabotage escalates, it becomes clear that someone is determined to destroy the wedding, just as Hena’s was destroyed years ago. To survive this week, she’ll have to uncover the culprit behind these attacks . . . before the past she’s tried to outrun finally catches up to her.
About the Author
Aisha Saeed is an award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of books for children, including her middle grade novels “Hafsa’s Way,” “Omar Rising” (a Kirkus Best Book), and “Amal Unbound” (a New York Times bestseller and Global Read Aloud). Her picture book “Bilal Cooks Daal” received an APALA honor, and she also wrote the picture books “You and Me, Baby,” “Zuni and the Memory Jar,” and “The Together Tree.” Aisha is also a founding member of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books™. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her family.
About the Conversation Partner
Shelly Anand is the author of the acclaimed picture book "Laxmi’s Mooch" (Kokila, an Imprint of Penguin Random House / 2021), a joyful, body-positive picture book about a young Indian American girl’s journey to accept her body hair and celebrate her heritage after being teased about her mustache. Laxmi was featured on the Today show, NBC News, and Glamour magazine, and received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist. Shelly’s second book, "I Love My Body Because"(Simon & Schuster/2022), co-authored by Nomi Ellenson, is a gentle and poetic picture book for the youngest readers about celebrating your own body and all the different, wonderful bodies that make up our world. Her third, and most recent picture book, "In This Family "(Simon & Schuster/ 2024) has been celebrated as " a rich and inviting portrait of a loving multiracial family" by Kirkus Reviews.
In addition to writing children’s picture books, Shelly has had a 15 year legal career dedicated to advancing the rights of immigrants and workers across the Deep South as a bilingual staff attorney with Georgia Legal Services Program, a litigator with the US Department of Labor, and an immigrant rights attorney with Tahirih Justice Center. In October 2020, she co-founded Sur Legal Collaborative, an immigrant and worker rights nonprofit legal organization, in response to COVID-19 after seeing that many of her immigrant clients had been deemed essential workers and knew nothing about their labor rights, particularly in the safety and health context.
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Where is it happening?
Georgia Center for the Book at DCPL, 215 Sycamore St, Decatur, GA 30030-3413, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherA Cappella Books
