FERRY TALES w/ Abrea Armstrong and Jason Reynolds | A Busboys and Poets Boo
About this Event
A novel that follows a black millennial woman on a transatlantic journey of self-discovery, blending travel, romance, humor, and cultural reclamation as she reconnects with her African heritage and confronts the legacies of diaspora, identity, and corporate America.
Ferry Tales: The Recollection is the story of a 27-year-old African-American who thinks that drank, dank and d*ck are all of her Black Millennial needs.
That is until Anana Johnson is yanked by an unexpected, and undeniable, invitation to her best friend’s wedding in West Africa that will send her across oceans, generations, and cultures to reassemble the long-shattered pieces of her identity that were lost somewhere in between by recalling her truth, herself—or sink in the sandy whirlpool.
From the city streets of Harlem, New York to the seaside hills of Lisbon, Portugal, to the slave houses in the Senegalese Sahara, Anana is thrust uncontrollably into the troubled waters from which she was birthed. There, she must wade through the tide of generational trauma, language barriers, and modern inconveniences to conquer not only the dark streets of Dakar, Senegal but also the Black labyrinth that is herself. Sprinkle in international romance(s), lost iPhones, and encouraging Atlantic winds and now she’s on an African diasporic global identity journey from which she may never return.
Driven by her determination to honor her lost enslaved ancestors and to be a good friend, while still trying to fight the universe’s current, this drunk and hot girl enters life’s arena cloaked in the haze of western media & Sahara dust choosing to either hang on to what she believes, accept what’s possible or drown somewhere in the middle.
Abrea Armstrong is joining us on the Busboys stage alongside Jason Reynolds to expand on “a new, powerful song of ancestral memory, humor, love, travel, and identity. An ode to the Diaspora" (MK Asante, author of Nephew). Copies of the book will be available for purchase during and after the event, and Armstrong will be signing following the program.
This event is free and open to all. Doors open to guests at 5:30pm. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of FERRY TALES will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is in person.
We ask that guests RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event from Busboys and Poets Books
Abrea Armstrong was born and raised in North Carolina and is a proud descendant of enslaved Africans. She earned her BA in Spanish Language & Literature from St. John’s University in Queens, New York. While living in NYC, she contributed to publications such as XXL Magazine, Revolt TV, and HuffPost Live, and was awarded a private poetry grant. Her poetry is now part of the Special Collection at the Z. Smith Reynolds Library at Wake Forest University.
Throughout her career, Abrea has been recognized for her excellence in mass communications, receiving honors including the Triad Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Most Influential African-Americans, 20 in their 20s, and Leader in Diversity in 2020. She was also named Most Valuable Emerging Leader by the National Urban League and received the 2022 MLK Young Dreamer Award from the City of Winston-Salem.
Since her first journey to the Motherland, she has deepened her connection to her roots and officially became a Ghanaian citizen in November 2024. Abrea currently resides in her hometown of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Jason Reynolds is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books for children and young adults. A 2024 MacArthur Fellow, Jason is best known for his novels All American Boys (co-written with Brendan Kiely), the Track series, and Long Way Down, which received Newbery, Printz, and Coretta Scott King Honors. Among his many accolades, Jason was named the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Library of Congress for 2020-2022. Jason lives in Washington, DC.
BOOK DETAILS
Ferry Tales
The Recollection
By Abrea Armstrong
September 22, 2026 | Paperback | 250 pages | $18.95
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Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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