In-Store: Jaquira Díaz: This Is the Only Kingdom w/ Nina Haines

Event guidelines:

• Each ticket will include either a copy of the featured book or a $10 Books Are Magic gift card.
• Additional copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event.
• A signing will follow the talk.
• Home address is collected for contact tracing purposes; it will not be used otherwise.
• The event will also be livestreamed for free here: https://youtube.com/live/_UxvBIa4Vwk
• As a reminder: If you are not feeling well, please do not come to the event, even if you have a ticket; email us and we'll work it out.

If you have any questions regarding these guidelines or to request accessibility accommodations, please contact [email protected].

LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL AWARD • From the Whiting Award-winning author Jaquira Díaz, an epic novel of a mother and daughter wrestling with the aftermath of a M**der, set against the backdrop of a tightknit, working-class barrio in Puerto Rico.

When Maricarmen meets Rey el Cantante, beloved small-time Robin Hood and local musician on the rise, she begins to envision a life beyond the tight-knit community of el Caserío, Puerto Rico – beyond cleaning houses, beyond waiting tables, beyond the constant tug of war between the street hustlers and los camarones. But breaking free proves more difficult than she imagined, and she soon finds herself struggling to make a home for herself, for Rey, his young brother Tito, and eventually, their daughter Nena. Until one fateful day changes everything.

Fifteen years later, Maricarmen and Nena find themselves in the middle of a M**der investigation as the community that once rallied to support Rey turns against them. Now Nena, a teenager haunted by loss and betrayal and exploring her sexual identity, must learn to fight for herself and her family in a world not always welcoming. For lovers of the Neapolitan novels, This is the Only Kingdom is an immersive and moving portrait of a family – and a community – torn apart by generational grief, and a powerful love letter to mothers, daughters, and the barrios that make them.

Jaquira Díaz is the author of Ordinary Girls, winner of a Whiting Award, a Florida Book Awards Gold Medal, a Lambda Literary Awards finalist, an American Booksellers Association Indies Introduce Selection, an Indie Next Pick, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection, a Library Reads pick, and finalist for the B&N Discover Prize. She has written for The Atlantic, The Guardian, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, and elsewhere. She teaches in the writing program at Columbia University.

Nina Haines is a writer, freelance marketer and content creator, and the founder of the sapphic book club and publishing imprint Sapph-Lit. With thousands of members from over 60 countries, Sapph-Lit's community is a safe space where queer folks can come read sapphic books, chat about life, ask for and offer support, and celebrate their identities.

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