Kelly McWilliams with Christina Hammonds-Reed — 'American Nightmare'
About this Event
Third Place Books welcomes back Kelly McWilliams for the release of her adult debut, American Nightmare. In this haunting historical novel, a light-skinned Black man goes undercover to investigate lynchings in the South, only to be confronted by the very evil that has pursued him since childhood...
Christina Hammonds Reed, author of The Black Kids andThe Johnson Four, joins in conversation.
This event is free and open to the public. For important updates, RSVP is highly recommended in advance. This event will include a public signing and time for audience Q&A. Sustain our author series by purchasing a copy of the featured book!
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This event is free to attend. For important updates, registration is highly recommended in advance.
About American Nightmare. . .
Clark Wendell White first encountered the Nightmare as a child during the Atlanta Race Riot of 1906, when he and his father stood guard over their family home. In the eyes of the mob of men wielding torches through the streets, Clark sensed this malevolent presence. It was then that the Nightmare took shape, burrowing deep into his mind and feeding on his fear. As Clark steps into adulthood, the Nightmare is always on his heels, threatening to overtake him.
Years later, the same haunting feeling drives Clark to the NAACP’s headquarters in New York City, where he answers an ad seeking light-skinned Black men for dangerous undercover work. As a spy for the NAACP, Clark investigates lynching sites, impersonating the very Nightmare that once tormented him.
As Clark descends deeper into this double life, another force rises: a new chapter of the Ku Klux Klan is introduced, right in the storied streets of New York City. Among its eager recruits is Sam Cahill, Walter’s first Nightmare, and the only one who can see past Walter’s disguise. Now Clark must outwit both the living and the dead as he confronts a past that refuses to stay buried and a future where the cost of passing could sacrifice more than his soul.
Inspired by the life of civil rights activist Walter White, who passed as a white man to expose the brutality of lynchings from the Midwest to the South, American Nightmare is a gripping work of historical fiction that reveals the most terrifying monsters aren’t those that go bump in the night but those that walk among us.
Kelly McWilliams is a mixed-race novelist whose work examines white passing, American history, and the uncanny. She is also the author of several acclaimed novels for young adults, including Mirror Girls, a Junior Library Guild Selection. American Nightmare is her adult fiction debut. She lives in Seattle with her family.
Christina Hammonds Reed’s debut YA novel, The Black Kids, was a New York Times bestseller, a William C. Morris Award finalist, and a California Book Award Silver Medalist. She lives in the Los Angeles area with her lovely little family. The Johnson Four is her adult debut.
About Third Place Books
Founded in 1998 in Lake Forest Park, Washington, Third Place Books is dedicated to the creation of a community around books and the ideas inside them. With locations in Lake Forest Park and Seattle's Ravenna and Seward Park neighborhoods, Third Place Books is proud to serve the entire Seattle metro area. Learn more about their event series at thirdplacebooks.com/events.
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