The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman Author Event - Detroit

We are so excited to host Deesha Philyaw in person and for her new debut Novel !!!!! Let's come out to support Detroit.

Deesha Philyaw’s highly anticipated debut novel is titled The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman. It is a funny, juicy, and messy story about the secrets and double standards within the Black megachurch. It will be released on September 29, 2026.

Make sure to join us to celebrate it with her in Detroit on October 14th. Deesha will be in conversation with author Aaron Foley. Get ready for rich conversation about The True Confession of First Lady Freeman, ask Deesha questions about her craft and get a signed book.

This is for fans of her short stories the Secret Lives of Church Ladies and Readers that love a hard to put down novel.

We have Free tickets and book tickets at this link. Book tickets include a copy of The A Word that can be picked up on the day of the event. All tickets will save you a seat. Books will be picked up at the event.

About the Author

Deesha Philyaw’s debut short story collection, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the Story Prize, the LA Times Book Prize: The Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction. Deesha is a Kimbilio Fiction Fellow, a Baldwin for the Arts Fellow, a United States Artists Fellow, and co-host of two podcasts, Ursa Short Fiction (with Dawnie Walton) and Reckon True Stories (with Kiese Laymon). She is currently at work developing TV shows based on her short fiction.

In Conversation with

Aaron Foley is a journalist and writer based in Detroit. He is the author of the acclaimed novel "Boys Come First" and the nonfiction "How to Live in Detroit Without Being a Jackass." A newspaper writer and editor by day, he has also been published in several outlets, including "This American Life," the PBS NewsHour, and the Michigan Chronicle, where he currently serves as editor-at-large.

The wife of a popular and powerful megachurch pastor upends her charmed “rags-to-Rolex” life when her secret past comes roaring into the spotlight—in this "funny and juicy and sexy and delicious peek behind the pulpit" (Samantha Irby) from the acclaimed and beloved author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies.

"Deesha Philyaw has already established herself as one of the greatest short story writers, but in The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman she cements herself as the most soulfully entertaining writer of her era." - Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy and Long Division

"Fasten your seatbelt! A megachurch pastor’s wife is about to take you on a funny yet sobering literary exploration of aspiration, double-standards, shame, heartbreak and healing. Deesha Philyaw has a way with dialogue and desire on the page, and her talents are on full display here as she mines the often murky territory between public image and private accountability." - Charmaine Wilkerson, author of Black Cake and Good Dirt