Colson Whitehead - Harlem Shuffle - Adam Serwer
Colson Whitehead will discuss his book Harlem Shuffle. He will be joined in conversation by Adam Serwer.
Presented in Partnership with Books & Books, Miami Book Fair, and other independent bookstores
Virtual Event. Register HERE
About the book: "Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked..." To his customers and neighbors on 125th Street, Carney is an upstanding salesman of reasonably priced furniture, making a decent life for himself and his family. He and his wife Elizabeth are expecting their second child, and if her parents on Striver's Row don't approve of him or their cramped apartment across from the subway tracks, it's still home. Cash is tight, especially with all those installment-plan sofas, so if his cousin Freddie occassionally drops off the odd ring or necklace, Ray doesn't ask where it comes from. He knows a discreet jeweler downtown who doesn't ask questions, either. Harlem Shuffle's ingenious story plays out in a beautifully recreated New York City of the early 1960s. It's a family saga masquerading as a crime novel, a hilarious morality play, a social novel about race and power, and ultimately a love letter to Harlem. But mostly, it's a joy to read, another dazzling novel from the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning Colson Whitehead.
About the author: Colson Whitehead is the #1 New York Times Bestselling author of ten works of fiction and nonfiction, and is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Nickel Boys and The Underground Railroad, which also won a National Book Award. A recipient of MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships, he lives in New York City.
About the interlocutor: Adam Serwer is a staff writer for the ideas section of The Atlantic and the author of the New York Times bestselling essay collection The Cruelty Is the Point. He was previously the national editor at Buzzfeed News, a national reporter for MSNBC, and a reporter for Mother Jones. He is the recipient of the 2019 Hillman Prize for commentary and analysis, the 2015 Sigma Delta Chi Award for online column writing, the 2020 Vernon Jarrett Medal, and the 2019 Association of Black Journalists Salute to Excellence Award for magazine commentary.
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We are delighted to partner with other independent bookstores around the country to host a virtual paperback launch event in celebration of Colson Whitehead's Harlem Shuffle. This event will take place on Tuesday, August 9th at 7:00pm CST. Please read below for further event details.
Important Details - Please Read:
- Tickets include access to the virtual event and a paperback copy of Harlem Shuffle. Shipping is not included but can be added at checkout.
- The event will be livestreamed on Tuesday, August 9th at 7:00pm CT.
- Registered guests will receive a link to access the program and other event details via email at the email address you used to make your purchase.
- If you have questions about Seminary Co-op book fulfillment, please email onlineorders@semcoop.com
- If you have questions related to the virtual event, please email events@semcoop.com
- Orders will be fulfilled 7-10 business days from date of publication or date of purchase (if after date of publication). Please note, if you choose shipping at checkout, you will incur an additional shipping fee. If you would prefer to pickup in store, please indicate so at check out.
About the book: “Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked…” To his customers and neighbors on 125th street, Carney is an upstanding salesman of reasonably priced furniture, making a decent life for himself and his family. He and his wife Elizabeth are expecting their second child, and if her parents on Striver’s Row don’t approve of him or their cramped apartment across from the subway tracks, it’s still home. Few people know he descends from a line of uptown hoods and crooks, and that his façade of normalcy has more than a few cracks in it. Cracks that are getting bigger all the time. Cash is tight, especially with all those installment-plan sofas, so if his cousin Freddie occasionally drops off the odd ring or necklace, Ray doesn’t ask where it comes from. He knows a discreet jeweler downtown who doesn’t ask questions, either. Harlem Shuffle’s ingenious story plays out in a beautifully recreated New York City of the early 1960s. It’s a family saga masquerading as a crime novel, a hilarious morality play, a social novel about race and power, and ultimately a love letter to Harlem. But mostly, it’s a joy to read, another dazzling novel from the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning Colson Whitehead.
About the author: Colson Whitehead is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of ten works of fiction and nonfiction, and is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Nickel Boys and The Underground Railroad, which also won the National Book Award. A recipient of MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships, he lives in New York City.