Three novelists tackle the fraught and sometimes harrowing journey of characters striving to define life on their own terms. In Sadeqa Johnson’s The House of Eve, two teenagers seek a new life but struggle to escape the confines of the past and future; in Ruth Madievsky’s All-Night Pharmacy, a sister experiences freedom and guilt after the disappearance of her sibling, and in Szilvia Molnar’s The Nursery, a new mother faces the looming isolation brought on by the birth of her infant. When faced with unexpected challenges and societal pressures, how do you remember who you are?  Moderated by Rachel Yang (NBC News, Campside Media)

From Hollywood to Capri, the lives of women artists and creators are reimagined in historical novels by Selby Wynn Schwartz (After Sappho) and Gail Tsukiyama (The Brightest Star). Schwartz crafts vignettes of the intertwined lives of feminists at the turn of the twentieth century who put down their needlepoint to forge a new creative and sexual identity, while Tsukiyama reimagines the life of Anna May Wong, the first Asian American Hollywood actress who broke barriers and fought to be a shining star. What inspired these women to defy parents, society, and their own upbringing? Moderated by journalist and screenwriter Elisabeth Donnelly.

Enjoy readings and dialogue with two-time Pulitzer Award-winning novelist and 2017 BoBi Honoree Colson Whitehead as he shares the elaborate layers of his newest book Crook Manifesto. He is joined in conversation by novelist Dwyer Murphy (The Stolen Coast). This intimate conversation promises an exploration of the artistry, intellect and reflections that breathe life into fiction.

Join National Book Foundation “5 Under 35” honorees Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Friday Black; Chain Gang All Stars), Alexandra Chang (Days of Distraction; Tomb Sweeping), and C Pam Zhang (How Much of These Hills Is Gold; Land of Milk and Honey) to celebrate the recent publication of their second books. The authors discuss what it means for your debut book to find its audience, and then return to the page for a new story. Moderated by Natalie Green, Director of Programs & Partnerships at the National Book Foundation. Presented in partnership with the National Book Foundation.