Dionne Irving in conversation with Maggie Mitchell – The Islands In-Store Talk & Book Signing
Sunday, Nov 13, 2022 3:00 PM
Location:
A Cappella Books
208 Haralson Avenue, NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30307
From the author of 2021’s “Quint” comes a powerful collection of stories that explore the legacy of colonialism, and issues of race, immigration, sexual discrimination, and class in the lives of Jamaican women across London, Panama, France, Jamaica, Florida and more.
A Cappella Books welcomes Dionne Irving for an afternoon in-store talk and book signing in honor of her new book, “The Islands.” Irving will appear in conversation with Atlanta author Maggie Mitchell.
This event is free and open to the public, and copies of the book will be available for purchase.
About the Book
The Islands follows the lives of Jamaican women—immigrants or the descendants of immigrants—who have relocated all over the world to escape the ghosts of colonialism on what they call the Island. Set in the United States, Jamaica, and Europe, these international stories examine the lives of an uncertain and unsettled cast of characters. In one story, a woman and her husband impulsively leave San Francisco and move to Florida with wild dreams of American reinvention only to unearth the cracks in their marriage. In another, the only Jamaican mother —who is also a touring comedienne—at a prep school feels pressure to volunteer in the school’s International Day. Meanwhile, in a third story, a travel writer finally connects with the mother who once abandoned her.
Set in locations and times ranging from 1950s London to 1960s Panama to modern-day New Jersey, Dionne Irving reveals the intricacies of immigration and assimilation in this debut, establishing a new and unforgettable voice in Caribbean-American literature. Restless, displaced, and disconnected, these characters try to ground themselves—to grow where they find themselves planted—in a world in which the tension between what’s said and unsaid can bend the soul.
About the Author
Dionne Irving is originally from Toronto, Ontario. Her work has appeared in Story, Boulevard, LitHub, Missouri Review, and New Delta Review, among other journals and magazines. Her first novel Quint came out in the fall of 2021.She currently teaches in the Creative Writing Program and the Initiative on Race and Resilience at the University of Notre Dame, and lives in Indiana with her husband and son.
About the Conversation Partner
Maggie Mitchell is the author of the novel "Pretty Is," which The New York Times called “a stunning, multi-layered debut.” Her short fiction has appeared in New Ohio Review, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her story “It Would Be Different If” is included in The Bedford Introduction to Literature. She has been awarded fellowships at the Sewanee Writers' Conference, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Millay Colony for the Arts. She lives in Atlanta and teaches at the University of West Georgia.
