We'll gather online to catch up with and chat about this favorite recorded event, which originally took place on November 7, 2019. Just drop in to YouTube at 6:00 PM and look for the premiere. (Upcoming watch parties are listed here.)

BUY THE BOOK HERE

A gripping novel set during Mussolini’s 1935 invasion of Ethiopia, The Shadow King takes us back to the first real conflict of World War II, casting light on the women soldiers who were left out of the historical record.

Maaza Mengiste was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A Fulbright Scholar and professor in the MFA in Creative Writing & Literary Translation program at Queens College, she is also the author of Beneath the Lion’s Gaze, named one of the Guardian’s Ten Best Contemporary African Books. Her work can be found in the New Yorker, Granta, and the New York Times, among other publications.

The Writing Life events in 2019 were generously underwritten by Jenny Lawrence.