Three people—two enslaved, one indentured—live beside each other, fighting, and sometimes failing, to be more than their pasts say they should be

Bless was born into slavery in 1690s Virginia and faces her mother’s fury, learning that cruelty can come from any side. David, an enslaved child of a freed father, dreams of the promise of liberty made to him. Jack, an impoverished Scots-Irish boy, sails to America to be indentured. Somehow, they all will stake a claim to love.

Princess Joy L. Perry tells us a previously unheard story—one in which characters must carve out choices from the narrowest of circumstances and confront heartrending questions: how far would you go to protect your children from enslavement? How to create a lasting family after being torn from your own? What to value more: a hard-won opportunity or your humanity? This Here Is Love is an unforgettable story from an astonishing new voice.

Princess Joy L. Perry is the recipient of a Virginia Commission for the Arts Fellowship and a winner of the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Award. Her short stories have appeared in All About Skin, African American Review, and Kweli Journal. She lives in Norfolk, Virginia.

Laura Pegram, founding editor and publisher of The Kweli Journal, is a multi-hyphenate artist whose work is influencing a new generation of writers. She is the editor of Sing the Truth short story anthology, which includes an early short story by Princess Joy L. Perry. She is an author, educator, and jazz vocalist who teamed with acclaimed jazz pianist Donald Smith in cabaret performances. She is also a painter whose richly hued murals are part of several private collections. She was mentored by the poet-activist June Jordan, who taught her that the sky was her ceiling. She lives in Manhattan.

Anyone who purchases a copy of both Sing the Truth and This Here is Love will be able to join an hour long virtual writing workshop using Princess Joy L. Perry’s short story to discuss craft.

If you’d like to purchase either title online and still support People’s Book, follow the link below:

This Here is Love: https://bookshop.org/a/88548/9781324105978

Sing the Truth: https://bookshop.org/a/88548/9798893310252

This is an in-person event. Seated capacity at People’s Book is 50 patrons. Standing room is an option. All events are first-come, first-served seating. Accessible seating is always available.