Leila Mottley, author of the California Book Awards' 2023 gold medal winner for first fiction, will be joining us to discuss her exciting book, Nightcrawling. This novel is so important to us, as it takes place in Oakland and tells the ups and many downs of living in East Oakland. We follow the life of the young protagonist, Kiara, as she struggles to keep herself, her brother and a young neighbor safe and fed. Mottley started writing this stunning novel when she was still a teenager. Her understanding, insight and images of the poverty, hope and resiience of people in East Oakland are extremely moving.

We are very lucky to be able to have Leila with us as she is very busy and, in fact, has just released a book of poetry.

This program will be held in Zoom; registrants will receive a link to the Zoom program.