An action-packed, harrowing, and funny reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, this brilliant new novel is told from the enslaved Jim’s point of view. A New York Times bestseller from the “literary icon” (Oprah Daily) and Pulitzer Prize Finalist Percival Everett, Jim’s agency, intelligence, and compassion are shown in a radically new light. Percival will be joined in conversation with journalist and political commentator Michael Harriot.

In-Person Event: The event will now take place at Immanuel Congregational Church on June 5 at 7:00 p.m. ET, to accommodate the overwhelming interest from the community!

Admission: For those who were unable to secure tickets, additional tickets will be released soon. The general public will have access to admission starting on Monday, May 6, at 10:00 a.m. ET. Mark Twain House & Museum members will enjoy exclusive access to a member presale beginning on Thursday, May 2, at 10:00 a.m. Become a member here to get early access to tickets!

Pre-signed copies of James will be available for purchase at the event or you can pre-order your signed book from our museum store, HERE.

Attendees are invited to join us at 5:00 PM for a Pasta Reception sponsored by Salute prior to the lecture. Food is first come first serve and there will be a cash bar.

This event is sponsored by Kathleen and David Jimenez.

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About the Author:

Percival Everett is a Distinguished Professor of English at USC. His most recent books include Dr. No (finalist for the NBCC Award for Fiction and winner of the PEN/ Jean Stein Book Award), The Trees (finalist for the Booker Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction), Telephone (finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), So Much Blue, Erasure, and I Am Not Sidney Poitier. He has received the NBCC Ivan Sandrof Life Achievement Award and The Windham Campbell Prize from Yale University. “American Fiction,” the feature film based on his novel Erasure, was released in 2023 and was awarded the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, the writer Danzy Senna, and their children.

About the Moderator:

Michael Harriot is a columnist at theGrio.com where he covers the intersection of race, politics, and culture. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, The Atlantic, NBC, BET, and on his mother’s refrigerator. He is a political commentator on MSNBC and CNN and has been honored by the National Association of Black Journalists for commentary, digital commentary, and TV news writing. Michael is the creator and cohost of the podcast Drapetomaniax: Unshackled History, produced in partnership with Pharrel’s OTHERtone. His college course “Race: An Economic Construct” was adapted by university economics departments across the country as a model for teaching the combination of history, economics, politics, and class structures.

Author programs at The Mark Twain House & Museum are sponsored by Connecticut Public Broadcasting and the Wish You Well Foundation.