New York Times bestselling author Tayari Jones is the author of four novels, including An American Marriage, an Oprah’s Book Club selection that appeared on Barack Obama’s summer and year-end reading lists. The novel won the Women’s Prize for Fiction, Aspen Words Prize, and an NAACP Image Award. Her newest novel, Kin, is being released February 24.

A 2021 Guggenheim Fellow, Jones has also received the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, United States Artist Fellowship, and a NEA Fellowship. Her novel Silver Sparrow was selected for the NEA Big Read. She teaches creative writing at Cornell and Emory Universities.

This program will be moderated by Victoria Henderson Weber, President, NAACP Des Moines.