God, I’m Here: Bernice L. McFadden, Firstborn Girls, in Conversation with Tracy Chiles McGhee – In partnership with Zora’s Den
11:30 am – 12:30 pm
12:30 pm – 1:00 pm – The Writers Room
Lord Baltimore Hotel
Baltimore Theatre – Mezzanine Level
PARKING
Download a map here.
ZORA’S DEN empowers the lives of Black women writers by creating opportunities and offering a platform for their authentic stories and unique voices.
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Bestselling novelist BERNICE L. MCFADDEN comes to CityLit in conversation with novelist TRACY CHILES MCGHEE and in partnership with Zora’s Den. McFadden’s recently published memoir Firstborn Girls, called “masterful and mesmerizing,” shares her lived experiences, inherited trauma, the messiness of girlhood, and a portrait of bold, flawed women. McGhee joins the celebrated author of notable works Sugar, The Warmest December, Gathering of Waters, and the forthcoming novel Camilla’s Roses to discuss her engrossing memoir that explores the interior life of a family against the backdrop of racial injustice. McFadden is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Tulane University and the author of several critically-acclaimed novels. She is a five-time Hurston/Wright Legacy Award finalist, as well as the recipient of three awards from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. McGhee is a multi-genre, award-winning author of Melting the Blues and a cultural curator. She is an FY25 Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH) Independent Fellow and resides in Washington, DC. ZORA’S DEN empowers the lives of Black women writers by creating opportunities and offering a platform for their authentic stories and unique voices.
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Bernice L. McFadden is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Tulane University and the author of several critically acclaimed novels, including Sugar, The Warmest December, Loving Donovan, Nowhere Is a Place, Glorious, Gathering of Waters (a New York Times Editors’ Choice and one of the 100 Notable Books of 2012), The Book of Harlan (winner of a 2017 American Book Award and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction), and Praise Song for the Butterflies (long-listed for the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction). She is a five-time Hurston/Wright Legacy Award finalist, as well as the recipient of three awards from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.
https://bernicelmcfadden.com/
Instagram: @bernicelmcfadden
Tracy Chiles McGhee is a multi-genre author and cultural curator focused on celebrating narratives of the African Diaspora. Her award-winning historical novel, Melting the Blues, explores themes of identity, cultural remembrance, and healing. Founder of www.mypublishedbook.com and the WoMANIFESTING online community, McGhee amplifies women’s voices through publishing, consulting, and community-building. She is a 2024 HumanitiesDC Independent Practitioner Fellow and its Inaugural Literature Fellow. She is also a 2024 Inaugural Fellow at the Last Resort Artist Retreat and holds degrees from Catholic University Law School and Georgetown University.
www.tracychilesmcghee.com
Instagram: @tee_cee_em
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CityLit Project in partnership with Lord Baltimore Hotel and Red Emma’s present CityLit Festival: Our Stories Give Light To Our Future. This celebration of the arts showcases a bevy of leading poets and writers on April 5, 2025. We’re talking fiction, nonfiction, poetry galore, and ways to up the ante on your craft.
Download the CityLit Festival: Our Stories Give Light To Our Future flyer.