This virtual event is a part of the 2021 Virginia Festival of the Book. Please see below for more information about how to register and to purchase books.
National Book Award–winner Jacqueline Woodson will discuss her new book for young readers, Before the Ever After, a stirring novel-in-verse exploring the cost of professional sports on Black bodies and how one family moves forward when the glory days have passed. A Q&A featuring students’ pre-submitted questions will also be included.
For as long as ZJ can remember, his dad has been everyone’s hero. As a charming, talented pro football star, he’s as beloved to the neighborhood kids he plays with as he is to his millions of adoring sports fans. But lately life at ZJ’s house is anything but charming. His dad is having trouble remembering things and seems to be angry all the time. ZJ’s mom explains it’s because of all the head injuries his dad sustained during his career. ZJ can understand that—but it doesn’t make the sting any less real when his own father forgets his name. As ZJ contemplates his new reality, he has to figure out how to hold on tight to family traditions and recollections of the glory days, all the while wondering what their past amounts to if his father can’t remember it. And most importantly, can those happy feelings ever be reclaimed when they are all so busy aching for the past?
As part of the all-virtual 2021 Virginia Festival of the Book, this event is free to attend and open to the public. To attend, please register here or simply make plans to watch on Facebook.com/VaBookFest.
Order the Book from New Dominion Bookshop
Shop local and support your community bookstore! Order your books for the 2021 Virginia Festival of the Book by filling out the contact form below. We will give you a call when your order is ready, and you will be able to pay for your order over the phone at that time. We are currently offering curbside pickup, local delivery (available for free within 5 miles of the shop), and shipping (normal rates apply). We are also open for limited browsing.
Festival Event Sponsors: Thanks to Dominion Energy, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Friends of Jefferson-Madison Regional Library for their support of this program.