Acclaimed novelist and songwriter Alice Randall, known for recent works of fiction like Black Bottom Saints, returns to her hometown of Detroit to celebrate the release of her latest work of nonfiction. My Black Country: A Journey Through Country Music's Black Past, Present, and Future offers a lyrical and unforgettable account of Randall's past and her search for the first family of Black country music. As country music goes through a renaissance today, with a new wave of Black artists enjoying success, the book is a vibrant introduction to a new generation of listeners who previously were not invited to give the genre a chance. Joining Alice for a lively conversation will be award-winning columnist and current Director of Arts and Culture for Detroit Rochelle Riley.

Copies of My Black Country will be available for sale from Detroit's own Source Booksellers.

About Alice Randall: Alice Randall is a New York Times bestselling novelist, award-winning songwriter, and educator. She is widely recognized as one of the most significant voices in modern Black fiction and has emerged as an innovative food activist committed to reforms that support healthy bodies and healthy communities. Also an accomplished songwriter, Randall is the only African-American woman ever to write a number-one country song. She lives in Nashville where she writes country songs. Alice's website is https://www.alicerandall.com/.

About Rochelle Riley: Rochelle Riley is a self-proclaimed writer by trade, warrior by necessity, who spent a quarter century challenging, encouraging and informing during a long-time career as an award-winning newspaper columnist. Now, she guides the City of Detroit’s investment in the arts as Director of Arts and Culture. She is overseeing transformative change across a city that is soaring through travails that might have leveled someplace else. Her office, the Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship, is working tirelessly to promote Detroit’s creative workforce, one of the best in the nation. She says that treating artists like the businesses they are is the best way to embolden a new generation of artists to see the creative arts as a career. Rochelle also is writing her third book and will soon visit her 29th country. Visit https://www.rochelleriley.com/ for more information!

Questions? Email msummers@detroitpubliclibrary.org for help!