**ANNOUNCING** A Night In Freedom: Staged Story Readings July 29 & 30

Join Me in Montgomery for Freedom's First Live Events!

We’re goin live, folks!

As you all know, the fiction writing that began as a postpartum hobby a few years ago quickly evolved into a rich collection of stories and characters rooted in the fictional community of Freedom, Alabama. Last spring, Freedom became a little bit realer when I published the Southern Prayers short story in the Killens Review of Arts & Letters, a literary journal run by the Center for Black Literature at Brooklyn's Medgar Evers College.

Set in 1935, the story describes the night a Blues singer named Twilight Hawkins and a fierce hairdresser named Miss Mabel Pugh found common ground, an unlikely friendship, and an answer to their prayers.

Earlier this year, I retitled that story Moonbeam, designed and formatted it as a booklet, and printed hard copies. Now, in the biggest step so far — and with the help of friends, a few professional actors, and an audience willing to join us — I'm planning to bring that story to life with a live staged reading in Montgomery .

Bold, I know. But I'm going with it.

The plan is to hold two performances, on Tuesday July 29 and Wednesday July 30, in Montgomery's historic Cottage Hill neighborhood. I know many of you are not located in Alabama and won’t be able to easily attend. If you can and/or if you know anyone who wants to join, tickets are available here. If you can’t, but you’re interested in additional ways to stay connected or support from afar, here are a few ideas (with links):

1) Become a Paid Subscriber First and foremost, thank you, thank you, thank you for being a subscriber — it means so much to be invited into your inbox, and I truly do not take that lightly. As a free subscriber, you can browse new and recent posts and stay informed with updates and event announcements like this one. The new paid subscriptions, which run as low as $5/month, also include additional perks like access to the full archive of past posts and discounts on event tickets and publications.

2) Order a Copy of Moonbeam, the booklet version designed by me, for $8 (plus $1 shipping).

3) Donate A Ticket If you want to support the Staged Reading but you can't make the show, consider sponsoring a complimentary seat for someone else or donating to help cover event costs. All contributions are appreciated!

Even if you do nothing beyond reading this message, I am grateful! In these times we're living through, art and joy are especially necessary; thank you for being a subscriber and allowing me to share a little bit of mine with you.

Jennifer