Virtual Book Talk “Mona at Sea” w/ Elizabeth Gonzalez James + Janis Cooke Newman

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Join us on Friday, July 2nd at 6pm PT when Elizabeth Gonzalez James is joined by Janis Cooke Newman to discuss her debut novel, Mona at Sea, on Zoom!

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Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83903557362

Praise for Mona at Sea

“Mona at Sea is a delightful debut, one that marks Elizabeth Gonzalez James as a writer to watch.” —Adam Johnson, National Book Award winner and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Orphan Master’s Son

“A hilarious, high-octane novel… James is a fresh new voice in contemporary literature.” —Cristina García, author of Here in Berlin and Dreaming in Cuban

“Mona at Sea reads like an intimate late night conversation with the friend you never knew you needed. Written with humor and insight and vulnerability, it’s a tribute to the struggle to stay upright as the world around you comes falling down.” —Mat Johnson, author of Pym and Hunting in Harlem

About Mona at Sea

In this sharp, witty debut, Elizabeth Gonzalez James introduces us to Mona Mireles—observant to a fault, unflinching in her opinions, and uncompromisingly confident in her professional abilities
Mona is a Millennial perfectionist who fails upwards in the midst of the 2008 economic crisis. Despite her potential, and her top-of-her-class college degree, Mona finds herself unemployed, living with her parents, and adrift in life and love. Mona’s the sort who says exactly the right thing at absolutely the wrong moments, seeing the world through a cynic’s eyes. In the financial and social malaise of the early 2000s, Mona walks a knife’s edge as she faces down unemployment, underemployment, the complexities of adult relationships, and the downward spiral of her parents’ shattering marriage. The more Mona craves perfection and order, the more she is forced to see that it is never attainable. Mona’s journey asks the question: When we find what gives our life meaning, will we be ready for it?

About Elizabeth Gonzalez James

Before becoming a writer, Elizabeth Gonzalez James was a waitress, a pollster, an Avon lady, and an opera singer. Her short story, “Cosmic Blues,” was a finalist in Glimmer Train’s Short Story Award for New Writers, and her stories and essays have received multiple Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations. She’s attended the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Tin House Writers Workshop, and Lit Camp. She lives with her family in Oakland, California. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram: @unefemmejames

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