June 28 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
In-Person: An Evening with M. Evelina Galang, Connie Pertuz Meza, & Natalia Sylvester
Books & Books presents…
AN EVENING WITH M. EVELINA GALANG
in conversation with
CONNIE PERTUZ MEZA & NATALIA SYLVESTER
discussing
When the Hibiscus Falls
(Coffee House Press,$17.95)
Wednesday, June 28th, 7PM
LIVE & IN-PERSON at Books & Books, Coral Gables
RSVP HERE TO ATTEND
Books & Books is thrilled to present an in-person evening with M. Evelina Galang, Connie Pertuz Meza, and Natalia Sylvester to discuss Galang’s latest collection of short stories: When the Hibiscus Falls (Coffee House Press, $17.95).
***Please note: This event will take place at the Books & Books in Coral Gables at 265 Aragon Ave. Tickets are FREE and books will be available for purchase at the event. Please RSVP only if you intend to join us.
About the Book:
Seventeen stories traverse borderlines, mythic and real, in the lives of Filipino and Filipino American women and their ancestors.
Moving from small Philippine villages of the past to the hurricane-beaten coast of near-future Florida, When the Hibiscus Falls examines the triumphs and sorrows that connect generations of women. Daughters, sisters, mothers, aunties, cousins, and lolas commune with their ancestors and their descendants, mourning what is lost when an older generation dies, celebrating what is gained when we safeguard their legacy for those who come after us. Featuring figures familiar from M. Evelina Galang’s other acclaimed and richly imagined novels and stories, When the Hibiscus Falls dwells within the complexity of family, community, and Filipino American identity. Each story is an offering, a bloom that unfurls its petals and holds space in the sun.
BUY THE BOOK HERE
About the Author:
M. Evelina Galang is the author of a previous story collection, Her Wild American Self (1996), two novels, One Tribe (2006) and Angel De La Luna and the Fifth Glorious Mystery (2013), and the nonfiction book Lola’s House: Filipino Women Living with War (2017). She edited the anthology Screaming Monkeys: Critiques of Asian American Images (2003). Galang directed the Creative Writing Program at the University of Miami from 2009-2019 and served as VONA Board President from 2018-2023. She lives in Miami.
About the Moderators:
Connie Pertuz Meza, a Colombian American writer, a two decade long NYC public school educator, mother of two teenagers, and wife. Connie’s writing has appeared in The Rumpus, Kweli Literary Journal, Lunch Ticket, Chalkbeat, and elsewhere as well as published in several anthologies. Connie is a three-time VONA alum and board member secretary, a three time Tin House participant, 2021 Aspen Words Ricardo Salinas Latinx recipient, a 2022 Pen America Emerging Fellow, a 2023 We Need Diverse Books Mentorship Finalist, and is represented by Zeynep Sen at WordLink Inc.
Natalia Sylvester is the award-winning author of several novels. Among her works are Chasing the Sun, named the Best Debut Book of 2014 by Latinidad, Everyone Knows You go Home, an International Latino Book Award winner and the 2018 Jesse H. Jones Award for Best Work Natalia’s debut YA novel, RUNNING, a 2020 Junior Library Guild Selection. Breathe and Count Back from Ten, was published by Clarion Books/HarperCollins in May 2022. Natalia’s non-fiction has appeared in the New York Times, Bustle, Catapult, Electric Literature, Latina Magazine, and McSweeney’s Publishing.