Book Launch at Umbra: Deena ElGenaidi - Dust Settles North

Join us for the launch of Dust Settles North, the new novel by debut author Deena ElGenaidi, at Umbra in Bushwick. Deena will be joined in conversation by novelist Zaina Arafat, author of You Exist Too Much.

This event is free to attend. After the conversation, Deena will sign copies of her book. Books will be available on site courtesy of Hive Mind Books, Bushwick's queer bookstore and coffee shop.

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ABOUT DUST SETTLES NORTH

The flight from New York to Cairo is long--longer still for two siblings on a journey to bury their mother. When they discover their father's unforgivable betrayal, what's left of their family crumbles. Hannah gives up her spot at Columbia Law to remain in Egypt, where she navigates romantic entanglements and a new culture. Back in America, Zain's self-destructive behavior begins to catch up with him, leaving him to wonder whether he's any different from his father.

When the siblings reunite in Cairo months later, Zain is nearing rock bottom, and Hannah finds herself in the middle of the Arab Spring uprising. Together they confront shared secrets and reconcile their conservative upbringing with their new beliefs as adults. Will they heal together, or has the loss of their only bridge--their mother--set them permanently adrift? A tender reflection on the effects of grief and loss, this deeply felt novel explores how siblings come together to mend a fractured family and, in the process, find themselves.

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ABOUT DEENA ELGENAIDI

Deena ElGenaidi writes about the arts, identity, and pop culture for a number of publications, including Nylon, MTV News, Oprah Magazine, Longreads, Catapult, Vulture, and more. She wrote, directed, and produced the award-winning comedy web series Codependent, she currently lives in Brooklyn with her cat, Sasha. Dust Settles North is her first novel.

ABOUT ZAINA ARAFAT

Zaina Arafat is a LGBTQ Palestinian–American writer based in Brooklyn. Her debut novel, You Exist Too Much, was selected as an Indie Next Pick for June, and has been praised by O Oprah Magazine, Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, NPR, LitHub and Good Morning America. Her stories and essays have appeared in publications including Granta, The New York Times, The Believer, Virginia Quarterly Review, VICE, BuzzFeed, Guernica and The Atlantic. She holds an MFA from Iowa and an MA from Columbia, and was awarded the 2018 Arab Women/Migrants from the Middle East fellowship from Jack Jones Literary Arts. She teaches writing at Long Island University and the School of the New York Times, and is currently working on an essay collection.

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