Spokane Is Reading will host a virtual talk with author Tananarive Due about her book The Reformatory on October 23, 2025. Join us for a live watch party at 1pm at SCLD’s Spokane Valley Library (22 North Herald Road) and at 7pm at Central Library (906 West Main Avenue). Both events are open to the public with free admission.
Tananarive Due is the recipient of an American Book Award and an NAACP Image Award. She was an executive producer on Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror and she teaches Afrofuturism and Black Horror at UCLA. Due is the author of several novels and two short story collections, 'Ghost Summer: Stories' and 'The Wishing Pool and Other Stories.' She is also co-author of a civil rights memoir, 'Freedom in the Family: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights,' written with her late mother, Patricia Stephens Due.
The 2025 Spokane Is Reading selection is 'The Reformatory,' her latest novel. 'The Reformatory' has been named a New York Times Notable Book, an ALA Notable Book, and has received the Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel, the Shirley Jackson Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and the Chautauqua Prize. In its pages, Due delves into haunting historical fiction, unraveling the untold story of a deeply wronged ancestor. The narrative sheds light on the tragedies of Florida’s infamous Dozier School for Boys, exposing a painful chapter of our nation’s history with honesty, imagination, and compassion. No wonder Stephen King says that 'The Reformatory' is “one of those books you can’t put down…Due hit it out of the park.”
Spokane Is Reading is a partnership shared by Auntie's Bookstore, Spokane County Library District, and Spokane Public Library. Our programming is made possible by Spokane Arts, Friends of the Libraries, and generous readers like you. 'The Reformatory' is available for checkout at all libraries across Spokane County (both in print and digital) and is for sale at Auntie's.
Let's get reading, Spokane! 'The Reformatory' truly is an extraordinary novel. We can't wait to talk to Tananarive Due in October.
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