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Morgan Jerkins

@_morganjerkins

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New York Times–bestselling author | Editor | Professor
🔄 Loop Theory: culture, race, gender & power

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Some books are so good, we need Hollywood to clear the schedule.

From the Harlem Renaissance to a rock duo with secrets worth unraveling, here are stories we think deserve to be on the big screen.

Swipe for our picks!

Which book would YOU greenlight for a movie or TV adaptation?

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We absolutely LOVE the new Rudisill Regional Library on Greenwood Ave. 😍 The branch got a much needed upgrade and recently re-opened, making the new facility feel like the Gathering Place equivalent of all the branch locations! 📚 (S/O to our friend Kyra @theunscripted for that analogy.)

Thank you so much TCCL for providing this to our community! 🥳

Go check it out ASAP and get your special edition Rudisill Regional Library branch library card while supplies last! 💛

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Tremendo baddies spotted in the BRONX!⚡️

Congratulations to all the runners for crushing it at the Bronx 10M last Saturday! We had a huge team turnout taking on the course and an amazing cheersquad with our sisters @girlsrunnincollective You can’t beat this energy- WE RUN THIS!!!

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A couple of days ago, I was feeling discouraged. A moment where I was questioning if the risks and sacrifices I have to take to lean into this third act as a writer is foolish, irresponsible, or not feasible.

In the middle of the night, I woke up and thought: “If Toni did it, I can do it, too.” And then this litany of names came to mind, reminders that Black women writers have written in worse conditions, under dire straights, and with odds stacked.

AND there’s evidence through today’s Black women writers that it CAN be done. Asé.

Here’s my offering. Link to grab your digital download is in my bio.

[I’m also proud of myself for having an idea and executing it, perfection be dammed.]

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I genuinely love all of these books but I just KNOW I would be in jail. Tuh.

Books:
Zeal by Morgan Jerkins
The Heirs by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Our Sister’s Keeper by Jasmine Holmes
The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

Which books are you adding to this category? 👀

Keywords: books that made me angry, books that made me want to fight, emotional book recommendations, Black book recommendations, books by Black authors, Black literature, Black Bookstagram, relatable reader content,reader reactions

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Zeal
By: @_morganjerkins
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was my first book by Morgan Jerkins, and it was right up my alley. Especially since historical fiction is one of my top favorite genres at the moment. 🤎

I loved how this book blended the stories of Harrison and Tirzah in 1865 with those of their descendants generations later. Their love story, the history, the choices they made, and the consequences that followed their families for generations all had me glued to the book.

I listened to the audiobook while reading along, and the audiobook was amazing! Overall, I thought this was such a beautifully layered, heartbreaking, and thought-provoking read.

This was definitely a strong first introduction to Morgan Jerkins for me! ❤️

💭QOTD: What’s a historical fiction book that completely pulled you in recently?

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Zeal moves between two eras, beginning in the unsettled South of 1865, where Harrison, a newly freed Union soldier, returns to Mississippi searching for Tirzah, the woman he loves and has been separated from. Tirzah, meanwhile, has built a new life in Louisiana, teaching at a school for formerly enslaved people while still carrying the memory of Harrison and the love they once shared. Though their romance is interrupted by distance and the turmoil of Reconstruction, their story lives on through letters, secrets, and the family history they leave behind. More than a century later, in 2019 Harlem, Ardelia and Oliver are preparing for marriage when an old letter from Oliver’s family brings Harrison and Tirzah’s forgotten love story unexpectedly into their lives, leading Ardelia to uncover the past hidden within their families. Moving between the dangerous but beautiful landscapes of Reconstruction era Mississippi and Louisiana and the vibrant streets of modern Harlem, the novel gradually reveals how the love and choices of four people separated by generations are mysteriously intertwined.

*Available Now*

#Zeal #MorganJerkins
#ARC #HarperPerennial #HarperCollins
Thank you @harperperennial

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Two books. Two very different worlds. And we have THOUGHTS. 👀📚

For the month of September, we’re diving into historical fiction, speculative worlds, love across generations, and plenty to sabotage.

📖 Zeal by @_morganjerkins  📖 A Sky Full of Elephants by @cebocampbell

Which one are you reading with us? 🎙️

#ShelfSabotage #BookPodcast #BlackAuthors #BlackBookstagram

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Here are some captivating reads you can slide into before the end of summer (Sept. 22) for the @1milblackbooks summer reading club 💃🏽💃🏽

14 books by Black authors I can’t stop thinking about… (What’s on your list?)

1. Jazz by Toni Morrison
2. Needful Noor by Takerra Allen @bytakerraallen
3. Lilith by Alexandria House @msalexhouse
4. Daughter by asha bandele
5. Love by the Book by Jessica George @jessicabgeorge
6. Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans @poetjasminemans
7. Terms of Love by Mel Dau @authormeldau
8. Zeal by Morgan Jerkins @_morganjerkins
9. Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray @victoriachristophermurray
10. Caucasia by Danzy Senna
11. Heart of a Goon by Jahquel J. @_jahquelj
12. Good Intentions by Brandon Massey
13. Another Word for Love by Carvell Wallace @carvell_wallace
14. Dear Vicki by Octavia Grant @authoroctaviagrant

#bookstagram #fyp #blackauthors #trending #1milblackbooks

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Posting from the hospital because everything 👏 must 👏suck 👏

I'm mostly okay, I think.

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August has been my best reading month of the year so far! Reviews on these are below (except “Yesteryear” — that’s in the previous post)
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Take What You Can x @naimacoster (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) — Picked this up when I was visiting Charleston recently & LOVED it. But, I also love literary fiction - if you don’t, this may not be the book for you. It’s a compelling exploration of the complexities and contradictions that come up in friendship and in love. & as litfic is wont to do, it doesn’t give easy answers about anything—if there are any answers at all—but I felt so seen, and also that I’d come to a deeper understanding of my own habits with regard to being in relationship with others. Very much worth the read for me!

Discontent x @ohbetinas (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) — I wouldn’t say that I’m anti-work, but I’m very much against the work culture we currently have in the US. So, this book that explores a 30-something’s ‘discontent’ with the corporate world and her wish to escape resonated with me. I don’t think I’ve ever highlighted so much, or connected existentially with a book so strongly. The ending was wild too, kind of hilarious 😂 (also litfic!)

Zeal x @_morganjerkins (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5) — This book follows the descendants of Tirzah & Harrison Ambrose, two formerly enslaved lovers who were separated at the end of the civil war, & spans that time period, to COVID. As one might expect, there were very dark moments, but the one thing I think I loved about it the most is how much the author trusted the reader. I’m getting so used to books where authors spoonfeed the information, but here, being able to see everything come together—to make inferences & feel the delight of being correct about them—was deliciously satisfying. Loved the historical, and spiritual-somewhat magical-elements to the book as well. ✨

#books #bookstagram #blackbookstagram #augustreads #tbrlist

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