Join acclaimed author of JACKAL, Erin E. Adams, for a fascinating conversation on her novel and writing in myth, horror, and science fiction.

Erin E. Adams is a first-generation Haitian American writer and theatre artist. She received her BA with honors in literary arts from Brown University, her MFA in acting from The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program, and her MFA in dramatic writing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. An award-winning playwright and actor, Adams has called New York City home for the last decade. JACKAL is her first novel. Her second novel ONE OF YOU is slated for April 2025.

About JACKAL:    
A young Black girl goes missing in the woods outside her white rust belt town. But she's not the first-and she may not be the last.... "I read this thriller that is Get Out meets The Vanishing Half in one night."- BuzzFeed "Extraordinary... A terrifying tale of fears and hatreds generated by racism and class inequality."-Associated Press A PHENOMENAL BOOK CLUB PICK • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Publishers Weekly It's watching. Liz Rocher is coming home... reluctantly. As a Black woman, Liz doesn't exactly have fond memories of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a predominantly white town. But her best friend is getting married, so she braces herself for a weekend of awkward, passive-aggressive reunions. Liz has grown, though; she can handle whatever awaits her. But on the day of the wedding, somewhere between dancing and dessert, the couple's daughter, Caroline, disappears-and the only thing left behind is a piece of white fabric covered in blood. It's taking. As a frantic search begins, with the police combing the trees for Caroline, Liz is the only one who notices a pattern: A summer night. A missing girl. A party in the woods. She's seen this before. Keisha Woodson, the only other Black girl in Liz's high school, walked into the woods with a mysterious man and was later found with her chest cavity ripped open and her heart removed. Liz shudders at the thought that it could have been her, and now, with Caroline missing, it can't be a coincidence. As Liz starts to dig through the town's history, she uncovers a horrifying secret about the place she once called home. Children have been going missing in these woods for years. All of them Black. All of them girls. It's your turn. With the evil in the forest creeping closer, Liz knows what she must do: find Caroline, or be entirely consumed by the darkness.

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Presented in collaboration with the Watertown Free Public Library and other area libraries.