Black Mountain Institute Presents Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah: A Reading
The Program on Race, Gender & Policing at the William S. Boyd School of Law is a supporting presenter of the Black Mountain Institute’s (BMI’s) book reading by New York Times best-selling author Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah at UNLV’s Judy Bayley Theater on September 14, 2023.
Chain-Gang All-Stars, Adjei-Brenyah’s highly anticipated debut novel, imagines a near-future world in which incarcerated people can trade their sentences to compete in to-the-death combat with other prisoners, televised as pay-per-view sporting events. The book offers a bracing critique of America’s real-world treatment of prisoners as the story follows top competitor Loretta Thurwar, who is on the brink of winning the Criminal Action Penal Entertainment (CAPE) network's ultimate prize: her freedom.
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah is the author of the bestselling short story collection Friday Black and the novel Chain-Gang All-Stars. His work has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, Esquire, The Paris Review, and elsewhere. He was a National Book Foundation’s “5 Under 35” honoree, the winner of the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and the Saroyan Prize, and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Award for Best First Book, along with many other honors.
Copies of Adjei-Brenyah’s books will be available for sale on-site by The Writer’s Block. Adjei-Brenyah is the author of a story collection, Friday Black, and the recent novel, Chain-Gang-All-Stars. He is a critic of the current state of criminalization and punishment in our nation. As part of promoting discussion of race, gender, and policing, the Program is proud to help present this event at 6:00 pm on September 14, 2023 at UNLV’s Judy Bayley Theater. This reading is free and open to the public.
Registration Required
https://unlv.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cuT7l28jwpnddzM?mc_cid=d2954…
Parking/Getting There: Limited free parking will be available in the Cottage Grove Parking garage on campus, on levels 5 and 6, starting at 5 PM on the day of the event. Please contact the UNLV Performing Arts Center Box Office at (702) 895-ARTS (2787) for more information or to request accommodations.
Continuing the William S. Boyd School of Law partnership with the BMI, the Program on Race, Gender and Policing will be collaborating on a reading by author Tannanrive Due at the Beverly Theater the evening of Friday, April 5, 2024 which will be part of the Program’s conference on Black Legal Futurism, April 5-6, 2024. Please save the afternoon and evening of April 5th and morning of April 6th, 2024 for these free events.
About the Race, Gender & Policing Program:
The Program explores the relationship between race, gender, and the ways people are policed. Policing refers to not only the activities of law enforcement officers, but also the ways that other actors, such as immigration officials, prison officials, schools, and private citizens, participate in surveillance and control. The Program seeks to foster interdisciplinary research and concrete reforms in Nevada, the nation, and beyond. To this end, the Program brings together scholars, practitioners, and activists to address issues related to race, gender, and policing. In terms of activities, the program sponsors periodic events relating to its mission and help facilitate partnerships with UNLV, local, state and national partners.