THE SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES
Available through West Virginia University Press
The nine stories in THE SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES feature four generations of characters grappling with who they want to be in the world, caught as they are between the church’s double standards and their own needs and passions.
With their secret longings, new love, and forbidden affairs, these church ladies are as seductive as they want to be, as vulnerable as they need to be, as unfaithful and unrepentant as they care to be, and as free as they deserve to be.
.: events :.
Virtual Book Tour
Coronavirus Book Club
February 26, 2021 | 7 PM ET
Virtual Book Tour
Enunciated Life: Book Talk at California African American Museum
March 9, 2021 | 8 PM ET
Virtual Book Tour
White Whale Bookstore with Tamara Winfrey-Harris
March 11, 2021 | 7 PM ET
Virtual Book Tour
Buchanan County Public Library
April 5, 2021 | 6 PM ET
Virtual Book Tour
Charis Books & More w/ Dawnie Walton
April 9, 2021 | 7:30 PM ET
Virtual Book Tour
South Park Township Library
May 19, 2021 | 6 PM ET
Virtual Book Tour
StoryStudio Chicago Pajama Seminar: Sex, Lies, and Writing the Truth
June 2, 2021 | 8-10 PM ET
Facebook Live
Virtual Book Tour
Babylon Salon
June 5, 2021 | 8-9:30 PM ET
.: connect :.
I’m excited to hear from you. I’m available for readings, speaking engagements, freelance writing, and workshops on writing, race, gender and sex, and co-parenting and divorce. I live in Pittsburgh in the United States, but travel is a possibility. I love working with new people and tackling tough topics, and I’m happy to engage directly to gear our creative output in a direction that is accessible and works well for our audience. Please choose from the topics below, or feel free to propose a topic.
Thanks,
For media inquiries, please contact Jeremy Wang-Iverson at jeremy@vestopr.com.
For speaking engagements, please contact Anya Backlund at anya@blueflowerarts.com.
For all other inquiries, please contact Danielle Chiotti at danielle@upstartcrowliterary.
.: Speaking / Reading Topics :.
- First, Do No Harm: Writing About Journeys Not Your Own
- Good Girls Don’t. Black Girls Will: Black Women, Sex and the Black Church
- Ain’t I a Mommy?: Narratives of Motherhood and Race
- The Mythical Sisterhood of Black and White Women … and 10 Ways to Move Forward
- The Patchwork Quilt Writing Career: How Not to be a Starving Artist
- Choosing You, Telling the Truth: Encouragement for Women in Transition
- Co-Parenting 101: Helping Your Kids Thrive After Divorce
- Co-Parenting a Child Who is Adopted
- Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Birth Mom?
- Supporting Your Child’s Interest in Her Origins
Book Deesha through her CCMNT Speakers listing.
.: Interactive Workshop Topics Include :.
- Choosing You, Telling the Truth: A Writing Workshop for Women in Transition
- Let’s Write About Sex, Baby
- Co-Parenting 101: Helping Your Kids Thrive After Divorce
- Co-Parenting a Child Who is Adopted
- Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Birth Mom?: Supporting Your Child’s Interest in Her Origins
- Write Your D*mned Book Proposal Already!
- From Idea to Publication: Starting & Sustaining Your Book Project
- How to Pitch for Publication
- How to Land an Agent
.: One-on-One Consultations Include :.
- Write Your D*mned Book Proposal Already!
- From Idea to Publication: Starting & Sustaining Your Book Project
- How to Pitch for Publication
- How to Land an Agent
.: about :.
Deesha Philyaw’s debut short story collection, THE SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES, was a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction, The Story Prize (2020/2021), the 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, and a 2020 LA Times Book Prize: The Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. THE SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES focuses on Black women, sex, and the Black church. Deesha is also the co-author of Co-Parenting 101: Helping Your Kids Thrive in Two Households After Divorce, written in collaboration with her ex-husband. Deesha is a Kimbilio Fiction Fellow.
.: featured work :.
vox populi | jul 2020
medium | dec 2019
tue/night | Mar 2020
Deesha writes on race, gender, pop culture, parenting, divorce, and more.
Available for freelance projects. See more of her work through Contently.
