(TOMS RIVER, NJ) -- How is the Black experience in America reflected in works of fiction? What are the hidden costs of injustice for Black citizens, and for all Americans? Jason Mott will shed light on observations at the core of his award-winning novel Hell of a Book in an Ocean County Library Virtual Author Talk on Tuesday, February 20, 2024 at 4:00pm.

Hell of a Book captured the 2021 National Book Award and the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction and was a longlist nominee for a Carnegie Medal for Excellence for its themes of family, parental love, children, art, and tragedy.

Readers become acquainted with a Black author on a cross-country tour to publicize his novel. The storyline is the platform for larger, more urgent themes built around Soot, a youngster in a contemporary ghetto, and a possibly-imaginary character called The Kid. Their tales converge amid relentless exposure to a gunshot fatality and its consequences.

Please register online for this free program. Registrants may submit questions during signup, and will be given links by email the day of the Zoom chat. For more details, stop by any Ocean County Library branch or reading center, or call 732-349-6200.

Keep up with Library programs and events at www.theoceancountylibrary.org, and on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, Spotify, and Pinterest.