African American Debut Novelist Agnes Gomillion Confronts Racism in Visceral and Thrilling Near-Future Dystopia – the Record Keeper

Atlanta, GA, New York, NY, London, UK — Agnes Gomillion’s debut, The Record Keeper [Titan Books, June 18, 2019] is the first of a series of Afro-futuristic novels that trace and illuminate an African-American family’s journey from slavery to relative freedom in the American South. The book speaks to the modern and future civil rights movement. It’s an epic adventure that physically takes place in Georgia 200 years from now.

A reinvention of the life of Frederick Douglas…examining past and present race relations… The Record Keeper is about freedom from slavery and is being published to coincide with Juneteenth, the American holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States…and the 100th Anniversary of The Red Summer, coined by civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson to explain the rash of race riots that took place across America in the summer and early fall of 1919.

Agnes Gomillion’s multi-city summer tour kicks off June 18, 2019…and she is available for interviews.

SYNOPSIS:
After World War III, Earth is in ruins, and the final armies have come to a reluctant truce. Everyone must obey the law in every way or risk shattering the fragile peace and endangering the entire human race. Although Arika Cobane is a member of the race whose backbreaking labor provides food for the remnants of humanity, she is destined to become a member of the Kongo elite. After ten gruelling years of training, she is on the threshold of taking her place of privilege far from the fields. But everything changes when a new student arrives. Hosea Khan spews dangerous words of treason: What does peace matter if innocent lives are lost to maintain it? As Arika is exposed to new beliefs, she realizes that the laws she has dedicated herself to uphold are the root of her people’s misery. If Arika is to liberate her people, she must unearth her fierce heart and discover the true meaning of freedom: finding the courage to live or die without fear.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Agnes Gomillion is an #Ownvoice writer and speaker based in Atlanta, Georgia, where she lives with her husband and son. Homegrown in the Sunshine State, Agnes holds a degree in English literature with a focus on African-American literature from the University of Florida and a Juris Doctorate and Legal Master degree from the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law. She is a voracious reader of the African-American literary canon and a dedicated advocate for marginalized people everywhere. Her debut novel, The Record Keeper, is a literary addition to the afro-futuristic science-fiction genre.

 

PRAISE FOR THE RECORD KEEPER:

“Gomillion has written a brutally honest, often heartbreaking novel that examines slavery and racism while offering redemption and hope.” — The Guardian (Best Recent Science Fiction)

“This intellectually rich, emotional, and ruthlessly honest confrontation of racism proves Gomillion is a critically important new voice.” — Starred Review Publishers Weekly

“A dazzling book, with prose that stuns and a story that captivates from start to finish…This is an important and exquisitely-rendered novel. Both timely and timeless, The Record Keeper is one you won’t want to miss.” — Rivers Solomon (An Unkindness of Ghosts)

“A fierce and absorbing tale of a heroine finding her own power, set in an exquisitely crafted world…THE RECORD KEEPER deserves a place on your must-read list.” — Christina Henry, national bestselling author (Alice, The Girl in Red, The Mermaid)

“A spellbinding, hypnotic read. Highly imaginative, The Record Keeper is an absolute triumph.”
— Irenosen Okojie, award-winning author of Butterfly Fish

“The Record Keeper is to embark on a journey of hard truths and revelation. You will grieve and rage as Gomillion unravels the secrets of past and future.” — Olivia A. Cole, author of A Conspiracy of Stars

“Grips you from the first page, sucking you into a deftly crafted dystopian future where liberation is barely even a dream. This moving story of a young woman’s struggle against mental and physical bondage, tells an important new-old tale and challenges us to begin the fight for freedom in our community and in ourselves.” — L. Penelope, award-winning author of Song of Blood & Stone

“The Record Keeper – with its absorbing developments and clarion call to freedom – will hold its readership in thrall and have them waiting expectantly for the follow-up.” — Foreword Magazine Starred Review

“In a sea of dystopian, post-apocalyptic future tales, The Record Keeper stands out. Gomillion’s background and advocacy shines through in her debut novel, which paints a stark picture of a divided, authoritarian country that became a world power under the guise of maintaining peace, while calling attention to the very real dark history and current racial problems in the real world.” — Booklist

“Gomillion writes with the elegance and insight that pervades Octavia E. Butler’s work. Arika Cobane is as engaging, flawed, and fully human as Dana Franklin of Kindred or Lauren Olamina of Butler’s Parable novels. Given that Butler’s work remains unfinished, its author gone too soon, Agnes Gomillion’s arrival feels like deliverance. Here is a writer whose work will survive genre fads and shifting cultural attention to reveal persistent, crucial truths.” — New York Journal of Books

 

Book Details:
The Record Keeper
By Agnes Gomillion
ISBN: 9781789091151
Paperback & eBook
TitanBooks.com
$14.95
464 pages

 

PRESS CONTACT:
Katharine Carroll, Titan Books
katharine.carroll@titanemail.com
914-788-1005