Book Launch: Kweli Journal’s SING THE TRUTH with Laura Pegram & JP Infante

In partnership with Harlem School of the Arts, Word Up Community Bookshop Librería Comunitaria celebrates the book launch of The Kweli Journal’s short story collection Sing the Truth, with The Kweli Journal founder and editor Laura Pegram and featured contributor JP Infante (On the Tip of Your Mother’s Tongue). Sing the Truth: The Kweli Journal Short Story Collection is a powerful must-read collection of bold BIPOC voices.

All proceeds from the sale of the book support The Kweli Journal’s mission to nurture emerging writers of color and foster a vibrant literary community.

“As the editor of the groundbreaking journal Kweli, Laura Pegram has introduced us to many of the finest writers of the contemporary literary landscape. In this new, monumental anthology, Pegram has gathered several of these writers, welcoming us to a luminous community in the word.”
—Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, author of The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois

TICKETS are available at WithFriends.co/WordUp:

• $20 ticket with SING THE TRUTH
• $6 ticket without a book

SIGNING. The talk will be followed by a book signing. Books signed must be purchased from Word Up. If you would like a signed copy and cannot attend the event, purchase a copy on WordUpBooks.com.

ACCESSIBILITY. Harlem School of the Arts is a fully accessible building and follows standards issued under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Word Up Community Bookshop’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

ABOUT THE EDITOR

Laura Pegram, founding editor and publisher of The Kweli Journal, is a multi-hyphenate artist whose work is influencing a new generation of writers. She is an author, educator, and jazz vocalist who teamed with acclaimed jazz pianist Donald Smith in cabaret performances. She is also a painter whose richly hued murals are part of several private collections. She was mentored by the poet-activist June Jordan, who taught her that the sky was her ceiling. She lives in Manhattan.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

JP Infante is the author of On the Tip of Your Mother’s Tongue and Aquí y Allá: un retrato de la comunidad Dominicana en Washington Heights. He is the winner of PEN’s Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize and Thirty West’s Chapbook contest. He has been awarded scholarships and fellowships from Baldwin for the Arts, NY State Writers Institute, PEN America, and the Center for Fiction.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Hailed as “The Paris Review of BIPOC literature,” The Kweli Journal has been a launching pad for many of today’s most celebrated writers. Kweli—“truth” in Swahili—marks its fifteenth anniversary with this luminous collection edited by founder Laura Pegram. These vivid narratives explore the devastation of leaving home and the struggle to adapt to reimagined lives, lost loves, distant families, and buried pasts, deepening our understanding of the human experience.

Featuring works from acclaimed authors Naima Coster, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Daphne Palasi Andreades, Susan Muaddi Darraj, and others, this anthology stands as a testament to voices too often overlooked in contemporary literature.

“The stories in this collection serve as windows into diverse communities while inviting readers of all backgrounds to engage with and appreciate the richness of our cultures.” —Edwidge Danticat, from the foreword

WORD UP COMMUNITY SAFETY & ACCESSIBILITY

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