Join us for an online conversation between authors Johnny Shaw and Zhanna Slor they discuss their latest books, The Southland (Shaw) and At the End of the World, Turn Left (Slor). Joining them in conversation is Andrea J. Johnson, author of Poetic Justice.

The Southland tells the story of three unauthorized Mexican immigrants living in Los Angeles: Luz works multiple jobs to provide for herself and her teenage son Eliseo. Nadia, a former journalist with PTSD, fled Mexico and tries to stay hidden from the dangerous men that she exposed in Sinaloa. Ostelinda works as a laborer in a garment factory, having been deceived by coyotes and imprisoned in the same building since her arrival. Their lives intersect through terrifying circumstance that clarify and contrast the horrors of existence. The Southland is a crime story, but more than that, it's a story of America and the dangers that migrants face when being forced to live in the shadows.

At the End of the World, Turn Left, is a debut novel and a compelling story about identity and how you define "home". Masha remembers her childhood in the former USSR, but found her life and heart in Israel. Anna was just an infant when her family fled, but yearns to find her roots. When Anna is contacted by a stranger from their homeland and then disappears, Masha is called home to Milwaukee to find her. In her former home, Masha immerses herself in her sister’s life—which forces her to recall the life she, too, had left behind, and to confront her own demons. What she finds in her search for Anna will change her life, and her family, forever.

Johnny Shaw was born and raised on the Calexico/Mexicali border in the stifling heat of the California desert. He is the author of six novels including the Jimmy Veeder Fiasco border novels. Johnny has been nominated for the Anthony Award three times, winning for Best Paperback Original in 2013 for the comedic adventure novel Big Maria. He has been shortlisted for a number of awards and has won the Spotted Owl Award twice. His short fiction has appeared in Thuglit, Plots with Guns, Crime Factory, Shotgun Honey, and numerous anthologies. He was the Grand Marshal of the Holtville Carrot Festival Parade in 2016, which means nothing to you, but everything to him.

Zhanna was born in the former Soviet Union and moved to the Midwest in the early 1990s. She has a master's degree in Writing and Publishing from DePaul University, and has been published in many literary magazines, including Ninth Letter, Bellevue Literary Review, Tusculum Review, Midwestern Gothic, Another Chicago Magazine, and five times in Michigan Quarterly Review, one of which received an honorary mention in Best American Essays 2014. She and her husband, saxophonist for Jazz-Rock fusion band Marbin, recently relocated from Chicago to Milwaukee, where, besides writing, she is raising her newborn daughter.

We invite you to support the authors by purchasing a copy of their books from Browseabout Books: The Southland (Shaw) and At the End of the World, Turn Left (Slor). Call-in orders are accepted or you can stop by the store to purchase a copy. For store hours, please visit their website. Each copy purchased comes with a signed archival bookplate.

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