Will Evans: Photo by Rasy Ran
Hollywood Heights neighbor Will Evans, who we wrote about after he founded Deep Vellum Publishing, a nonprofit publishing house in Deep Ellum, announced this week that Deep Vellum plans to present award-winning Congolese author Fiston Mwanza Mujila and his translator, Roland Glasser, when they make a stop in Dallas during a three week tour across the United States.
Mujila’s book, “Tram 83” was published by Deep Vellum earlier this month, and it has received an impressive amount of national press.
“Booksellers love this book,” Evans says, and he goes on to describe the book as being about “two friends — one a budding writer home from abroad, the other an ambitious racketeer.” The friends meet at a nightclub, the Tram 83, in “a war-torn, city-state in secession, surrounded by profit-seekers of all languages and nationalities.” It delves into topics like the modern African gold rush, and it’s “as cynical as it is comic and colorfully exotic,” Evans describes, “using jazz rhythms to weave a tale of human relationships in a world that has become a global village.”
Coming up on Oct. 1, help Deep Vellum Publishing celebrate the release of Mujila’s debut novel, “Tram 83” at The Wild Detectives at 7:30 p.m. Fiston and Glasser will read in French and English and host a Q&A. Following the reading, Jim Sangrey & SUMMUSIC will play some jazz. Go to the website for more.
If you can’t make that, on Oct. 2 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Alliance Française de Dallas, in partnership with Richland College and Dallas Accueil, will present a reading with Mujila and Glasser. Richland College is located at 12800 Abrams. The event will be held in the Richland Library, building L. Click here for more.
Also on Oct. 2 from 2-4 p.m., there will be an author and translator discussion on African and Francophone literature at SMU. The event will be held at Hyer Hall in Room 100 (located at 6424 Robert S. Hyer Lane). A reception will follow in Clements Hall.
