Willkommen in der Welt, ONE BLOOD!
That’s “welcome to the world” in German, baby!
What’s the reason for the German welcome, you ask? Well, today is the official pub day for the German edition of ONE BLOOD—the first of eight publishing dates for my new novel. That’s right, ONE BLOOD will be published in eight different countries before the year is out: Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hungary, Spain and, of course, the good ol’ U.S. of A.
You must understand what it means to this writer to know that my book—this heart song of mine, this celebration and exploration of Black motherhood, womanhood and our place in the American landscape across half a century—will be read by people in countries around the world, a few that I’ve only dreamed of visiting. Imagine that!
DIE FARBE MEINES BLUTES, German for “The Color of My Blood,” was translated by the prolific Henriette Zeltner-Shane, who is also credited with translating Michelle Obama’s “Becoming,” President Barack Obama’s “A Promised Land,” and Angie Thomas’ “The Hate You Give,” for which she was awarded the 2018 German Youth Literature Prize. Here’s to some of Henriette’s magic rubbing off on ONE BLOOD!
The publication of DIE FARBE MEINES BLUTES also marks the first time ONE BLOOD is in bookstores. As in, ONE BLOOD is official—no longer just a manuscript on my computer or a thumbnail on bookstore sites. She. Is. Here.
Today, I will sit with my book in my hand, maybe cry a little, raise a glass of Stuyvesant champagne in the air, tilt my crown Biggie style and celebrate the birth of book No. 32, my first solo novel.
Danke, Goldmann/Penguin Buecher, for seeing ONE BLOOD, believing in its power and giving her the wings to fly.
— Denene
