About American Writers’ Week: Jeanine Cummins
Jeanine Cummins most recent novel Speak to Me of Home, follows three generations of women from Puerto Rico to the American Midwest and back again. Partly based on her own Puerto Rican – Irish family story, it is a poignant and uplifting tale of twists of fate and resilience which asks: what does it mean to call a place home?
It follows her worldwide bestselling American Dirt, a gripping fiction about traumatic flight of Mexican migrants, which created a major debate about the right to write stories from beyond one’s personal experience.
Part of the British Library’s American Writers’ Week (28 September – 2 November 2026), presented in association with Festival America, Vincennes, France. Participating writers include Alison Bechdel, Armistead Maupin, Daniel Kraus, Jeanine Cummins, Joyce Carol Oates, Katie Kitamura and Rabih Alameddine and Viet Thanh Nguyen.
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Jeanine Cummins
Jeanine Cummins is the New York Times bestselling author of American Dirt.
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American Dirt was an Oprah’s Book Club pick and a Barnes & Noble Book Club selection, as well as a number 1 Indie Next pick. The novel has been translated into thirty-seven languages and sold more than four million copies worldwide. She has written four other books, including her new novel, Speak to Me of Home. She lives in New York with her family.
Venue and bar opening times
This event will take place in the British Library Knowledge Centre and is also available to watch online. Tickets may be booked to attend in person, or to watch online.
If you are attending in person, please note that the Knowledge Centre and the bar will be open in advance of your event.
Please arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start time of this event. If you have specific access requirements please email customer@bl.uk
Attending the event online
If you book an online ticket, you will receive the viewing link on the morning of the event. You can either watch the event live or during the next 14 days on catch up.
Concessions
There are a range of concessions available. These include discounts for British Library Members, Young Persons (16 – 25s), and visitors on Universal/Pension Credit and free entry for carers.
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