Author Talk with Rita Woods
Born and raised in Detroit, Rita Woods is the award-winning author of three novels: Remembrance, The Last Dreamwalker, and her latest, The Edge of Yesterday. She has twice been named one of Chicago’s Top 50 Artists and has been a recipient of the AALBC (African American Literary Book Club) Award for Fiction as well as the Hurston-Wright Literary Award for Fiction (2020). Today, Rita lives in suburban Chicago with her family, where she also serves as a Trustee on her local library board. She loves magic, books, history, coffee, and travel—especially visiting cemeteries—not necessarily in that order.
The Edge of Yesterday is a haunting contemporary speculative novel about time travel and finding yourself from award-winning author Rita Woods.
Greer Coffey is a principal dancer with a renowned Harlem company. Sebastian Coffey is an architect with a prestigious Midtown firm. The Coffey’s are the ultimate dream couple — until their world completely unravels. After Greer develops a career ending neurologic disorder, she finds herself back in her hometown of Detroit. Angry, lonely, her marriage buckling under the strain, she takes to aimlessly wandering the city streets. One night, she stumbles through a vortex, a portal through time that transports her back into 1925 Detroit, where she meets a handsome, charming doctor.
Dr. Montgomery Gray is a member of Detroit’s Black Aristocracy, wealthy and connected to some of the most powerful Black families in the country. Detroit in 1925 is the beating heart of an industrial nation, but it is also a tinderbox of poor immigrants, Prohibition driven gang wars, and the Klan. As a member of the Talented Tenth, Monty is expected to be the tip of the spear in the fight for the Race, no matter the cost. Exhausted, frustrated, and longing to break free of expectations, he is stunned to find a woman from the future roaming Detroit’s Black Bottom.
Initially cautious, Monty and Greer slowly grow increasingly exhilarated with the visits. For Greer, 1925 offers an escape from the sorrow of her "real life," and for Monty, the future that Greer lays before him is irresistible. But 2025 becomes gradually less and less recognizable, as each visit back through time causes increasing rips in the timeline. Ultimately, Greer finds herself trapped in 1925 and Monty is forced into a deadly confrontation that changes the trajectory of his life.
| Date | Saturday, April 18, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Time | 1:00pm - 2:30pm |
| Location | Main |
| Age Group | All Ages |
| Category | Author Events, Art & Literature |