Leonard Pitts

Pulitzer Prize Winner LEONARD PITTS J.R. Speaking and Signing Freeman

Freeman takes place in the first few months following the Confederate surrender and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Upon learning of Lee's surrender, Sam--a runaway slave who once worked for the Union Army--decides to leave his safe haven in Philadelphia and set out on foot to return to the war-torn South. What compels him on this almost-suicidal course is the desire to find his wife, the mother of his only child, whom he and their son left behind 15 years earlier on the Mississippi farm to which they all "belonged."

Leonard Pitts Jr. is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Miami Herald. He is the author of the novel Before I Forget, the memoir Becoming Dad, and Forward From This Moment: Selected Columns, 1994-2009. He currently lives in Maryland. In order to have anything signed at a BookPeople event, a copy of the event book must be purchased from BookPeople. If you purchase your book from BookPeople in advance of the event, please save your receipt and present it at the event.

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Location: Street: 603 N Lamar Blvd City: Austin, Province: Texas Postal Code: 78703-5413 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Freeman, the new novel by Leonard Pitts, Jr., takes place in the first few months following the Confederate surrender and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Upon learning of Lee's surrender, Sam--a runaway slave who once worked for the Union Army--decides to leave his safe haven in Philadelphia and set out on foot to return to the war-torn South. What compels him on this almost-suicidal course is the desire to find his wife, the mother of his only child, whom he and their son left behind 15 years earlier on the Mississippi farm to which they all "belonged." At the same time, Sam's wife, Tilda, is being forced to walk at gunpoint with her owner and two of his other slaves from the charred remains of his Mississippi farm into Arkansas, in search of an undefined place that would still respect his entitlements as slaveowner and Confederate officer. The book's third main character, Prudence, is a fearless, headstrong white woman of means who leaves her Boston home for Buford, Mississippi, to start a school for the former bondsmen, and thus honor her father's dying wish. At bottom, Freeman is a love story--sweeping, generous, brutal, compassionate, patient--about the feelings people were determined to honor, despite the enormous constraints of the times. It is this aspect of the book that should ensure it a strong, vocal, core audience of African-American women, who will help propel its likely critical acclaim to a wider audience. At the same time, this book addresses several themes that are still hotly debated today, some 145 years after the official end of the Civil War. Like Cold Mountain, Freeman illuminates the times and places it describes from a fresh perspective, with stunning results. It has the potential to become a classic addition to the literature dealing with this period. Few other novels so powerfully capture the pathos and possibility of the era particularly as it reflects the ordeal of the black slaves grappling with the promise--and the terror--of their new status as free men and women.

Location: Street: 160 Courthouse Sq City: Oxford, Province: Mississippi Postal Code: 38655-3914 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts, Jr., will discuss and sign his latest novel, Freeman, set in the first few months after the Confederate surrender and Lincoln's assassination. Sam - a runaway slave who once worked for the Union Army - leaves his safe haven in Philadelphia to walk back to Mississippi to find his wife, Tilda, the mother of his only child. Meanwhile, Tilda is being forced at gunpoint to walk with her owner from the charred remains of his farm into Arkansas. Freeman is a love story - sweeping, generous, brutal, compassionate, patient, powerfully capturing the pathos and possibility of the era. "Post-Civil War America is fertile ground for novelists, but few have tilled it with such grace and majesty as Leonard Pitts. In Freeman, Pitts weaves a beguiling, cinematic love story against a rich tapestry of American history, evoking unforgettable characters in a narrative that could easily replace a shelf of textbooks. What a splendid read!" Herb Boyd "Leonard Pitts has a passion for history and a gift for storytelling. Both shine in this story of love and redemption, which challenges everything we thought we knew about how our nation dealt with its most stubborn stain." Gwen Ifill, PBS, author of The Breakthrough "Leonard Pitts, Jr. is the most insightful and inspiring columnist of his generation." Tavis Smiley "Pitts is a master storyteller with a keen eye for both social trends and the human heart.” Tananarive Due Leonard Pitts, Jr., won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, in addition to many other awards. He is also the author of the novel Before I Forget, the collection Forward From this Moment: Selected Columns, 1994-2009, Daily Triumphs, Tragedies, and Curiosities, and Becoming Dad: Black Men and the Journey to Fatherhood. Pitts was born and raised in Southern California and now lives in suburban Washington, DC, with his wife and children.

Location: Street: 216 S Armenia Ave City: Tampa, Province: Florida Postal Code: 33609-3310 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Freeman (Agate Bolden, $16) takes place in the first few months following the Confederate surrender and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Upon learning of Lee's surrender, Sam--a runaway slave who once worked for the Union Army--decides to leave his safe haven in Philadelphia and set out on foot to return to the war-torn South. At bottom, Freeman is a love story--sweeping, generous, brutal, compassionate, patient--about the feelings people were determined to honor, despite the enormous constraints of the times. At the same time, this book addresses several themes that are still hotly debated today, some 145 years after the official end of the Civil War. Freeman by Leonard Pitts illuminates the times and places it describes from a fresh perspective, with stunning results. It has the potential to become a classic addition to the literature dealing with this period. Few other novels so powerfully capture the pathos and possibility of the era particularly as it reflects the ordeal of the black slaves grappling with the promise--and the terror--of their new status as free men and women.

Location: Street: 265 Aragon Ave City: Coral Gables, Province: Florida Postal Code: 33134-5008 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Freeman, the new novel by Leonard Pitts, Jr., takes place in the first few months following the Confederate surrender and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Upon learning of Lee's surrender, Sam--a runaway slave who once worked for the Union Army--decides to leave his safe haven in Philadelphia and set out on foot to return to the war-torn South. What compels him on this almost-suicidal course is the desire to find his wife, the mother of his only child, whom he and their son left behind 15 years earlier on the Mississippi farm to which they all "belonged."

At the same time, Sam's wife, Tilda, is being forced to walk at gunpoint with her owner and two of his other slaves from the charred remains of his Mississippi farm into Arkansas, in search of an undefined place that would still respect his entitlements as slaveowner and Confederate officer.

The book's third main character, Prudence, is a fearless, headstrong white woman of means who leaves her Boston home for Buford, Mississippi, to start a school for the former bondsmen, and thus honor her father’s dying wish.

At bottom, Freeman is a love story--sweeping, generous, brutal, compassionate, patient--about the feelings people were determined to honor, despite the enormous constraints of the times. It is this aspect of the book that should ensure it a strong, vocal, core audience of African-American women, who will help propel its likely critical acclaim to a wider audience. At the same time, this book addresses several themes that are still hotly debated today, some 145 years after the official end of the Civil War. Like Cold Mountain, Freeman illuminates the times and places it describes from a fresh perspective, with stunning results. It has the potential to become a classic addition to the literature dealing with this period. Few other novels so powerfully capture the pathos and possibility of the era particularly as it reflects the ordeal of the black slaves grappling with the promise--and the terror--of their new status as free men and women.

Leonard Pitts won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for commentary for his twice-weekly syndicated column, which appears in more than 200 newspapers, and has won numerous other journalism awards. Born and raised in Southern Californnia, he now lives in suburban Washington DC with his wife and children. His first novel, Before I Forget, was called "bold in spirit and scope" and "a rare, memorable debut" by Publishers Weekly.

Location: Street: 4139 Park Road Additional: Park Road Shopping Center City: Charlotte, Province: North Carolina Postal Code: 28209-2229 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

We are so pleased to be included on the tour of Leonard Pitts, author of Freeman, a novel that takes place immediately after the American Civil War.

It tells the story of an escaped slave who returns from the North back to the South to try to find his wife after 15 years of separation.

Listen to him on NPR:

Location: Street: 1312 E. Cary St. City: Richmond, Province: Virginia Postal Code: 23219-4118 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Leonard Pitts, Jr. reads from Before I Forget.

Leonard Pitts, Jr., who won the Pulitzer Prize for political commentary in his nationally syndicated newspaper column, makes a special visit here to talk about a new venture: his first novel, Before I Forget. It's a story of passion and courage exploring the difficult relationships between fathers and sons. Critics say "it's a must for male readers that women need to hear, too." Friday, April 17, 7:00 P.M., Decatur Library Auditorium (jasbro)… (more)