About the Presentation: We are excited to continue with an updated virtual model for our Authors! series.

After an introduction from Greg Braylock, the Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Officer for ProMedica, the author will join our Executive Director, Jason Kucsma, for an online discussion.

There will be time at the end of the event for Q&A submitted through the chat option of Zoom and Facebook Live.

Two Ways to Participate:

1. Join us FREE on the Library’s Facebook page, OR

2. Purchase a copy of the book for $ 21.00 plus Eventbrite fees, to be picked up at your local branch (after the publication release date) and watch through a secure Zoom link provided via email.

About the Book: Set in a northern city in the first decades of the twentieth century, THE RIB KING centers on an informal family of black servants in the prosperous home of the once wealthy white Barclay family. The family fortunes have faltered, and Mr. Sitwell watches with interest as Mr. Barclay tries to negotiate business deals with a few Southern colleagues. After one business gathering, one of the Southerners leaves behind an adventure novel whose plot has a familiar ring to Mr. Sitwell. An account of a rampage on a Florida town, the novel mirrors horrific events from Mr. Sitwell’s own childhood, and the memories stir a slow-burning rage within Mr. Sitwell. When Mr. Barclay strikes a national marketing deal allowing a sauce that Mr. Sitwell has doctored from one of Mamie’s recipes—offering the servants little remuneration or credit, beyond Sitwell’s picture as “The Rib King” on the label—the delicate balance among the staff and the family tips. The once sanguine Mr. Sitwell snaps, triggering an explosive tragedy.

Ten years later, the Barclays’ former housemaid, Jennie Williams, is a thriving businesswoman. With true entrepreneurial spirit, she has fashioned one of Mamie’s other recipes into a healing salve with remarkable beauty and health properties. As Jennie attempts to market her product to a whiteowned company, she runs into the accustomed condescension, but she is surprised when her main stumbling block appears is her former colleague—The Rib King, himself. Having returned to the city as part of his endless promotional tour for the product he doesn’t even own, Sitwell is perceived as a threat by Jennie’s potential business partners, although she can’t be sure why. Only she knows the real truth—that he is an undiscovered murderer whose rampage on the Barclay household was never suspected.

As she delineates a world of institutionalized racism, Ladee Hubbard eschews stereotypes, expertly depicting the less-often explored subtleties of class within the black community as well. Blending history, mystery, and social commentary, THE RIB KING is a riveting and well-timed drama that arrives as America takes a careful look at its exploitation of African American culture, its misuse of black iconography, and the ways in which we view others.

In THE RIB KING, Hubbard applies her skillful storytelling talents to a historical novel that taps into seldom explored aspects of the African American experience—issues of appropriation, commercial exploitation, class, and racial denigration that have finally come to the forefront with America’s recent racial and equity reckoning.

About the Author: Ladee Hubbard is the author of The Talented Ribkins, which received the 2018 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award for Debut Fiction. Her writing has appeared in Guernica, the Times Literary Supplement, Copper Nickel, and Callaloo. She received a 2016 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award as well as fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, Art Omi, the Sacatar Foundation, the Sustainable Arts Foundation, Hedgebrook, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Born in Massachusetts and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Florida, she currently lives in New Orleans with her husband and three children.

FAQs:

Can registration be made by phone or in person? No, registration can only be made online through Eventbrite.

Do I have to register for the event? If you would like to receive a copy of the book - you need to purchase tickets for the event. If you would just like to view the event you can do so via the Toledo Lucas County Public Library Facebook page.

What happens if I do not receive online access to the event? You will receive reminder emails leading up to the event. If you do not receive the emails - contact 419.259.5199 for assistance.

What time does the event start? The author will be live with us at 7:00 p.m.

Where can I contact the organizer with any questions? Call the Library at 419.259.5199.

I have never used Zoom before - do I need to download anything in order to attend? No. The event can be viewed through a link in your web browser of choice.

Do I need an account in order to be able to attend? No, you don't need a Zoom account to attend the event as an attendee.

Will there be time for a Q&A? Yes! Please use the chat function of Zoom or the Facebook Live option to submit questions throughout the event so our moderators have time to compile them. You can also submit questions for the author during event check out.

Will the event be recorded for registrants who can't attend or have technical difficulties? Yes the event will be recorded and available for viewing on the TLCPL YouTube page after the event.