WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD

WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD is “a memoir that mines the author's many eras of radicalization and self-realization through examinations of place, childhood, queer identity, and a history of uprisings, to Hanif Abdurraqib at Tin House Books, for publication in October 2022 (NA).”

Through charting his political coming of age from closeted queer kid in a Jamaican family to radicalized adult traveler, writer, anarchist, and more in Obama and Trump’s America. Shakur journeys from France, the Philippines, South Korea, and more to discover the depths of the black experience while traveling, and engages in deep political questions while participating in movements, like Black Lives Matter and Standing Rock. By the end, Shakur reckons with his identity, his Jamaican family’s immigration to the US before his birth, and the intergenerational impacts of patriarchal and colonial violence.

Praised by NY Times Bestselling writer, Morgan Jerkins, and the recipient of the 2021 Hurston/Wright Crossover Award. WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD is coming in Fall 2022 with Tin House; edited by Hanif Abdurraqib.

PRAISE FOR WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD

“The Exodus’ is a story that combines so much — sociocultural criticism, religion, and politics while centering on the microcosm of one Jamaican family and the aftermath of two male relatives’ untimely deaths. As you can quite imagine, these subjects can be a challenge for any writer to wield in such a contained space but this one does it so impressively that I had to check and see if it had already been edited and published elsewhere. The story starts, journeys, and ends with a style of prose that commands a tension and doesn’t release you well after the last sentence. I’m looking forward to the trajectory of Shakur’s career if it’s anything like this submission, we are in for a treat for years to come.”

— MORGAN JERKINS, NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR

“I'm really excited to work on that book and I’m really excited to get it out in the world. I think Prince is brilliant. The whole idea with Tin House was how can I uplift other writers. And I didn’t expect that right away I’d be uplifting other Columbus writers.”

— HANIF ABDURrAQIB, 2021 Macarthur genius grant recipient

PRESS

The Heart of It All: Newly named ‘genius’ Hanif Abdurraqib centers community, Columbus Alive, October 2021

“Hanif Abdurraqib on Decoration, Aminah Robinson and Lifting Up the Writing of Others”, Columbus Underground, October 2021

Beyond The White Gaze and Towards a Black, Revolutionary Queerness, Bangalore International Centre, November 2019