Sara Koffi will discuss her new book, While We Were Burning (Penguin Random House), in conversation with Jeremy Finley on Saturday, August 10, 10:30 a.m. – 12 Noon CDT as part of the TN Writers | TN Stories series at the Tennessee State Museum.

Sara Koffi is a writer and editor from Memphis, Tennessee, with a B.A. in English from Whittier College. As a writer, she strives to explore the nuances of “unlikable female characters” and humanize Black women by giving them space on the page to breathe. While We Were Burning is her debut novel.

In the novel, after her best friend’s mysterious death, Elizabeth Smith’s picture-perfect life in the Memphis suburbs has spiraled out of control—so much so that she hires a personal assistant to keep her on track. Composed and elegant, Brianna is exactly who she needs and slides so neatly into Elizabeth’s life, almost like she belonged there from the start. Soon, the assistant Elizabeth hired to distract her from her obsession with her friend’s death is the same person working with her to uncover the truth behind it.

Sara Koffi’s debut novel is as heartbreaking as it is thrilling, examining the intersection of race, class, and female friendship, and the devastating consequences of everyday actions. Parasite meets Such a Fun Age in a scorching debut that is as heartbreaking as it is thrilling, examining the intersection of race, class, and female friendship, and the devastating consequences of everyday actions.

Jeremy Finley is an internationally-published novelist whose books have been featured in People Magazine, the New York Post and NPR, and a working investigative journalist who has won twenty-one Emmys and four Edward R. Murrow awards. He is the recipient of a national Headliner award, a two-time winner of the IRE award (recognizing the best in investigative journalism) and a national Edward R. Murrow award. Finley is also the Emmy-nominated co-host of the public affairs program, A WORD ON WORDS, which profiles authors and their novels on Nashville Public Television.

Readings and discussions take place in the Digital Learning Center at the Tennessee State Museum. Most events include an opportunity to purchase books through the Museum store and get them signed by the author.

Also at the Tennessee State Museum, a new display Honoring 1924 Olympic Gold Medalist now open. This year marks the centennial of Nashvillian John Hopkins Noel, Sr. winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics in 1924, the first native Tennessean to do so. Recently, Noel’s grandchildren, John, Lee and the late Arthur, donated Noel’s gold medal and related artifacts to the State Museum. To commemorate the centennial of their grandfather’s victory, and the donation to the Museum, John and Lee, along with Museum curator Matthew Gailani, shared their story with several Nashville news outlets. We’re thankful for their interest in this story. Noel’s gold medal, along with other artifacts related to his Olympic experience and sporting career, went on display at the Museum on July 30.