On Sale Sep 2, 2025
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A gripping story about a brother and sister, emancipated from slavery but still searching for true freedom, and their odyssey across the deserts of Mexico to finally reunite, all while escaping a former master still intent on their bondage
New Orleans, 1866. The Civil War might be over, but formerly enslaved Coleman and June have yet to find the freedom they’ve been promised. Two years ago, the siblings were separated when their old master, Mr. Harper, took June away to Mexico, where he hoped to escape the new reality of the post-war South. Coleman stayed behind in Louisiana to serve the Harper family, clinging to the hope that one day June would return.
As in his New York Times bestselling debut The Sweetness of Water, Nathan Harris delves into the critical years of the Civil War’s aftermath to deliver an intimate and epic tale of what freedom means in a society still determined to return its Black citizens to bondage. Populated with unforgettable characters, Amity is a vital addition to the literature of emancipation.
Nathan Harris holds an MFA from the Michener Center at the University of Texas. His debut novel, The Sweetness of Water, was published by Little Brown in 2021, and was the summer selection of Oprah’s Book Club. It was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and included in President Obama’s Summer Reading List. He was honored as one of 5 Under 35 by the National Book Foundation and has had his work featured in The Best American Short Stories of 2023. He currently lives in Chicago, Illinois.
His new novel, Amity, will be published September 2, 2025.
