Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Skylight Books, Los Angeles
 It's 1963 in the small town of Monroe, New York. The Arringtons, a Black family, buy a house in a picturesque, all-white neighborhood. Some residents are welcoming, but many react to Dr. Philip Arrington, his wife Velma, and their daughters Livia and Maddie by conspiring against their success in both big and small ways. Amid this mix of hostility and shaky acceptance, the Arringtons must navigate their careers, deal with a volatile marriage, and raise their daughters. _But Where's Home?,_ Toni Ann Johnson's new collection of linked short stories explores the sometimes painful and often humorous experiences of the Arringtons as an upper-middle-class Black family in a predominantly white, working-class community. This book follows Johnson's previous collection, _Light Skin Gone to Waste_, which won the 2021 Flannery O'Connor Award. Through multiple perspectives and moments in time, from the 1960s to 2022, readers are invited into the lives of the eldest daughter, who longs for her father's affection while striving for independence; the youngest daughter, who seeks to overcome childhood pain through music and love; a father practicing psychology while engaging in affairs with the white women of the town; and a mother dealing with infidelity while raising her daughters in a place that rejects them. Deeply emotional, funny, and unflinchingly honest, _But Where's Home_? lays bare the realities of Black life in America, challenging readers to confront racism, classism, colonized thinking, narcissism, abuse, and troubled parent-child relationships. Johnson's complex and interwoven characters create a kaleidoscope of truths about human nature and race relations in the United States. **Toni Ann Johnson** won the Flannery O’Connor Award for her linked story collection, _Light Skin Gone to Waste_, which was selected for the prize and edited by Roxane Gay. The book was also a finalist for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work and a finalist for the Saroyan Prize. _Homegoing,_ Johnson’s first book about the Arrington family, from _Light Skin Gone to Waste_, was released in 2021 after winning Accents Publishing’s inaugural novella contest, judged by Katerina Stoykova. Her new linked collection, a continuation of the Arringtons’ story, _But Where’s Home_? was selected by Crystal Wilkinson as the winner of the 2024 Screen Door Press Prize for fiction. **Karen Grigsby Bates** is a founding member of Code Switch, NPR’s award-winning podcast on race and identity. She’s also the co-author of Basic Back: Home Training For Modern Times, a best-selling etiquette book, and two mystery novels. She’s currently writing a third novel about Black college students in the 1970s.