Fiction – -Literary – LGBTQ+ – African American & Black

RELEASE DATE: 4/15/2025 (WILL SHIP DIRECTLY FROM OUR SUPPLIER’S WAREHOUSE)

In this heart-wrenching debut novel, a young Black gay man, estranged from his father, must confront his painful pastand his deepest desires around gender, love, and sex.

Epic, intimate, brutal, and tender, Denne Michele Norris has written a breathtaking testimony about the boundlessness of love.Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

When the Harvest Comes is a book to sink into, to luxuriate within. . . . Its only when youre finished that you realize that youve never before read a story quite like this one.Torrey Peters, author of Detransition, Baby

I got tired of running away from what I shouldve been running toward.

The venerated Reverend Doctor John Freeman did not raise his son, Davis, to be touched by any man, let alone a white man. He did not raise his son to whisper that mans name with tenderness.

But on the eve of his wedding, all Davis can think about is how beautiful he wants to look when he meets his beloved Everett at the altar. Never mind that his mother, who died decades before, and his father, whose anger drove Davis to flee their home in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, for a freer life in New York City, wont be there to walk him down the aisle. All Davis needs to be happy in this life is Everett, his new family, and his burgeoning career as an acclaimed violist.

When Davis learns during the wedding reception that his father has been in a terrible car accident, years of childhood trauma and unspoken emotion resurface. Davis must revisit everything that went wrong between them, risking his fledgling marriage along the way.

In resplendent prose, Denne Michele Norriss When the Harvest Comes reveals the pain of inheritance and the heroic power of love, reminding us that, in the end, we are more than the men who came before us.

AUTHOR BIO:

Denne Michele Norrisis the editor in chief ofElectric Literature, winner of the Whiting Literary Magazine Prize. She is the first Black, openly trans woman to helm a major literary publication. She co-hosts the critically acclaimed podcastFood 4 Thotand holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College

“Epic, intimate, brutal, and tender, Denne Michele Norrishas written a breathtaking testimony about the boundlessness of love. Each character enters like a light beam, puncturing your soul with joy, heartbreak, and unwavering faith in the ability to right their wrongs before time runs out. Seductive, symphonic, and sensitively rendered,When the Harvest Comesannounces the arrival of a major new American voice.”–Deesha Philyaw, author ofThe Secret Lives of Church Ladies

“This is a book to sink into, to luxuriate within–a book that’s generous with the pleasures and comforts of a good story and rich characters, so much so that it’s only when you’re finished that you realize that you’ve never before read something quite like it.”–Torrey Peters, author ofDetransition, Baby

“A tale of redemption and transformation in the face of great obstacles,When the Harvest Comesis a book for anyone who’s ever believed they didn’t deserve happiness, for anyone whose worldview has been shaped by marginalization, for anyone who’s accomplished more than was expected of them. . . . Moving and uplifting.”–Alejandro Varela, author ofThe People Who Report More Stress