Asali Solomon is the author of Disgruntled, ''a smart, philosophical, coming-of-age'' (San Francisco Chronicle) novel about the double-binds of race in late 1980s Philadelphia. Her other work includes the short story collection Get Down, as well as stories published in a wide array of periodicals, including McSweeney's, Essence, and O, The Oprah Magazine. A professor of fiction writing and literature of the African diaspora at Haverford College, Solomon is the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award and the National Book Foundation's ''5 Under 35'' honor. The Days of Afrekete follows two women who reconnect years after their college days and rediscover themselves amidst the questions asked at middle age.

Nicole Dennis-Benn is the author of Patsy and Here Comes the Sun, a New York Times Notable Book and winner of the Lambda Literary Award. Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, she teaches at Princeton and lives with her wife in Brooklyn, New York. (recorded 10/20/2021)