The Book of Longings Book Club
Hundreds of readers across the U.S. and in other countries joined Sue’s virtual book club, engaging in a month of enlightening and inspiring discussions of The Book of Longings. Sue and her publisher, Viking, compiled a treasure trove of book club resources that are available to any book group that chooses to read The Book of Longings. These resources include discussion questions, videos of Sue discussing the novel and answering reader questions, a book club kit download, and an extensive author Q&A. They can be accessed below:
Reading Group Guide/Book Club Kit
The Book of Longings Finds Reader Popularity and Critics’ Praise
Sue ‘s new novel, The Book of Longings, debuted April 21, 2020 to widespread critical acclaim and immediately landed at the top of the bestseller lists, reaching #5 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction list, #1 on the IndieBound bestseller list, and #2 on the Associated Press bestseller List. The novel was a Book-of-the-Month Selection, Heather’s Pick (Indigo Books) in Canada, and Australian Women’s Day Great Read Pick. It has been translated into 12 languages thus far.
‘Bees’ Picks Up Seven 2020 Outer Critics Circle Honors
The Secret Life of Bees Off-Broadway musical was celebrated with seven Outer Critics Circle Awards Honorees on Monday, including Most Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical. The category of Most Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical included 3 individual nominations for Eisa Davis, LaChanze and Saycon Sengbloh. Remaining nominations include: Lynn Nottage for Outstanding Book of a Musical, Susan Birkenhead and Duncan Sheik for Outstanding New Score, and Duncan Sheik and John Clancy for Outstanding Orchestrations.
In lieu of a traditional winner being chosen, The Outer Critics Awards deciding on celebrating up to 5 Honorees in each category.
Watch below to see Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kristin Chenowith, Bryan Cranston, Patti LuPone, and Patrick Stewart make the announcements.
Drama Desk Award Nominations Announced – ‘The Secret Life of Bees’ Nominated for Outstanding Musical
Photo: Ahron R. Foster
The Secret Life of Bees was nominated for Outstanding Musical as part of The 65th Annual Drama Desk Award nominations that were announced on April 21, 2020. ‘Bees’ picked up a total of seven nominations. The list includes: Outstanding Actress in a Musical, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical, Outstanding Music, Outstanding Lyrics, Outstanding Book of a Musical, and Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical.
Outstanding Musical
Octet
The Secret Life of Bees (Atlantic Theatre Company)
Soft Power
A Strange Loop
The Wrong Man
Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Tammy Blanchard, Little Shop of Horrors
Beth Malone, The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Saycon Sengbloh, The Secret Life of Bees
Elizabeth Stanley, Jagged Little Pill
Adrienne Warren, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical
Yesenia Ayala, West Side Story
Paula Leggett Chase, The Unsinkable Molly Brown
LaChanze, The Secret Life of Bees
Alyse Alan Louis, Soft Power
Lauren Patten, Jagged Little Pill
Outstanding Music
Ross Golan, The Wrong Man
Michael R. Jackson, A Strange Loop
Dave Malloy, Octet
Joshua Rosenblum, Einstein’s Dreams
Duncan Sheik, The Secret Life of Bees
Jeanine Tesori, Soft Power
Outstanding Lyrics
Susan Birkenhead, The Secret Life of Bees
Adam Gwon, Scotland, PA
Michael R. Jackson, A Strange Loop
Joanne Sydney Lessner and Joshua Rosenblum, Einstein’s Dreams
Dave Malloy, Octe
Mark Saltzman, Romeo & Bernadette
Outstanding Book of a Musical
David Henry Hwang, Soft Power
Michael R. Jackson, A Strange Loop
Dave Malloy, Octet
Lynn Nottage, The Secret Life of Bees
Mark Saltzman, Romeo & Bernadette
Dick Scanlan, The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Outstanding Lighting Design for a Musical
Betsy Adams, The Wrong Man
Jane Cox, The Secret Life of Bees
Herrick Goldman, Einstein’s Dreams
Bruno Poet, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
Justin Townsend, Moulin Rouge!
The Book of Longings Released – Book Club Announced
Sue Monk Kidd released her fourth novel, The Book of Longings on Tuesday and simultaneously announced a new virtual book club created to discuss it live with readers. Moderated by four independent booksellers over four weeks in May, the talks will focus on reader submitted questions via social media by using the hashtag #thebookoflongingsbookclub.
To view at the announcement by Sue and read more about how you or your book club can participate, visit the website http://www.thebookoflongings.com.
‘The Secret Life of Bees’ Off-Broadway Musical Nominated for Three Lucille Lortel Awards
The 35th annual Lucille Lortel Awards Nominations for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway were announced recently and The Secret Life of Bees picked up 3 nominations. ‘Bees’ was nominated for Outstanding Musical while LaChanze and Eisa Davis were nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical.
The awards will be presented live online on May 3 at www.lortelawards.org.
Read the press release below:
2020 Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway Nominations
UPDATED 4/15: The Book of Longings Book Tour Canceled – Virtual Tour Planned
UPDATED 4/15: Virtual and live social media events are being announced – see the Events page for updates as they are confirmed!
A personal message from Sue Monk Kidd:
All book tour events for The Book of Longings have been postponed indefinitely. I’m heartsick about this. But of course, the most important thing is to keep everyone safe. We’re following the CDC guidelines and doing our part to flatten the curve.
Each day, during the 4½ years I worked on The Book of Longings, I was inspired by the thought of you reading the words I was setting down. One of the great joys of publishing a new book is the privilege of introducing it in person to readers and hearing your thoughts and questions. I’m so sorry that won’t be possible anytime soon. I’m grateful to the bookstores, the sponsors, and those who planned to attend my events, and to the team at Viking who worked for many months on the tour.
Please stay tuned, though—we’re thinking of ways for readers to be engaged and connected when The Book of Longings comes out on April 21. In the meantime, take care of yourselves and one another. Read a lot. Support your indie bookstore. Be extravagant with hope. We’ll get through this.
Excerpt from The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd
This introductory piece by Sue Monk Kidd describes the day she wrote the first lines of The Book of Longings, followed by a link to the full excerpt…
“I am Ana. I was the wife of Jesus ben Joseph of Nazareth. I called him Beloved and he, laughing, called me Little Thunder.”
These are the opening lines of The Book of Longings, containing Ana’s bold announcement. I remember the day I typed them on the keyboard, and then sat there, staring at them on the screen. I once wrote that a person should do at least one thing in her life that takes her own breath away. Ok, I thought, this is mine.
When I was struck by the idea to write this novel, it wasn’t like a tap on the shoulder. It was a knock-the-breath-out-of-you feeling. It set off a creative storm inside me. My imagination lit up. I could picture her—tall, dark hair, large brooding eyes. A name came—Ana. The nickname, Little Thunder, would come later and it would suggest a great deal about her. Though I felt instantly compelled to write her story. I wasn’t immune to a trepidation or two about how some might react to my premise. I once stenciled the words, “Writing is an act of courage” on the stairwell that led to my writing study. Writing is always that. It’s a series of small daily braveries. Sometimes a giant leap.
I don’t know if, at some point in his life, Jesus had a wife. But believing it was never the point. It was imagining it that mattered to me. I think there’s a need in the human psyche to imagine this missing wife. In a way she symbolizes the missing feminine within religion. To imagine Ana is to evoke the question of how the world might’ve been different if Jesus had had a wif. To imagine her is to celebrate women’s voices and stories. It allows us to reinvent the past in order to dream a new future.
Read an excerpt from The Book of Longings
The Book of Longings UK Cover Reveal
Headline Books revealed a beautiful cover for the UK and Ireland edition of Sue’s forthcoming novel, The Book of Longings in a stunning video. Click the picture below.
2020 Most Anticipated Lists Include ‘The Book of Longings’
As the new year begins so does the anticipation for Sue’s next novel The Book of Longings (April 21, 2020). New ‘Most Anticipated’ lists from O Magazine, Amazon Book Review, Marie Claire, Good Housekeeping, Good Morning America, and others have included The Book of Longings.
You can pre-order it now at your favorite bookseller.