If you’re searching for your next read, Target might have a few suggestions. The retail giant, which has a monthly book club, recently announced The Women by Kristin Hannah as its “Book of the Year,” while The Glass Girl by Kathleen Glasgow was named Target’s “Young Adult Book of the Year” for 2024. But if you want to broaden your horizons and introduce your bookshelf to a new author, all roads point to Terah Shelton Harris and her sophomore novel, Long After We Are Gone.
The librarian-turned-bestselling-author was just crowned Target’s inaugural “Author of the Year” for 2024. The honorable mention is the first of its kind in Target Book Club history.
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Long After We Are Gone first hit bookshelves in May 2024. It tells the story of the four Solomon siblings who reunite after their father’s passing to carry out his dying wish: "Don't let the white man take the house."
Together, Junior, Mance, CeCe, and Tokey fight to save their ancestral home from falling into the hands of a developer who plans to turn their 200-acre plot into a luxury waterfront resort—all while grappling with personal life challenges of their own.
“Told in alternating viewpoints, Long After We Are Gone is a searing portrait on the power of family and letting go of things that no longer serve you, exploring the burden of familial expectations, the detriment of miscommunication, and the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children,” reads the publisher’s description.
In a celebratory post on Instagram, Shelton Harris called the recognition an “emotional one” and “an honor I never dreamed of achieving.”
“It’s pretty hard to fathom something like this. Probably because it’s an honor I never dreamed of achieving,” penned the author, who served as a librarian for 15 years before the release of her 2023 debut novel, One Summer in Savannah.
“Target has NEVER had an Author of the Year. I am the first,” she added of the honorable distinction.
Long After We Are Gone has touched the masses, something Shelton Harris doesn’t take lightly.
In a statement to Best Life, she said, "I am so pleased that Target is using their platform to amplify the story of the Solomon siblings. Although fictional, Long After We Are Gone is based on the real stories of Black families who have had their land sold out from under them. It’s a story about complicated families and the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children, and I hope that Target readers find it illuminating and thought-provoking. More than anything, I hope they enjoy reading it."
