THESE HEATHENS!

THESE HEATHENS! is a vibrant and gratifying novel that follows a pious, small-town teenager who travels to get an abortion and finds herself in the middle of the civil rights movement, and the secret lives of queer Black people.

Seventeen-year-old pious Doris Steele find herself pregnant and in need of an abortion. Where is she to get an abortion, especially if the town midwife goes to the same church as her parents? The answer is Atlanta, a sprawling metropolis filled with wealthy black people and more culture and music than she's ever seen in her rural town. Begging her favorite teacher, Mrs. Lucas, for help, Mrs. Lucas calls upon Sylvia, her brash, wealthy childhood best friend to arrange a doctor for the procedure. While waiting to hear from the doctor who has agreed to do the procedure, Doris spends the weekend scandalized by, but also drawn to, the people who move in and out of Sylvia's orbit: celebrities whom Doris has seen in the pages of Jet and Ebony, political leaders like Coretta Scott King and Diane Nash, women who dance close together, atheists! And even more shocking? Mrs. Lucas seems right at home. From the guests at a queer kickback to the student activists at an SNCC conference, Doris suddenly finds herself surrounded by so many people who seem to know exactly who or what they want. Doris knows she doesn't want a baby, but what does she want? Will this trip help her find out? THESE HEATHENS! is a funny, poignant story about Black women's obligations and ambitions, what we owe to ourselves, and the transformative power of leaving your bubble, even for just one chaotic weekend. Mia McKenzie is the two-time Lambda Award-winning author of THE SUMMER WE GOT FREE and SKYE FALLING, and the creator of Black Girl Dangerous Media, an independent media and education project that centers queer Black women and girls. She lives with her two children in the Happy Valley of Western Massachusetts.