Busboys and Poets Books Presents THE UNBALANCING
Join us to discuss new love blossoming between a starkeeper and poet as they work together to save their island home.
R. B. Lembergs first full length novel is rooted in the mystical cosmology, neurodiversity, and queer- ness that infuses Lemberg’s lyrical prose, which has invited glowing comparisons to N. K. Jemisin, Patricia A. McKillip, and Ursula K. LeGuin. Beneath the waters by the islands of Gelle-Geu, a star sleeps rest- lessly. The celebrated new starkeeper Ranra Kekeri, who is preoccupied by the increasing tremors, confronts the problems left behind by her predecessor. Meanwhile, the poet Erígra Lilún, who merely wants to be left alone, is repeatedly asked by their ancestor Semberi to take over the starkeeping helm. Semberi insists upon telling Lilun mysteri- ous tales of the deliverance of the stars by the goddess Bird.
When Ranra and Lilun meet, sparks begin to fly. An unforeseen configuration of their magical deepnames illuminates the trouble under the tides. For Ranra and Lilun, their story is just beginning; for the people of Gelle-Geu, it may well be too late to save their home.
R. B. Lemberg is joining on the virtual Busboys stage for a celebration event, joined in conversation by Naseem Jamnia. Copies of the book will be available for purchase before and during the event, so make sure to order your copy before we’re out of stock! Your purchase of the book includes shipping anywhere in the United States via USPS.
This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 6:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of THE UNBALANCING will be available for purchase before and during the event. Please note that this event is VIRTUAL and will only be livestreamed.
We ask that guests RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event from Busboys and Poets Books.
R. B. Lemberg is a queer, bigender immigrant from Eastern Europe to the U.S. R. B. 's Birdverse novella The Four Profound Weaves (Tachyon, 2020) was a finalist for the Nebula, Ignyte, Locus, and World Fantasy awards and was an Otherwise Award honoree. R. B. 's poetry memoir Everything Thaws was pub- lished by Ben Yehuda Press in 2022. Their stories and poems have appeared in Lightspeed Magazine’s Queers Destroy Science Fiction!, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, We Are Here: Best Queer Speculative Fiction 2020, Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology, and many other venues. You can find R. B. on Twitter at @rb_lemberg, on Patreon at http://patreon.com/rblemberg, and at their websites rblemberg.net and birdverse.net.
Naseem Jamnia is a former neuroscientist and recent MFA graduate from the University of Nevada, Reno. Their work has appeared in the Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, The Rumpus, The Writer’s Chronicle, and other venues. Jamnia is a 2018 Bitch Media Fellow in Technology and a 2019 Lambda Literary Fellow in Young Adult Fiction, and they recently received the 2021 inaugural Samuel R. Delany Fellowship. A Persian-Chicagoan and child to Iranian immigrants, Jamnia now lives in Reno with their husband, dog, and two cats.
