The Journey of Liu Xiaobo: From Dark Horse to Nobel Laureate, Edited by Joanne Leedom-Ackerman with Yu Zhang, Jie Lie, and Tienchi Martin-Liao

The first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2010, Liu Xiaobo died in custody while serving an 11-year prison sentence for his activism and writing. He was called by the Chinese Communist government 'an enemy of the state,' but those who knew him called him an original thinker and writer, the Nelson Mandela of China. After his death, colleagues and friends around the world began writing. The 75+ essays in this book deliver a moving portrait of the man both intellectually and personally and a testimony to the tragedy of China which locks up and spies on some of its most talented citizens.

This fast-paced novel deals with the search for personal truth and empowerment between two friends, both journalists, one black and one white, in the world of power brokers on Wall Street dealing in the blood of Africa.

Joanne Leedom-Ackerman is a novelist, short story writer, and journalist. Her works of fiction, well and widely reviewed, include regional bestseller The Dark Path to the River and No Marble Angels. She has also published fiction and essays in books and anthologies, including Short Stories of the Civil Rights Movement; Remembering Arthur Miller; Snakes: An Anthology of Serpent Tales, Fiction and Poetry by Texas Women, the Bicentennial Collection of Texas Short Stories and Beyond Literacy.

A political thriller about strong-minded women and men, "The Dark Path to the River" tells a love story that moves between Wall Street and Africa.

"Particularly successful in building suspense . sensitive and ambitious."
-New York Times Book Review

"A knockout of a novel-impressive in its scope but at the same time intimate and personal . an extraordinary book."
-Elisabeth Forsythe Hailey, "A Woman of Independent Means"

"Joanne Leedom-Ackerman knows suspense like Hitch****. But what distinguishes the novel is its characters . [They] give this fine novel its power."
-Washington Post

"A book that provokes thought and is most entertaining to read."
-Los Angeles Times

"The story's power comes from its daring and imaginative scope, its sense of humanity and human connectedness across . the 'small' events of life and the larger events which come to be called history."
-Dallas Morning News

Characters in "No Marble Angels" struggle to close distances between each other, distances of race, sex, age.

"A valuable philosophical or political acquisition as well as a literary one . should be sought out and read."-Carolyn See, "Los Angeles Times"

"The stories remind me of both I.B. Singer and Flannery O'Conner-compelling."-John A. Williams, "The Man Who Cried I Am"

"Readers casually picking up . "No Marble Angels" might think they have stumbled into Anne Tyler's world . gems of clean, direct narrative."-"Baltimore Sun"

"With wonderfully wry humor, Leedom-Ackerman depicts the kind of good will that ends up causing trouble for others . a refined sense of craft is evident in all the stories."-"Library Journal"

Joanne Leedom-Ackerman is a novelist, short story writer, and journalist. Her works of fiction include The Dark Path to the River and No Marble Angels. A former reporter for The Christian Science Monitor, Joanne is a Vice President and former International Secretary of PEN International. She serves on the boards of PEN American Center, Poets and Writers, International Center for Journalists and Johns Hopkins University as well as International Crisis Group and Refugees International. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Joanne lives in Washington, DC.

Author Joanne Leedom-Ackerman and some of the world’s leading democracy and human rights experts will be holding a virtual webinar on Wednesday, July 29 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. EST to discuss China’s democracy movement and its response to threats from Beijing’s new control over Hong Kong.

“The Arc of My Mother’s Life”

The arc of my mother’s life is reduced to a 90° angle. She sits up in bed, leans back on her pillows, stretches forward, head in her hands. Occasionally she veers to the right then falls upon her side, a wisp of gray hair and flesh diving into pillows.

A political thriller about strong-minded women and men, The Dark Path to the River tells a love story that moves between Wall Street and Africa.

Joanne Leedom-Ackerman is an American novelist, short story writer and journalist whose fiction includes the regional bestseller The Dark Path to the Riverand the short story collection No Marble Angels, She is a Vice President Emeritus of PEN International (2015) and has served as the International Secretary of PEN International and Chair of PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee.

A political thriller about strong-minded women and men, “The Dark Path to the River” tells a love story that moves between Wall Street and Africa. “Particularly successful in building suspense . sensitive and ambitious.”-New York Times Book Review”A knockout of a novel-impressive in its scope but at the same time intimate and personal . an extraordinary book.”-Elisabeth Forsythe Hailey, “A Woman of Independent Means””Joanne Leedom-Ackerman knows suspense like Hitch****. But what distinguishes the novel is its characters . They] give this fine novel its power.”-Washington Post “A book that provokes thought and is most entertaining to read.”-Los Angeles Times”The storys power comes from its daring and imaginative scope, its sense of humanity and human connectedness across . the small events of life and the larger events which come to be called history.”-Dallas Morning News