Join local author, Jean Burgess, as she launches her debut fiction, That Summer She Found Her Voice: A Retro Novel. The book, set in 1978 with locales on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and Baltimore’s Little Italy, tells the story of 23-year-old Margie Stevens as she encounters sexist and moral challenges while touring the country as a singer with King Vido’s Swing Band. Loosely based on the author’s own experience as a singer in the late 1970s, the book explores themes of emerging feminism, social injustice, and spiritualism against a background of swing music, jazz, and funk. The event will include a free Retro Gift Box raffle, an appearance by Baltimore’s Best Hon 2023, Kendra DeChantel Sweren Keiser, and an author talk, followed by a book signing.

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