2025-2026
2025-2026 Go Big Read: James: A Novel by Percival Everett
When the enslaved Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he decides to hide on nearby Jackson Island until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his violent father, recently returned to town. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and too-often-unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.
While many narrative set pieces of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn remain in place (floods and storms, stumbling across both unexpected death and unexpected treasure in the myriad stopping points along the river’s banks, encountering the scam artists posing as the Duke and Dauphin…), Jim’s agency, intelligence and compassion are shown in a radically new light.
Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a “literary icon” (Oprah Daily), and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetime, James is destined to be a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature.
Penguin Random House – James by Percival Everett
2025-2026 Author & Book Information
Press Release
Read Chancellor Mnookin’s Press Release about the book: Percival Everett’s ‘James’ chosen as 2025-26 Go Big Read book
Facilitating Book Discussions
2025-2026 Go Big Read Book Discussion Guide — Accessible PDF file for viewing and downloading. If you run into any concerns with the accessibility of this file, please email the Go Big Read Program Coordinator (Bethany Willig, bwillig@wisc.edu) with your concerns.
Curriculum Support Materials
Center for Campus History — Teaching Guide for James and the Antebellum Era
Chazen Museum of Art — Teaching James at the Chazen
Cooperative Children’s Book Center Reading List — James: Retellings & Reimaginings and the 19th Century Black Experience
Writing Across the Curriculum — Sample Go Big Read Writing Assignments for James
Media
Book Review: ‘James,’ by Percival Everett – The New York Times
‘James’ reimagines Twain’s ‘Huckleberry Finn’ with mordant humor, and horror (NPR Fresh Air)
Percival Everett: Why I rewrote Huckleberry Finn to give slave Jim a voice (BBC)
Percival Everett Is Challenging the American Literary Canon
Keynote Event
Featuring Percival Everett (author) and Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin
Go Big Read: An Evening with Percival Everett
Tuesday, November 4, 2025
7:00 – 8:30 P.M.
Union South — Varsity Hall, Section II and III (Free and open to the public. No tickets required)
Other Events
Marketing Toolkit
James Marketing Toolkit – Reusable images for the program
Still have a question or need additional materials or resources? Feel free to reach out to the Go Big Read program at gobigread@library.wisc.edu.