Imagining Untold Stories

Coming December 3, 2024.
Preorder my novel in the US, Canada, or Europe.

(What are Preorders and Why Do They Matter)

Junior Library Guild Selection

Histories that have been submerged.
Poetry that tells a story.
Fiction rooted in real life.

My debut historical novel-in-verse, When the Mapou Sings, will be published by Candlewick Press later this year. It is partly inspired by Zora Neale Hurston’s fieldwork in 1930s Haiti where she wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God in six weeks, and by my great-grandmother. I imagine the story of Lucille, Zora’s Haitian domestic worker who she praised in Tell My Horse, but whose real life slipped through history’s net. My research was a deep sea adventure to discover unexpected treasures.

“When the Mapou Sings is a stunning revelation. An exquisite novel in verse, it is also a mesmerizing history lesson, a praise song, a love letter to Haiti, Lucille, Zora Neale Hurston, and the cultural and historical ties that bind Haitians and African American icons, dreamers, and creators.”
Edwidge Danticat, author of Breath, Eyes, Memory

“When the Mapou Sings is a stunning tribute to Haitian girlhood, history, and culture and an homage to some of our greatest American icons.”
Ibi Zoboi, National Book Award Finalist and
Coretta Scott King Author Award winner

WHEN THE MAPOU SINGS is steeped in love, courage, and longing.”
Tananarive Due, award-winning author
and executive producer of
Horror Noire

“Lucille’s story springs to life in gorgeous poetry that sings.
Truly a book to savor.” 
Kip Wilson, author of White Rose

“With lyricism that sings, Nadine Pinede’s writing takes the reader on a journey of what it means to stand up and speak your truth even when the consequences are grave.”
Tami Charles, author of the New York Times best seller
All Because You Matter