Author Talk! Yosha Gunasekera: The Midnight Taxi w/ Jill Damatac

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Book DescriptionWhen the last fare of the night turns up dead in her backseat, a Sri Lankan American taxi driver works off the clock to clear her name in this mystery novel by debut author Yosha Gunasekera.Siriwathi Perera doesn’t quite know where she’s going in life. She never expected to be a taxicab driver in New York City, struggling to make ends meet and still living with her parents at twenty-eight. The true-crime podcasts that keep Siri company as she drives don’t do much to make up for the legal career she imagined for herself, or the brother she’s grieving.When public defender Amaya Fernando gets into her cab, they make a quick connection through their shared Sri Lankan roots. Siri, whose social circle is limited to her grade-school best friend, Alex, thinks things might finally be looking up with this new potential friendship. But she’s suddenly dropped into her own true crime when she discovers her next passenger murdered in the backseat, and she has to call Amaya sooner than she’d expected.Pinned as the obvious and only suspect, and desperate to clear her name, Siri chases down leads across the boroughs of New York City with Amaya’s help. But with her court date looming, they have just five days to find out who really killed the midnight passenger—or Siri’s life will be over before she can even truly live it. About the AuthorYosha Gunasekera is a Sri Lankan American attorney who represents people who have spent decades behind bars for crimes they did not commit. She teaches a course at Princeton University focused on wrongful conviction and exoneration. Yosha is a former Manhattan public defender and has written and spoken extensively on the criminal legal system.

We're so excited to welcome Yosha Gunasekera and Jill Damatac to discuss Yosha's debut novel, The Midnight Taxi! The conversation is being generously hosted by Flower Cat in Greenpoint (162 Noble St, Brooklyn, NY 11222).

About this Event:

We're so excited to welcome you to this upcoming author talk!

• Each ticket will include either a copy of the featured book or a $10 Yellow Peril Books Gift Card. Each ticket also includes a beverage provided by our host venue. Additional beverages and food will be available for purchase at the event.

• A book signing will follow the conversation.

• Additional copies of The Midnight Taxi, as well as Jill Damatac's memoir Dirty Kitchen, will be available for purchase at the event.

• Doors open at 6:30pm, programming will begin at 7:00pm

• Community Guidelines and Rules

  • You commit to treating everyone with respect and care

  • Stay home if you feel sick!

If you would like to attend but the ticket cost is prohibitive, please reach out to contact@yellowperilbooks.com and we will try to find a solution! We never want lack of funds to be a barrier to entry.

About The Midnight Taxi

When the last fare of the night turns up dead in her backseat, a Sri Lankan American taxi driver works off the clock to clear her name in this mystery novel by debut author Yosha Gunasekera.

Siriwathi Perera doesn’t quite know where she’s going in life. She never expected to be a taxicab driver in New York City, struggling to make ends meet and still living with her parents at twenty-eight. The true-crime podcasts that keep Siri company as she drives don’t do much to make up for the legal career she imagined for herself, or the brother she’s grieving.

When public defender Amaya Fernando gets into her cab, they make a quick connection through their shared Sri Lankan roots. Siri, whose social circle is limited to her grade-school best friend, Alex, thinks things might finally be looking up with this new potential friendship. But she’s suddenly dropped into her own true crime when she discovers her next passenger murdered in the backseat, and she has to call Amaya sooner than she’d expected.

Pinned as the obvious and only suspect, and desperate to clear her name, Siri chases down leads across the boroughs of New York City with Amaya’s help. But with her court date looming, they have just five days to find out who really killed the midnight passenger—or Siri’s life will be over before she can even truly live it.

About the Author and Moderator

Yosha Gunasekera is a Sri Lankan American attorney who represents people who have spent decades behind bars for crimes they did not commit. She teaches a course at Princeton University focused on wrongful conviction and exoneration. Yosha is a former Manhattan public defender and has written and spoken extensively on the criminal legal system.

Jill Damatac (she/her) is a formerly undocumented writer and filmmaker and the author of Dirty Kitchen, a food memoir about growing up undocumented. Born in Manila, Philippines, in the final years of the Marcos dictatorship, Damatac immigrated to the United States as a child. Through her writing and film work, she explores themes of immigration, diaspora, and how colonial occupation and the carceral state are one and the same. Her film work has been featured in the DOC NYC and Cannes film festivals and won Best Documentary at Ireland’s Kerry Film Festival. Damatac holds an MSt in creative writing from Cambridge University and an MA in documentary film from the University of the Arts, London. She is a lecturer in creative nonfiction at Cambridge University and serves as a mentor for graduate students at Harvard University.

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