Author Works: Sara Novic & "True Biz" (Online)

June 28, 2023    8 - 9pm ET

Acclaimed author and Deaf Rights activist Sara Novic discusses her novel True Biz in a special conversation with Dr. Julie Rems-Smario. 

True biz (adj./exclamation; American Sign Language): really, seriously, definitely, real-talk

True biz? The students at the River Valley School for the Deaf just want to hook up, pass their history finals, and have politicians, doctors, and their parents stop telling them what to do with their bodies. This revelatory novel plunges readers into the halls of a residential school for the deaf, where they’ll meet Charlie, a rebellious transfer student who’s never met another deaf person before; Austin, the school’s golden boy, whose world is rocked when his baby sister is born hearing; and February, the hearing headmistress, a CODA (child of deaf adult(s)) who is fighting to keep her school open and her marriage intact, but might not be able to do both. As a series of crises both personal and political threaten to unravel each of them, Charlie, Austin, and February find their lives inextricable from one another—and changed forever.

This is a story of sign language and lip-reading, disability and civil rights, isolation and injustice, first love and loss, and, above all, great persistence, daring, and joy. Absorbing and assured, idiosyncratic and relatable, this is an unforgettable journey into the Deaf community and a universal celebration of human connection.

Voice interpretation and CART provided. Q&A follows the conversation. 

This event is a partnership between Howard County Association of the Deaf, Maryland Deaf Culture Digital Library, and Howard County Library System. Book sales provided by The Last Word.

Borrow True Biz from HCLS, or purchase a copy from our community bookstore partner, The Last Word. 

About Sara Novic

Sara is the author of the instant NYT Bestseller True Biz, as well as the books Girl at War and America is Immigrants.She holds an MFA in fiction and literary translation from Columbia University, and is an instructor of Deaf studies and creative writing. She lives in Philadelphia with her family.

You can find her on Twitter + Instagram. 

Author Photo: © Zach Stone

About Dr. Julie Rems-Smario

Dr. Julie Rems-Smario works as Early Language and Education Programs Consultant at the CORE Division, a California School for the Deaf program. As part of California's LEAD-K Family Services, Julie is one of California’s two statewide coordinators of California’s Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs. During her tenure at the California Department of Education 2018-2021, Julie directed California’s Newborn Hearing Screening Project, supervised SB 210 data (LEAD-K law), developed resources for families of Deaf children, supported/trained Early Start teachers, and provided technical assistance to K-12 Deaf education teachers. In 2020, Julie graduated from California State University, East Bay with her Ed.D. in educational leadership and social justice.