When the Harvest Comes by Denne Michele Norris - ISBN: 9780593729625
Paperback
Confronting the past, love, and the truth of self amidst familial betrayal.

When the Harvest Comes

A Novel

$38.83

  • Paperback

    304 pages

  • Release Date

    26 May 2026

Check Delivery Options

Summary

In this “achingly beautiful debut” (The Boston Globe), a young Black gay man, estranged from his father, must confront his painful past—and his deepest desires around gender, love, and sex.

A THEM AND ELLE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

“I got tired of running away from what I should’ve been running toward.”

The venerated Reverend Doctor John Freeman did not raise his son, Davis, to be touched by any man, let alone a white man. He did not raise his son to whisper that man’s nam…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780593729625
ISBN-10:0593729625
Author:Denne Michele Norris
Publisher:Random House USA Inc
Imprint:Random House Inc
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:304
Release Date:26 May 2026
Weight:237g
Dimensions:203mm x 132mm
What They're Saying

Critics Review

“A beautiful, clear-eyed portrait of love in the face of religious and familial betrayal.”—Elle

“A gorgeous, deeply heartfelt, and romantic queer fairy tale about finding home and safety in one another.”—Roxane Gay

“Triumphant … an earnest, tender story about the courage it takes to let yourself be seen and loved for exactly who you are.”—BookPage

“Gorgeous… This is worth savoring.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Vibrant … Denne Michele Norris’s emotional insightfulness and astounding talent are on display in When the Harvest Comes.—Chicago Review of Books

When The Harvest Comes invites us to see the most painful truths of ourselves and our pasts, hold them up to the sun, and let the light pass through.”—The Rumpus

“An achingly beautiful debut about family estrangement, the bonds of marriage, and the painful necessity of reckoning with the past.”—The Boston Globe

“A novel [about] choosing love in the face of misunderstanding, and, more importantly, the freedom that comes in finding yourself.”—TODAY

“Epic, intimate, brutal, and tender … Denne Michele Norris has written a breathtaking testimony about the boundlessness of love. This is the arrival of a major new American voice.”—Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

When the Harvest Comes is abundant with a kind of grace I’m especially hungry for these days: the possibility that we can mend at least some of what we’ve torn apart, the chance that we’re not entirely too late.”—R. O. Kwon, author of Exhibit

“A story of becoming yourself that isn’t like anything I’ve ever read… a brave and powerful novel exploring the freedom we find in the presence of those loves we cannot hide from.”—Alexander Chee, author of The Queen of the Night

“This is a book to sink into, to luxuriate within—a book that’s generous with the pleasures and comforts of a good story and rich characters, so much so that it’s only when you’re finished that you realize that you’ve never before read something quite like it.”—Torrey Peters, author of Detransition, Baby

When the Harvest Comes is a book for anyone who’s ever believed they didn’t deserve happiness, for anyone whose worldview has been shaped by marginalization, for anyone who’s accomplished more than was expected of them.”—Alejandro Varela, author of The Town of Babylon

“Denne Michele Norris writes with confidence and grace about some of life’s biggest concerns: family, love, safety, grief, and most importantly, how to be true to one’s self. ”—Angela Flournoy, author of The Turner House

“Romantic, wise and healing, When the Harvest Comes enchants with every line.”—Chelsea T. Hicks, author of A Calm and Normal Heart

“Aching and resplendent, deeply felt and meticulously imagined, When the Harvest Comes is a song of becoming and reconciliation: of family, of self, of abiding love.”—Sarah Thankam Mathews, author of All This Could Be Different

“A radiant, heartfelt exploration of love in all its complex, transformative forms.”—Garrard Conley, author of All the World Beside

About The Author

Denne Michele Norris

Denne Michele Norris is the editor in chief of Electric Literature, winner of the Whiting Literary Magazine Prize. She is the first Black, openly trans woman to helm a major literary publication. She co-hosts the critically acclaimed podcast Food 4 Thot and holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College.

Returns

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.