Each year Madison Public Library partners with UW-Madison to extend the perennially popular Go Big Read program into the broader community. The book selected is incorporated into curriculum throughout the university, as well as library programming and collections.
James by Percival Everett has been selected as the 2025-2026 Go Big Read book.
The book navigates the same broad contours of Twain’s classic American tale. Jim and Huck fish for their dinner, encounter familiar characters like the Duke and the Dauphin and manage, time and again, to survive by their wits and a healthy share of luck.
Everett’s characters, like Twain’s, speak in the regional dialect of 1850s Missouri—except Jim and his enslaved companions who, when speaking with one another, do so with the sophistication of 21st century intellectuals. This language, and the unflinching clarity of Jim’s narration, call readers to confront the horrors of slavery and their preconceived notions of what it means to sound believable.
The Go Big Read program is an initiative of the Office of the Chancellor at UW-Madison. It engages members of the campus community and beyond in a shared, academically focused reading experience. The Go Big Read community read program is one of the largest in the country, and Madison Public Library has been a key partner from its inception.
About the Author
Percival Everett
Percival Everett is a Guggenheim Fellow and two-time finalist for the Booker Prize. His novel, James, received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2025. He has penned 15 novels and is a distinguished professor of English at the University of Southern California, where he researches American studies and critical theory. He will be on campus in fall 2025 for the Go Big Read keynote event.
Where to Get Books
An initial order of 60 books has arrived and is being added to our walk-in Too Good To Miss collections at each library location. No holds are available for the Too Good to Miss collection - you have to visit the library to see if copies are on the shelf!
You can also check out James as a Book Club Kit by calling 608-266-6300, or in the following formats: