Unveiling Black Histories on Martha’s Vineyard with Ashton Lattimore (Runner) - Book Gang | Lyssna här

Ashton Lattimore joins us to discuss Runner, her soapy, escapist historical adventure set on Prohibition-era Martha’s Vineyard, where secrets, danger, and ambition collide.

This week on Book Gang, I’m joined by Ashton Lattimore, whose new novel Runner is a standout historical adventure that brings Prohibition-era Martha’s Vineyard to life. Ashton shares the real-life shipwreck that planted the seed for her story, the meticulous research behind her 1920s language and setting, and how she balances soapy drama with hard-hitting history. If you love novels where you learn something new while being swept away by twists and secrets, this episode is for you.

In this week’s episode, we discuss:

📚 Language, Landmarks, and Lingo: How do you make the Roaring Twenties feel brand new? Ashton shares her process of resurrecting the era with vivid period language, historical landmarks, and the daily rituals that anchor her characters in time and place. Ashton shares her tricks for finding the right word, her favorite hidden gems from the era, and why slipping in “old-timey” lingo and fun facts is more than historical window dressing.

📚 The Real Black History Behind Runner: Discover how a mysterious 1923 shipwreck off Martha’s Vineyard inspired Ashton Lattimore’s riveting tale. Ashton takes us into the island's lesser-known Black maritime history, revealing a world where whalers, fishermen, and smugglers navigated not just the perils of the sea, but also racial boundaries, discrimination, and the urgent need for community survival.

📚 Class, Crime, and Complicated Women: Runner is more than a story about rumrunners—it’s a sharp exploration of class, crime, and what it took for Black women to survive and thrive in the 1920s. We dig into the novel’s rich cast: from Lena, risking everything to save her family, to Dee, balancing privilege and vulnerability, to matriarchs wrestling with their own choices and regrets. Ashton opens up about navigating the tensions between Boston’s Black elite and the working-class locals.

FREE BONUS BOOK LIST: This week’s bonus book list isUncorking 18 Prohibition Books— A Toast to Bookish Bathtub Gin—books full of secrets, danger, and unforgettable characters chasing dreams in the Roaring Twenties. Patrons of the show will receive a printable checklist to take to their local library and a bonus spoiler episode with Ashton Lattimore.

Meet Ashton Lattimore

Ashton Lattimore is an award-winning author, journalist, and former lawyer. Her debut novel, All We Were Promised, was a Book of the Month Club pick, a Washington Post and NPR Best Book of 2024, and one of People magazine’s Best New Books for April 2024. Lattimore also received the First Novelist Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. Her nonfiction writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Prism, The Preamble, Slate, CNN, Essence, and elsewhere. She’s a native of New Jersey, where she lives with her husband and two sons.

Mentioned in this episode:

SUPPORT OUR SHOW: Join the Book Gang- patreon.com/momadvice

SUPPORT OUR SHOW: Make a One-Time Donation in ANY AMOUNT- buymeacoffee.com/bookgangpodcast

2026 MomAdvice Book Club Books (All 12 Selections)

BOOK CLUB PODCAST FOR SEPTEMBER: DAVID JOY INTERVIEW (THOSE WE THOUGHT WE KNEW)

FREE BONUS BOOK LIST: Uncorking 18 Prohibition Books— A Toast to Bookish Bathtub Gin

Runner by Ashton Lattimore

All We Were Promised by Ashton Lattimore

John Dwight shipwreck

Oxford English Dictionary Historical Thesaurus

Shearer Cottage

Highland Beach

Ashton’s Insta

Captain William Martin

Maud Cuney Hare

The Quarter Queen by Kayla Hardy

Martha’s Vineyard Black Book Festival

Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches it with 10% to support independent bookstores.