The Center for Fiction Presents Jeff Boyd on Hard Times with Xochitl Gonzalez

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Tuesday, 7:00 pm EDT March 24, 2026

The Center for Fiction
& Livestreamed

Join us for an evening with Jeff Boyd as he discusses his gripping new novel, Hard Times, a moving and unflinching portrait of a Chicago community rocked by violence. Boyd, author of the highly acclaimed debut novel The Weight and a former public-school teacher, brings urgency and lived insight to this timely story.

Set in Chicago’s South Side, Hard Times follows Buddy Mack, an English teacher trying to reach his students, especially three boys full of promise, while navigating mounting pressures at home and an uneasy relationship with his wife’s brother, a corrupt police officer. When a shocking act of violence shatters the school, Buddy is forced to confront his loyalties and the true cost of standing by his people.

Boyd will be joined in conversation by Xochitl Gonzalez, author of Olga Dies Dreaming, to explore writing from lived experience, the intersection of education and policing, and how fiction can reckon honestly with systems that shape and fracture our lives.

We offer two in-person ticket options: the $10 Standard Ticket and the $40+ Supporter Ticket. Both provide the same access, but if you’re able, we kindly suggest registering for the Supporter Ticket to help sustain our programs.

Featuring

Jeff Boyd

Jeff Boyd

Jeff Boyd is the author of The Weight. He is a former Chicago public school teacher and a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He lives in New York with his family.

Photo Credit: Imani Waterfield
Xochitl Gonzalez

Xochitl Gonzalez

Xochitl Gonzalez is the New York Times bestselling author of the award-winning novel Olga Dies Dreaming, the Reese’s Book Club Pick Anita de Monte Laughs Last, and the highly anticipated Last Night in Brooklyn (out 4-21-26). She is a contributor to the Atlantic, where she was recognized as a 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist in Commentary.

Photo Credit: Allan Zepeda

Featured Book

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Hard Times

By Jeff Boyd

Published by Flatiron Books

PURCHASE

Buddy Mack has been caught in the middle of two worlds at war.

As an English teacher at a South Side, Chicago, high school lauded for its football team, but at risk in every other way, he tries to instill a love of literature. While all of his students face challenges, he’s especially concerned with a trio of boys who test him to no end but are full of promise and heart: Zeke, the football star; Truth, the sweet-talking charmer; and Dontell, Buddy’s most promising student.

At home, his wife, Chrissy, a successful corporate lawyer, is ready to upgrade to a big house on the North Side and start a family, but Buddy’s torn over the implications. And the closest person he has in his life to talk to is Chrissy’s little brother, Curtis, a corrupt Chicago cop.

When the two worlds collide in a shocking moment that rocks the school, Buddy has to choose a side and fight for all he holds dear. Hard Times takes stock of what it means to be there for your people whether you want to or not and unflinchingly confronts the American Dream—a moving, engrossing, and necessary read.