In this week's edition of Endnotes, we take a look at Slaveroad (Scribner, Oct.), the latest from John Edgar Wideman. The book explores the “slaveroad” that runs through American history, reckoning with the Atlantic slave trade, American Christian missionaries in Africa, and the criminal justice system.

Here's how the book came together.

John Edgar Wideman, Author

“Slaveroad is an effort to show how we—all human beings—connect: our individual connections, one to another; our histories and cultures that we make up as we go along, experiencing mysteries that time exposes us to. What feels known, unknown, unknowable as it surrounds us——surging, swirling, giving and ending life. Writing a book for me is an attempt, an opportunity, to put all of the above into accessible yet challenging words.”

Kathryn Belden, VP and Editorial Director, Scribner

“I’ve had the pleasure of working with John for almost nine years, publishing new work and reissuing some of his classics. It’s always an event when John delivers a new manuscript, and this one had the feel of a statement, of artistry and concept coming together in a way that speaks to his whole career as a writer and to the American condition.”

Andrew Wylie, Founder and Agent, the Wylie Agency

“The Wylie Agency has represented John Edgar Wideman for more than 40 years. I felt Slaveroad was a significant addition to his oeuvre, and the ongoing publication of his works by his publisher, Scribner. We deferred to John and his editor, Kathy Belden, on the label of fiction or nonfiction and think the way they have described it is the most fitting, transcending any categorization.”

David Litman, Cover Designer

“I was trying to represent the slave road as both a literal and metaphorical concept. The literal road takes on different forms in each story. The conceptual road, the African American experience, is layered and complex, and I wanted an image that reflected that. I turned in around 10 or 12 iterations—various representations of the road, some more literal than others. I’m very happy with where we landed with the final cover.”