In 1964, a decorated war veteran was murdered by Klansmen in Georgia for driving while Black. As a freshman reporter, John Pruitt covered [the] event, and in the decades since his name has been synonymous with truth and accuracy—a reputation he lives up to even in this book of fiction. TELL IT TRUE is a powerful, unexpected, important first novel that tells it like it was. I have always admired Pruitt’s honest, fearless reporting of our struggle and I also believe members of the news media are among our greatest unsung heroes. Although the characters and events have been altered, TELL IT TRUE does in fact “tell it true,” and in as entertaining a way as you’re likely to find.

Riveting from the first paragraph… a well-told story loosely based on the murder of Lemuel Penn in Georgia by Ku Klux Klansmen in 1964; the same year John Pruitt began reporting and covering the civil rights movement in Georgia at WSB TV. In his debut novel, John takes us back to a time where Black lives truly didn’t matter in the South, but it was a time, Black votes began to matter. The characters in his novel tell the story of the media’s role in changing race relations in the South, and the behind-the-scenes political alliances that helped to bring change all because of this murder. John’s meticulous character development and scenery depiction put me there, in the story, and I did see, feel and viscerally react to what I read. Gripping from beginning to end and hard to put down.

TELL IT TRUE is the rare work of fiction that does justice to an important historical event. In a narrative inspired by the brutal, 1964 murder of Colonel Lemuel Penn, a black Army reservist, in rural Georgia, veteran Atlanta TV newsman John Pruitt brilliantly brings to life a cast of activists, politicians, clergy, and law enforcement officers caught up in the case. At the heart of the novel are two brave, young journalists who at great risk tell the story true. This is a book that will keep you up nights

This is an important book, beautifully written, and more necessary now than ever. John Pruitt has written a novel that shows us how we really are, not how we wish to be. And from that dark and lost place, he has given us a map away from ruin if only we have the courage to take the right path

During his 46 years as a journalist in Georgia, John Pruitt became Atlanta’s version of Walter Cronkite–a trusted voice who covered and reported the news with grace and insight. It is not surprising that his novel-TELL IT TRUE-draws upon his real-world experiences covering Georgia in the 1960s. Although it is fiction, the book carried me back to those volatile and transformative years when the state wrestled with civil rights and integration. John has done a remarkable job capturing the tensions that existed among those who wanted immediate change and those who welcomed a more gradual approach. As a journalist who has admired John Pruitt for decades, I felt TELL IT TRUE was a window that revealed a depth and understanding of John’s experiences during his decades of reporting in the South. It definitely is a captivating book that will take you back in time–through the words of one of our state’s most trusted journalists.