"As universally touching as it is original." -The New York TimesBlack Caucus of the American Library Association 2015 Honor Book in FictionO, The Oprah Magazine "10 Titles to Pick Up Now"A glorious and moving multigenerational, multicultural saga that sweeps from the 1940s through the 1960s in Trinidad and the United States.In a seaside village in the north of Trinidad, young Marcia Garcia, a gifted and smart-mouthed sixteen-year-old seamstress, lives alone, raising two small boys and guarding a family secret. When she meets Farouk Karam, an ambitious young policeman (so taken with Marcia that he elicits help from a tea-brewing obeah woman to guarantee her ardor), the rewards and risks in Marcia's life amplify forever.'Til the Well Runs Dry sees Marcia and Farouk from their sassy and passionate courtship through personal and historical events that threaten Marcia's secret, entangle the couple and their children in a tumultuous scandal, and put the future in doubt for all of them.With this deeply human novel, Lauren Francis-Sharma gives us an unforgettable story about a woman's love for a man, a mother's love for her children, and a people's love for an island rich with calypso and Carnival, cricket and salty air, sweet fruits and spicy stews-a story of grit, imperfection, steadfast love and of Trinidad that has never been told before. BIO Lauren Francis-Sharma, a child of Trinidadian immigrants, was born in New York City and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature with a minor in African-American Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. She lives in the Washington, D.C., area with her husband and two children. 'Til the Well Runs Dry is her first novel. REVIEWS “Lauren Francis-Sharma's talent shines.” -- USA Today“Marcia's story, told lovingly in this, Francis-Sharma's debut novel, is as universally touching as it is original.” -- The New York Times (Sunday Book Review Shortlist)“You'll hear the calypso music in this vivid debut about a spirited seamstress and devoted mother with a family secret.” -- People“Have you ever met a family whose every tear, every triumph, every heartbreak made your heart leap? I could not put this book down. An unforgettable journey.” -- Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of the New York Times bestseller Wench“Lauren Francis-Sharma is a true story-teller.‘Til the Well Runs Dry burns through its telling like the best gossip, but has the controlled mystery of a fairytale. This narrative is surprising, winding and always gratifying.” -- Tiphanie Yanique, author of Land of Love and Drowning“'Til The Well Runs Dry is unforgettable. Like the best poetry, it has all the high notes: a beautiful girl, a spell that leads to love and death, and a terrible secret -- in language pierced with the cries and colors of the West Indies. But this is not just a story; it's the author's retelling of her own origins. Sweet, brutal, and unsparing, this is Lauren Francis-Sharma's first book, yet she commands the page.” -- Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Deep End of the Ocean [P] Picador USA / September 15, 2015 0.7" H x 8.3" L x 5.5" W (0.6 lbs) 416 pages

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'Til the Well Runs Dry /// Lauren Francis-Sharma

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A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection! From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Ibi Zoboi comes her groundbreaking contemporary fantasy debut—a novel in verse based on Caribbean folklore—about the power of inherited magic and the price we must pay to live the life we yearn for. “Our new home with its thick walls and locked doors wants me to stay trapped in my skin— but I am fury and flame.” Fifteen-year-old Marisol is the daughter of a soucouyant. Every new moon, she sheds her skin like the many women before her, shifting into a fireball witch who must fly into the night and slowly sip from the lives of others to sustain her own. But Brooklyn is no place for fireball witches with all its bright lights, shut windows, and bolt-locked doors.… While Marisol hoped they would leave their old traditions behind when they emigrated from the islands, she knows this will never happen while she remains ensnared by the one person who keeps her chained to her magical past—her mother. Seventeen-year-old Genevieve is the daughter of a college professor and a newly minted older half sister of twins. Her worsening skin condition and the babies’ constant wailing keep her up at night, when she stares at the dark sky with a deep longing to inhale it all. She hopes to quench the hunger that gnaws at her, one that seems to reach for some memory of her estranged mother. When a new nanny arrives to help with the twins, a family secret connecting her to Marisol is revealed, and Gen begins to find answers to questions she hasn’t even thought to ask. But the girls soon discover that the very skin keeping their flames locked beneath the surface may be more explosive to the relationships around them than any ancient magic. BIO Ibi Zoboi is the New York Times bestselling author of American Street, a National Book Award finalist; Nigeria Jones, a Coretta Scott King Award winner; Pride; My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich; Okoye to the People: A Black Panther Novel for Marvel; and the Walter Award and LA Times Book Prize–winning Punching the Air, cowritten with Exonerated Five member Yusef Salaam. She is also a two-time Coretta Scott King Honor Award winner for her picture book The People Remember and her middle grade biography of Octavia Butler, Star Child. She is the editor of the anthology Black Enough. Born in Haiti and raised in New York City, she now lives in New Jersey with her family. You can find her online at ibizoboi.net. REVIEWS "Bold and exciting; employing alternating perspectives, the author plays with language and the book’s format to craft fully realized characters by exploring their envies and desires. Readers will fly through Zoboi’s latest masterpiece and crave more stories featuring Caribbean folklore. An ambitious contemporary fantasy that will grip readers from the first page." -- Booklist (starred review) “The girls’ intertwined tales, blurring and shifting over the course of the narrative, unfold in lyrical alternating first-person verse and are cleverly used to discuss beauty ideals and colorism. Readers will enjoy the ways the monstrous characters’ human facades shift. A vividly creative, heart-pounding poetic journey infused with Caribbean folklore.” -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "The stage is set for secrets and supernatural discoveries. The slow, methodical unraveling of how interwoven the two teenage girls’ stories is the treat of this sharp verse narrative that initially alternates between their POVs. The conclusion is executed with the laudable ambitions of reconciling the seemingly irreconcilable." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review) “Ambitious and unapologetic in its rendering, deftly addressing themes of colorism, assimilation, and inheritance. This fast-paced fever dream of a tale crackles and sparks on the page—almost burning the fingertips as it weaves folklore into reality; these dynamic girls reckoning with an inescapable lineage will change the way you look at the night sky.' -- Amber McBride, National Book Award finalist and author of Me (Moth) [H] Versify / February 11, 2025 For ages 13 and up

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!
From award-winning, New York Times bestselling author Ibi Zoboi comes her groundbreaking contemporary fantasy debut—a novel in verse based on Caribbean folklore—about the power of inherited magic and the price we must pay to live the life we yearn for.
“Our new home with its
thick walls and locked doors
wants me to stay trapped in my skin—
but I am fury and flame.”
Fifteen-year-old Marisol is the daughter of a soucouyant. Every new moon, she sheds her skin like the many women before her, shifting into a fireball witch who must fly into the night and slowly sip from the lives of others to sustain her own. But Brooklyn is no place for fireball witches with all its bright lights, shut windows, and bolt-locked doors.… While Marisol hoped they would leave their old traditions behind when they emigrated from the islands, she knows this will never happen while she remains ensnared by the one person who keeps her chained to her magical past—her mother.
Seventeen-year-old Genevieve is the daughter of a college professor and a newly minted older half sister of twins. Her worsening skin condition and the babies’ constant wailing keep her up at night, when she stares at the dark sky with a deep longing to inhale it all. She hopes to quench the hunger that gnaws at her, one that seems to reach for some memory of her estranged mother. When a new nanny arrives to help with the twins, a family secret connecting her to Marisol is revealed, and Gen begins to find answers to questions she hasn’t even thought to ask.
But the girls soon discover that the very skin keeping their flames locked beneath the surface may be more explosive to the relationships around them than any ancient magic.
BIO
<meta charset="utf-8">Ibi Zoboi is the New York Times bestselling author of American Street, a National Book Award finalist; Nigeria Jones, a Coretta Scott King Award winner; Pride; My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich; Okoye to the People: A Black Panther Novel for Marvel; and the Walter Award and LA Times Book Prize&amp;#8211;winning Punching the Air, cowritten with Exonerated Five member Yusef Salaam. She is also a two-time Coretta Scott King Honor Award winner for her picture book The People Remember and her middle grade biography of Octavia Butler, Star Child. She is the editor of the anthology Black Enough. Born in Haiti and raised in New York City, she now lives in New Jersey with her family. You can find her online at ibizoboi.net.
REVIEWS
"Bold and exciting; employing alternating perspectives, the author plays with language and the book’s format to craft fully realized characters by exploring their envies and desires. Readers will fly through Zoboi’s latest masterpiece and crave more stories featuring Caribbean folklore. An ambitious contemporary fantasy that will grip readers from the first page." -- Booklist (starred review)
“The girls’ intertwined tales, blurring and shifting over the course of the narrative, unfold in lyrical alternating first-person verse and are cleverly used to discuss beauty ideals and colorism. Readers will enjoy the ways the monstrous characters’ human facades shift. A vividly creative, heart-pounding poetic journey infused with Caribbean folklore.” -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"The stage is set for secrets and supernatural discoveries. The slow, methodical unraveling of how interwoven the two teenage girls’ stories is the treat of this sharp verse narrative that initially alternates between their POVs. The conclusion is executed with the laudable ambitions of reconciling the seemingly irreconcilable." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)
“Ambitious and unapologetic in its rendering, deftly addressing themes of colorism, assimilation, and inheritance. This fast-paced fever dream of a tale crackles and sparks on the page—almost burning the fingertips as it weaves folklore into reality; these dynamic girls reckoning with an inescapable lineage will change the way you look at the night sky.' -- Amber McBride, National Book Award finalist and author of Me (Moth)
[H] Versify  /  February 11, 2025
For ages 13 and up

(S)kin /// Ibi Zoboi

Hardcover

With a hefty dollop of humor, Atinuke’s rollicking counting story takes on a life of its own when Granny’s mischievous goats start escaping.Granny’s got a goat! Granny’s got a goat!Not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4,but more and more and more and more!Excitement is in the air as Granny collects more and more goats! Eight are great, fifty are nifty . . . but when their number reaches one hundred, things start to get out of hand. There’s a brown goat beeping on the bus, a gray one sitting in the salon, a white goat stealing panties from the line, and one has gone missing altogether—who can count in all this mayhem? Beloved storyteller Atinuke has a field day following goats throughout the town, while a gleeful crowd of children try their best to track them. With colorful, spirited illustrations by Lauren Hind, here’s an uproarious read-aloud you can count on to bring giggles and smiles. BIO Atinuke is a Nigerian-born author of children's books and an oral storyteller of traditional African folktales. REVIEWS "Rollicking, rhythmic prose." -- Publishers Weekly "Atinuke’s text rollicks while Hinds’ illustrations urge readers to slow down to take in every delicious detail. . . Great goatish fun." -- Kirkus Reviews "The energy of the interactive text enables this story to work well as a group read-aloud, while the illustrations, full of funny details to note and one hundred mischievous goats to count and recount, make it equally effective for close looking and sharing." -- The Horn Book [H] Candlewick Press (MA) / May 20, 2025 0.5" H x 11.2" L x 8.8" W (1.0 lbs) 40 pages For ages 3 to 7

100 Goats and Granny! /// Atinuke, illustrations by Lauren Hinds

A highly opinionated wine guide from one of the country's most celebrated — and unorthodox — sommeliers and winemakers In this entertaining, informative, and thoroughly unconventional wine guide, award-winning sommelier, winemaker, and wine educator André Mack presents listeners with the 99 bottles that have most impacted his life. Instead of just pairing wines with foods, Mack pairs practical information with personal stories, offering up recommendations alongside reflections on being one of the only African-Americans to ever work at the top level of the American wine industry. The 99 bottles range from highly accessible commercial wines to the most rarefied Bordeaux on the wine list at The French Laundry, and each bottle offers listeners something to learn about wine. This window into Mack's life combines a maverick's perspective on the wine industry with an insider's advice on navigating wine lists, purchasing wine, and drinking more diverse and interesting selections at home. 99 Bottles is a one-of-a-kind exploration of wine culture today from a true trailblazer. BIO André Mack, one of the US’s top sommeliers, worked at both The French Laundry and Per Se. He is the founder of the Mouton Noir wine, annually producing 13 varietals in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, and he is also a graphic designer and visual artist. His first wine bar is slated to open in early 2019. Mack lives in Brooklyn, New York. [H] Abrams Image / October 29, 2019 0.8" H x 9.0" L x 6.5" W (1.5 lbs) 256 pages

99 Bottles: A Black Sheep's Guide to Life-Changing Wines /// André Hueston Mack, illustrations by Rob Deborde

In this poignant mixed voice, mixed form collection of interconnected prose, poems and stories, teen characters, their families, and their communities grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. Amidst fear and loss, these New York City teens prevail with love, resilience and hope. From the award-winning author of Chlorine Sky and Vinyl Moon.“[A] gorgeous, tender testament to the generation of young people who shouldered the pandemic.”–Brendan Kiely, award-winning and New York Times bestselling authorGrief, pain, hope, and love collide in this short story collection.In New York City, teens, their families, and their communities feel the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amidst the fear and loss, these teens and the adults around them persevere with love and hope while living in difficult circumstances: Malachi writes an Armageddon short story inspired by his pandemic reality. Tariq helps their ailing grandmother survive during quarantine. Zamira struggles with depression and loneliness after losing her parents. Mohamed tries to help keep his community spirit alive. A social worker reflects on the ways the foster system fails their children. From award-winning author Mahogany L. Browne comes a poignant collection of interconnected prose, poems, and lists about the humanity and resilience of New Yorkers during the Covid-19 pandemic. BIO Mahogany L. Browne, a Kennedy Center’s Next 50 fellow, is a writer, playwright, organizer, and educator. Browne received fellowships from All Arts, Arts for Justice, Air Serenbe, Baldwin for the Arts, Cave Canem, Poets House, Mellon Research, Rauschenberg, and Wesleyan University. Browne’s books include A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe, Vinyl Moon, Chlorine Sky (optioned for Steppenwolf Theater), Black Girl Magic, and banned books Woke: A Young Poets Call to Justice and Woke Baby. Founder of the diverse litinitiative Woke Baby Book Fair, Browne is the 2024 Paterson Poetry Prize winner. She is the inaugural poet-in-residence at the Lincoln Center and lives in Brooklyn, NY. [H] Crown Books for Young Readers / March 11, 2025 0.69" H x 8.55" L x 5.53" W (0.61 lbs) 160 pages For ages 12 and up

In this poignant mixed voice, mixed form collection of interconnected prose, poems and stories, teen characters, their families, and their communities grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. Amidst fear and loss, these New York City teens prevail with love, resilience and hope. From the award-winning author of Chlorine Sky and Vinyl Moon. “[A] gorgeous, tender testament to the generation of young people who shouldered the pandemic.” –Brendan Kiely, award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Grief, pain, hope, and love collide in this short story collection. In New York City, teens, their families, and their communities feel the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amidst the fear and loss, these teens and the adults around them persevere with love and hope while living in difficult circumstances: 
<ul>
<li>Malachi writes an Armageddon short story inspired by his pandemic reality.</li>
<li>Tariq helps their ailing grandmother survive during quarantine.</li>
<li>Zamira struggles with depression and loneliness after losing her parents.</li>
<li>Mohamed tries to help keep his community spirit alive.</li>
<li>A social worker reflects on the ways the foster system fails their children.</li>
</ul>
 From award-winning author Mahogany L. Browne comes a poignant collection of interconnected prose, poems, and lists about the humanity and resilience of New Yorkers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
BIO
<meta charset="utf-8">Mahogany L. Browne, a Kennedy Center’s Next 50 fellow, is a writer, playwright, organizer, and educator. Browne received fellowships from All Arts, Arts for Justice, Air Serenbe, Baldwin for the Arts, Cave Canem, Poets House, Mellon Research, Rauschenberg, and Wesleyan University. Browne’s books include A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe, Vinyl Moon, Chlorine Sky (optioned for Steppenwolf Theater), Black Girl Magic, and banned books Woke: A Young Poets Call to Justice and Woke Baby. Founder of the diverse litinitiative Woke Baby Book Fair, Browne is the 2024 Paterson Poetry Prize winner. She is the inaugural poet-in-residence at the Lincoln Center and lives in Brooklyn, NY.
[H]  Crown Books for Young Readers  /  March 11, 2025
<meta charset="utf-8">0.69" H x 8.55" L x 5.53" W (0.61 lbs) 160 pages
For ages 12 and up

A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe /// Mahogany L. Browne

Winner of the Man Booker PrizeOne of Entertainment Weekly's Top 10 Books of the Decade One of the Top 10 Books of 2014 - Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times A "thrilling, ambitious . . . intense" (Los Angeles Times) novel that explores the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in the late 1970s, from the author of Black Leopard, Red Wolf In A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James combines masterful storytelling with his unrivaled skill at characterization and his meticulous eye for detail to forge a novel of dazzling ambition and scope. On December 3, 1976, just before the Jamaican general election and two days before Bob Marley was to play the Smile Jamaica Concert to ease political tensions in Kingston, seven unnamed gunmen stormed the singer's house, machine guns blazing. The attack wounded Marley, his wife, and his manager, and injured several others. Little was officially released about the gunmen, but rumors abounded regarding the assassins' fates. A Brief History of Seven Killings is James's fictional exploration of that dangerous and unstable time in Jamaica's history and beyond. Deftly spanning decades and continents and peopled with a wide range of characters--assassins, drug dealers, journalists, and even ghosts--James brings to life the people who walked the streets of 1970s Kingston, who dominated the crack houses of 1980s New York, and who reemerged into a radically altered Jamaica of the 1990s. Brilliantly inventive, A Brief History of Seven Killings is an "exhilarating" (The New York Times) epic that's been called "a tour de force" (The Wall Street Journal). BIO Marlon James was born in Jamaica in 1970. His most recent novel, A Brief History of Seven Killings, won the 2015 Man Booker Prize. It was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and won the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature for fiction, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for fiction, and the Minnesota Book Award. It was also a New York Times Notable Book. James is also the author of The Book of Night Women, which won the 2010 Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the Minnesota Book Award, and was a finalist for the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award in fiction and an NAACP Image Award. His first novel, John Crow's Devil, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for first fiction and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was a New York Times Editors' Choice. James lives in Minneapolis. REVIEWS "How to describe Marlon James's monumental new novel A Brief History of Seven Killings? It's like a Tarantino remake of The Harder They Come but with a soundtrack by Bob Marley and a script by Oliver Stone and William Faulkner, with maybe a little creative boost from some primo ganja. It's epic in every sense of that word: sweeping, mythic, over-the-top, colossal and dizzyingly complex. It's also raw, dense, violent, scalding, darkly comic, exhilarating and exhausting--a testament to Mr. James's vaulting ambition and prodigious talent." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times "James has written a dangerous book, one full of lore and whispers and history... [a] great book... James nibbles at theories of who did what and why, and scripts Marley's quest for revenge with the pace of a thriller. His achievement, however, goes far beyond opening up this terrible moment in the life of a great musician. He gives us the streets, the people, especially the desperate, the Jamaicans whom Marley exhorted to: 'Open your eyes and look within: / Are you satisfied with the life you're living?'" -- The Boston Globe "A sweeping novel that touches on family, friendship, celebrity, art, sexuality, ghetto politics, geopolitics, drug trade, gender, race and more, sending the reader from Jamaica to New York via Miami and Cuba and back." -- Newsweek [H] Riverhead Books / October 02, 2014 ﻿1.41" H x 9.55" L x 6.42" W (2.2 lbs) 688 pages [P] Riverhead Books / September 08, 2015 1.7" H x 8.2" L x 5.4" W (1.35 lbs) 704 pages

A Brief History of Seven Killings /// Marlon James

"A dozen interlinked, music-oriented stories set in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, where Garricks was raised... Each songlike story feels like a breakout hit encapsulating the brokenness and the beauty in life’s soundtrack."—Booklist, starred review “Beautifully woven . . . a magical delight.”—Hari Kunzru, author of White Tears A Broken People’s Playlist is set to the soundtrack of life, comprised of twelve music-inspired tales about love, the human condition, micro-moments, and the search for meaning and sometimes, redemption. It is also Chimeka Garricks’s love letter to his native city, Port Harcourt, introducing us to a cast of indelible characters in these loosely interlocked tales. There is the teenage wannabe-DJ eager to play his first gig even as his family disastrously falls apart—who reappears many years later as an unhappy middle-aged man drunk-calling his ex-wife; a man who throws a living funeral for his dying brother; three friends who ponder penis captivus and one’s peculiar erectile dysfunction; a troubled woman who tries to find her peace-place in the world, helped by a headful of songs and a pot of ginger tea. Infused with the author’s resonant and evocative storytelling, each page holds “the depth of a novel” (Hari Kunzru); a character, a moment that will—like a favorite song—long linger in the heart and mind. BIO Chimeka Garricks is a Nigerian-Irish writer, editor, screenwriter, and script doctor. His work includes a collection of short stories, A Broken People's Playlist, a novel, and a script in development. He lives in the United Kingdom. REVIEWS "A dozen interlinked, music-oriented stories set in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, where Garricks was raised... Each songlike story feels like a breakout hit encapsulating the brokenness and the beauty in life’s soundtrack." -- Booklist (starred review) "These stories will stay with you long after you’ve turned the final page." -- She Reads, Best Book Club Pick of Spring 2023 "A Broken People’s Playlist is an addictive collection of authentic prose. Story after story made me stop to reflect on the complexities of life, our various loves––be it family, friendship or romance––and the way we’re all connected. Elegant, graceful and full of understanding, Garrick’s writing unwraps stories that touch the soul and make you glad to be part of the human race." -- Bisi Adjapon, author of The Teller of Secrets and Daughter in Exile [H] Harpervia / March 21, 2023 1.02" H x 8.35" L x 5.67" W (0.7 lbs) 224 pages [P] Harpervia / January 21, 2025 0.7" H x 8.2" L x 5.2" W (0.4 lbs) 224 pages

"A dozen interlinked, music-oriented stories set in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, where Garricks was raised... Each songlike story feels like a breakout hit encapsulating the brokenness and the beauty in life’s soundtrack."—Booklist, starred review
“Beautifully woven . . . a magical delight.”—Hari Kunzru, author of White Tears
A Broken People’s Playlist is set to the soundtrack of life, comprised of twelve music-inspired tales about love, the human condition, micro-moments, and the search for meaning and sometimes, redemption. It is also Chimeka Garricks’s love letter to his native city, Port Harcourt, introducing us to a cast of indelible characters in these loosely interlocked tales.
There is the teenage wannabe-DJ eager to play his first gig even as his family disastrously falls apart—who reappears many years later as an unhappy middle-aged man drunk-calling his ex-wife; a man who throws a living funeral for his dying brother; three friends who ponder penis captivus and one’s peculiar erectile dysfunction; a troubled woman who tries to find her peace-place in the world, helped by a headful of songs and a pot of ginger tea.
Infused with the author’s resonant and evocative storytelling, each page holds “the depth of a novel” (Hari Kunzru); a character, a moment that will—like a favorite song—long linger in the heart and mind.
BIO
<meta charset="utf-8">Chimeka Garricks is a Nigerian-Irish writer, editor, screenwriter, and script doctor. His work includes a collection of short stories, A Broken People's Playlist, a novel, and a script in development. He lives in the United Kingdom.
REVIEWS
"A dozen interlinked, music-oriented stories set in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, where Garricks was raised... Each songlike story feels like a breakout hit encapsulating the brokenness and the beauty in life’s soundtrack." -- Booklist (starred review)
"These stories will stay with you long after you’ve turned the final page." -- She Reads, Best Book Club Pick of Spring 2023
"A Broken People’s Playlist is an addictive collection of authentic prose. Story after story made me stop to reflect on the complexities of life, our various loves––be it family, friendship or romance––and the way we’re all connected. Elegant, graceful and full of understanding, Garrick’s writing unwraps stories that touch the soul and make you glad to be part of the human race." -- Bisi Adjapon, author of The Teller of Secrets and Daughter in Exile
[H]  Harpervia  /  March 21, 2023
<meta charset="utf-8"><meta charset="utf-8">1.02" H x 8.35" L x 5.67" W (0.7 lbs) 224 pages 
[P]  Harpervia  /  January 21, 2025
<meta charset="utf-8">0.7" H x 8.2" L x 5.2" W (0.4 lbs) 224 pages

A Broken People's Playlist: Stories (from Songs) /// Chimeka Garricks

Winner of the 1988 Before Columbus Foundation National Book Award, this path-breaking collection of essays is a clarion call to build communities that nurture our spirit. Lorde announces the need for a radical politics of intersectionality while struggling to maintain her own faith as she wages a battle against liver cancer. From reflections on her struggle with the disease to thoughts on lesbian sexuality and African-American identity in a straight white man's world, Lorde's voice remains enduringly relevant in today's political landscape. Those who practice and encourage social justice activism frequently quote her exhortation, "Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare." In addition to the journal entries of "A Burst of Light: Living with Cancer," this edition includes an interview, "Sadomasochism: Not About Condemnation," and three essays, "I Am Your Sister: Black Women Organizing Across Sexualities," "Apartheid U.S.A.," and "Turning the Beat Around: Lesbian Parenting 1986," as well as a new Foreword by Sonia Sanchez. BIO A great American theorist of race, sexuality, gender, living, and dying, poet and activist Audre Lorde (1934–1992) created a body of work that was ahead of its time in its embrace of intersectionality. Her debut poetry collection, 1973's From a Land Where Other People Live, was nominated for the National Book Award and she was named New York State's Poet Laureate and received the Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement. Other notable works include The Cancer Journals, her novel Zami, and the collection Sister Outsider. A member of the Black Arts Movement and a prominent advocate of the Afro-German identity during her years studying in Berlin, Lorde's writings have become increasingly influential since her death in 1992 of liver cancer. REVIEWS "You don't read Audre Lorde, you feel her." -- Essence"Lorde's timeless prose in this collection provides contemporary social justice warriors the language, strategies, and lessons around resistance, through the power of intersectionality, a Pan-African vision, and — ultimately — through the power of love and radical self-care." -- NBC News"When I don't know what to do, I turn to the Lorde." -- Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Bitch Media"Whenever my mind is heavy with questions and my heart thirsts for nourishment, I turn to the writing of Audre Lorde. Every time I revisit the words of Audre Lorde, I marvel over how relevant they continue to be." -- AfterEllen.com "The self-described black feminist lesbian mother poet used a mixture of prose, theory, poetry, and experience to interrogate oppressions and uplift marginalized communities. She was one of the first black feminists to target heteronormativity, and to encourage black feminists to expand their understanding of erotic pleasure. She amplified anti-oppression, even as breast cancer ravaged her ailing body." -- Evette Dionne, Bustle Magazine [H] Ixia Press / September 13, 2017 0.6" H x 8.7" L x 5.8" W (0.6 lbs) 144 pages [P] Lushena Press / June 29, 2023 0.29" H x 8.5" L x 5.5" W (0.3 lbs) 108 pages

A Burst of Light: and Other Essays /// Audre Lorde, foreword by Sonia Sanchez, illustrations by Jen Keenan

A poetic debut picture book, inspired by Baltimore, that celebrates community action. Sometimes, a neighborhood feels forgotten. But in the vibrant imagination of one young girl, there are dreams of a different city. In her dreams, her city is a fantastic place. And together with her neighbors, she can make it better. More beautiful. Safe. Maybe Something Beautiful meets Something, Someday in this deeply touching ode to cities and urban spaces that reveals the transformative power of communal love, creativity, and hope. BIO B. Sharise Moore is a proud mom, author, curriculum developer, host, and the poetry editor for FIYAH: Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction. She is the author of the YA novel Dr. Mavellus Djinn’s Odd Scholars, and she curated and edited Conjuring Worlds: An Afrofuturist Textbook for Middle and High School Students. A City Dream is her first picture book. B. Sharise lives in Baltimore with her husband and children, and you can find her at bsharisewrites.com. REVIEWS "An optimistic and actionable call to community engagement." -- Kirkus Reviews "[An] empowering vision of change-making." -- Publishers Weekly "Inviting and full of hope, this is a perfect book for a lapsit read that helps littles imagine brighter futures." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books [H] HarperCollins / October 21, 2025 0.37" H x 8.77" L x 11.29" W (0.89 lbs) 40 pages For ages 4 to 8

A poetic debut picture book, inspired by Baltimore, that celebrates community action.
Sometimes, a neighborhood feels forgotten.
But in the vibrant imagination of one young girl, there are dreams of a different city.
In her dreams, her city is a fantastic place.
And together with her neighbors, she can make it better.
More beautiful.
Safe.
Maybe Something Beautiful meets Something, Someday in this deeply touching ode to cities and urban spaces that reveals the transformative power of communal love, creativity, and hope.
BIO
<meta charset="utf-8">B. Sharise Moore is a proud mom, author, curriculum developer, host, and the poetry editor for FIYAH: Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction. She is the author of the YA novel Dr. Mavellus Djinn’s Odd Scholars, and she curated and edited Conjuring Worlds: An Afrofuturist Textbook for Middle and High School Students. A City Dream is her first picture book. B. Sharise lives in Baltimore with her husband and children, and you can find her at bsharisewrites.com.
REVIEWS
"An optimistic and actionable call to community engagement."  -- Kirkus Reviews
"[An] empowering vision of change-making." -- Publishers Weekly
"Inviting and full of hope, this is a perfect book for a lapsit read that helps littles imagine brighter futures." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
[H]  HarperCollins  /  October 21, 2025<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta charset="utf-8">0.37" H x 8.77" L x 11.29" W (0.89 lbs) 40 pages
For ages 4 to 8

A City Dream /// B. Sharise Moore, illustrations by Trudi-Ann Hemans /// new

A new cookbook for beginners and curious cooks by Emmy Award–winning talk show host and journalist Tamron Hall and her good friend, award-winning chef Lish Steiling.When Tamron Hall and Lish Steiling first met while working at the Today show, they never imagined that their friendship would lead to endless kitchen adventures filled with laughs, learning, and even tears of pure joy. In A Confident Cook, they share that same empowerment and excitement with those who are just beginning to cook.Learn how to select the tools you need (and skip the ones you don’t!), how to stock your pantry, and how to cook for one, two, or a whole group. This book is packed with scrumptious recipes, including Baked French Toast with Sparkling Berries, Crispy Fried Chicken, Harissa Roasted Carrots with Queso Fresco, and Chai-Spiced Pudding, as well as cocktails and mocktails like the delicious “Not Tonight, Satan.” Throughout, Lish and Tamron chat, teach, learn, and inspire you to keep it going in the kitchen! BIO Tamron Hall is an American broadcast journalist, television talk show host and author. In September 2019, Hall debuted her self-titled syndicated daytime talk show, which has earned her two Daytime Emmy Awards. REVIEWS “Lish and Tamron’s passion for cooking and sharing meals with family and friends comes crashing through the pages of this playful compendium of simple, delicious recipes and techniques. The book is chatty and personal, with very clear directions on how to really set up your kitchen and become a confident cook. With irresistible recipes like Big Citrus Dutch Baby with Ice Cream Sauce for brunch and Chicken Thighs with Dates and Olives for dinner, I am in. You need this book!” -- Suzanne Goin “Get ready for a culinary adventure like no other! A Confident Cook is not your average recipe collection. It’s a conversation between friends. Join Lish and Tamron as they deliver simple and tasty twists to your favorite dishes, from classics to favorites. Get ready to explore a whole new world of deliciousness!” -- Carla Hall“A Confident Cook is what happens when two genuine pros collaborate—in this case, a seasoned chef and an acclaimed host/interviewer. Together, Tamron and Lish get at the very heart and soul of cooking, why it matters, how it connects us, and how truly satisfying it can be when done with patience and love. Theirs is a friendship worth celebrating!” -- Gail Simmons“A Confident Cook is the perfect title for this book. It will give you the skills and tips you’ve always wanted and will make you feel great in the kitchen. It is amazing to see a professional like Lish teach her friend Tamron the ins and outs of cooking. Lish makes everything look so easy due to her vast background, and has an extremely wide range of what she can cook. You will use this book day in and day out as your reference bible for things we all want to master—the perfectly cooked eggs, the crispiest roast chicken, the ultimate potatoes, the simplest desserts that will make you look like a pro. Brava, Tamron and Lish.” -- Missy Robbins [H] Hyperion Avenue / September 03, 2024 0.9" H x 9.7" L x 7.7" W (2.7 lbs) 256 pages

A new cookbook for beginners and curious cooks by Emmy Award–winning talk show host and journalist Tamron Hall and her good friend, award-winning chef Lish Steiling. When Tamron Hall and Lish Steiling first met while working at the Today show, they never imagined that their friendship would lead to endless kitchen adventures filled with laughs, learning, and even tears of pure joy. In A Confident Cook, they share that same empowerment and excitement with those who are just beginning to cook. Learn how to select the tools you need (and skip the ones you don’t!), how to stock your pantry, and how to cook for one, two, or a whole group. This book is packed with scrumptious recipes, including Baked French Toast with Sparkling Berries, Crispy Fried Chicken, Harissa Roasted Carrots with Queso Fresco, and Chai-Spiced Pudding, as well as cocktails and mocktails like the delicious “Not Tonight, Satan.” Throughout, Lish and Tamron chat, teach, learn, and inspire you to keep it going in the kitchen!
BIO
<meta charset="utf-8">Tamron Hall is an American broadcast journalist, television talk show host and author. In September 2019, Hall debuted her self-titled syndicated daytime talk show, which has earned her two Daytime Emmy Awards.
REVIEWS
“Lish and Tamron’s passion for cooking and sharing meals with family and friends comes crashing through the pages of this playful compendium of simple, delicious recipes and techniques. The book is chatty and personal, with very clear directions on how to really set up your kitchen and become a confident cook. With irresistible recipes like Big Citrus Dutch Baby with Ice Cream Sauce for brunch and Chicken Thighs with Dates and Olives for dinner, I am in. You need this book!”  -- Suzanne Goin   “Get ready for a culinary adventure like no other! A Confident Cook is not your average recipe collection. It’s a conversation between friends. Join Lish and Tamron as they deliver simple and tasty twists to your favorite dishes, from classics to favorites. Get ready to explore a whole new world of deliciousness!” -- Carla Hall “A Confident Cook is what happens when two genuine pros collaborate—in this case, a seasoned chef and an acclaimed host/interviewer. Together, Tamron and Lish get at the very heart and soul of cooking, why it matters, how it connects us, and how truly satisfying it can be when done with patience and love. Theirs is a friendship worth celebrating!” -- Gail Simmons “A Confident Cook is the perfect title for this book. It will give you the skills and tips you’ve always wanted and will make you feel great in the kitchen. It is amazing to see a professional like Lish teach her friend Tamron the ins and outs of cooking. Lish makes everything look so easy due to her vast background, and has an extremely wide range of what she can cook. You will use this book day in and day out as your reference bible for things we all want to master—the perfectly cooked eggs, the crispiest roast chicken, the ultimate potatoes, the simplest desserts that will make you look like a pro. Brava, Tamron and Lish.”  -- Missy Robbins
[H]  Hyperion Avenue  /  September 03, 2024
<meta charset="utf-8"><meta charset="utf-8">0.9" H x 9.7" L x 7.7" W (2.7 lbs) 256 pages 
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A Confident Cook: Recipes for Joyous, No-Pressure Fun in the Kitchen /// Tamron Hall, Lish Sterling

A Domestic Cook Book (1866) by Malinda Russell is the oldest known published cookbook written by an African American woman. Born in Tennessee, and descended from Virginia freemen, Russell decided to move to Liberia at the age of 19. When her money for the trip was stolen, she was stranded in Lynchburg, Virginia, and began working as a cook and companion, traveling with women as a nurse. After living in Lynchburg for only four years, Russell’s husband died and she moved with her son to Tennessee where she kept a boarding house and then went on to run a pastry shop. After a second dramatic robbery in 1864, Russell moved to Paw Paw, Michigan, because she had heard it was the “garden of the west” and published a cookbook “with the intention of benefiting the public” as well as supporting herself. A Domestic Cook Book contains 260 recipes and household tips that draw from Malinda Russell’s twenty years of experience cooking in Southern kitchens, her boarding house, and her pastry shop, and showcase her skills as a pastry chef. This new edition includes a foreword by scholar Rafia Zafar as well as an introduction by the late food historian Janice Bluestein Longone that contextualize Russell’s cookbook. Using the only known copy of the original book housed in the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive at the University of Michigan Library's Special Collections Research Center, this new edition preserves an important part of Michigan and American history and makes it widely available to readers for the first time. BIO Malinda Russell was born and raised in eastern Tennessee. In 1864, Russell moved to Michigan, where she settled in the Paw Paw area and published this volume in 1866. [P] University of Michigan Regional / February 18, 2025 120 pages

A Domestic Cook Book (1866) by Malinda Russell is the oldest known published cookbook written by an African American woman. Born in Tennessee, and descended from Virginia freemen, Russell decided to move to Liberia at the age of 19. When her money for the trip was stolen, she was stranded in Lynchburg, Virginia, and began working as a cook and companion, traveling with women as a nurse. After living in Lynchburg for only four years, Russell’s husband died and she moved with her son to Tennessee where she kept a boarding house and then went on to run a pastry shop. After a second dramatic robbery in 1864, Russell moved to Paw Paw, Michigan, because she had heard it was the “garden of the west” and published a cookbook “with the intention of benefiting the public” as well as supporting herself.
A Domestic Cook Book contains 260 recipes and household tips that draw from Malinda Russell’s twenty years of experience cooking in Southern kitchens, her boarding house, and her pastry shop, and showcase her skills as a pastry chef. This new edition includes a foreword by scholar Rafia Zafar as well as an introduction by the late food historian Janice Bluestein Longone that contextualize Russell’s cookbook. Using the only known copy of the original book housed in the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive at the University of Michigan Library's Special Collections Research Center, this new edition preserves an important part of Michigan and American history and makes it widely available to readers for the first time.
BIO
Malinda Russell was born and raised in eastern Tennessee. In 1864, Russell moved to Michigan, where she settled in the Paw Paw area and published this volume in 1866.
[P]  University of Michigan Regional  /  February 18, 2025
<meta charset="utf-8">120 pages

A Domestic Cook Book Containing a Careful Selection of Useful Receipts for the Kitchen /// Malinda Russell

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Expert quilter Kim Taylor shares a unique and powerful story of the celebration of the first Juneteenth, from the perspective of a young girl.On June 19, 1865, in Galveston, General Gordon Granger of the Union Army delivered the message that African Americans in Texas were free. Since then, Juneteenth, as the day has come to be known, has steadily gained recognition throughout the United States. ln 2020,a powerful wave of protests and demonstrations calling for racial justice and equality brought new awareness to the significance of the holiday.A Flag for Juneteenth depicts a close-knit community of enslaved African Americans on a plantation in Texas, the day before the announcement is to be made that all enslaved people are free. Young Huldah, who is preparing to celebrate her tenth birthday, can’t possibly anticipate how much her life will change that Juneteenth morning. The story follows Huldah and her community as they process the news of their freedom and celebrate together by creating a community freedom flag. Debut author and artist Kim Taylor sets this story apart by applying her skills as an expert quilter. Each of the illustrations has been lovingly hand sewn and quilted, giving the book a homespun, tactile quality that is altogether unique. BIO Kim Taylor is a speech language pathologist and Department Supervisor at a large school for deaf children on Long Island. She is also an expert quilter whose works have been exhibited at several venues throughout the Midatlantic region. Taylor’s quilts reflect African American life, and she tells stories through her materials (visit Kim’s website to see her quilts). After researching the origins of the Juneteenth celebration, she created a Juneteenth story quilt which she has exhibited and presented in dozens of local schools. Realizing that few teachers and students had ever heard of the holiday, she was moved to write the book A Flag for Juneteenth. REVIEWS “The picture book . . . not only reveals Taylor’s considerable talents as an inspiring raconteur but as a self-taught quilter whose creations uniquely and symbolically illustrate the historically based narrative.” -- Newsday★ ”Kim Taylor’s portrayal of a girl witnessing the first Juneteenth, accompanied by exquisite quilted artwork, is filled with a spirit of jubilation and freedom. . . . her textile art perfectly complements her evocative prose. . . .” -- BookPage, Starred Review “The illustrations quilted by Taylor display strong artistic use of color, texture, movement, stitching, and symbols. Each page has vibrant colors that grab readers at first glance. . . . Taylor effectively breathes life into the characters, even those muddled in the background, by showing their humanity in each page.” -- School Library Journal“Both lyrical and descriptive, Huldah’s voice conveys the joy that is found in freedom. . . . A great introduction to the federal holiday.” -- The Horn Book“Taylor aptly depicts this story through colorful woven fabrics and folk art-style, quilted scenes.” -- Booklist“[A] moving debut. . . . It’s a discussion-starting, personal-feeling portrait of a communal celebration.” -- Publishers Weekly“The art in this work from quilter Taylor is stunning. The craftsmanship and attention to detail are breathtaking. . . . Visually dazzling. . . .” -- Kirkus Reviews [H] Neal Porter Books / January 03, 2023 0.39" H x 10.24" L x 9.92" W (0.92 lbs) 40 pages

A Flag for Juneteenth /// Kim Taylor

One of the Gardin women must navigate a season rich with unexpected challenges in the follow-up to The Gardins of Edin, a heartwarming story about love, forgiveness, new beginnings, and what it takes to get there.Martha Gardin is a mess, and no one knows this better than the women in her family. Good-hearted but often misguided by distrust and insecurity, Martha is known for stirring up drama. That’s why Ruth, Naomi, and Mary are pleasantly surprised when Martha mellows out after she begins dating one of the most eligible bachelors in town. Handsome, well-connected Oji Greenwald is everything Martha hoped to find in a man, and it’s only a matter of time before he pops the question. Rarely caught off guard, Martha is accustomed to getting her way. But when it appears she’s finally about to have the life she’s always wanted, a crisis in Oji’s family brings out Martha’s tendency to try to save the day her way, and the divide deepens between her and Oji’s already indifferent mother, Eve. Confronted with these unforeseen challenges to her plans, Martha finds herself on a journey that forces her to fully acknowledge her previous mistakes and reconcile her past. But will it be enough to deliver her the future—and the love—her heart desires? BIO Rosey Lee is the author of The Gardins of Edin. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and grew up on the Westbank of New Orleans, Louisiana. REVIEWS “If you’re craving a heartfelt, character-driven story about love, legacy, healing, and what it means to truly show up for your people (and yourself), don’t sleep on this series.” -- Emely Rumble, LCSW, bibliotherapist and author of Bibliotherapy in The Bronx [P] Prh Christian Publishing / May 13, 2025 0.9" H x 8.2" L x 5.4" W (0.6 lbs) 304 pages

A Gardin Wedding: A Gardin of Edin Novel /// Rosey Lee

﻿A Good Day to Bake is full of 70 sweet and savory baking recipes for any day of the week, led by flavor. Going through the ritual of bringing out the measuring scales, pouring out flour, whipping up the eggs, stirring the batter and impatiently slicing up warm cake is a beautiful thing that deserves to be enjoyed all year round no matter the day, season or occasion. This is a cookbook that embraces simplicity, mindfulness and the therapeutic comforts of baking. The Great British Bake Off's 2016 contestant Benjamina writes so warmly about cakes and her recipes speak to a natural, seasonal and down-to-earth way of baking. Chapters include Herbs & Tea, Stone Fruit & Berries, Vegetables, Best of Beige, Spice Cupboard, and Chocolate. Because every day is a good day to bake. BIO Benjamina Ebuehi writes recipes, styles and creates content for media, such as BBC Good Food, Waitrose Weekend and Guardian Feast as well as brands such as Sainsbury's, McVities, Lindt, Lyles Golden Syrup, Anthropologie, Baileys and Schwartz spices. Benjamina is an ambassador for the incredible social enterprise Luminary Bakery, and co-founded, with her sister Bonita, The Sister Table (www.thesistertable.com), hosting pop-up brunches and supper clubs for women across London. Her food blog Carrot and Crumb (www.carrotandcrumb.com) was a finalist in the 2019 Saveur Blog Awards. A Good Day to Bake is her second cookbook. [H] Quadrille Publishing / March 01, 2022 0.9" H x 9.9" L x 7.5" W (1.85 lbs) 192 pages

﻿<meta charset="UTF-8">A Good Day to Bake is full of 70 sweet and savory baking recipes for any day of the week, led by flavor. 
Going through the ritual of bringing out the measuring scales, pouring out flour, whipping up the eggs, stirring the batter and impatiently slicing up warm cake is a beautiful thing that deserves to be enjoyed all year round no matter the day, season or occasion. 
This is a cookbook that embraces simplicity, mindfulness and the therapeutic comforts of baking. The Great British Bake Off's 2016 contestant Benjamina writes so warmly about cakes and her recipes speak to a natural, seasonal and down-to-earth way of baking. Chapters include Herbs &amp; Tea, Stone Fruit &amp; Berries, Vegetables, Best of Beige, Spice Cupboard, and Chocolate. 
Because every day is a good day to bake.
BIO
Benjamina Ebuehi writes recipes, styles and creates content for media, such as BBC Good Food, Waitrose Weekend and Guardian Feast as well as brands such as Sainsbury's, McVities, Lindt, Lyles Golden Syrup, Anthropologie, Baileys and Schwartz spices.
Benjamina is an ambassador for the incredible social enterprise Luminary Bakery, and co-founded, with her sister Bonita, The Sister Table (www.thesistertable.com), hosting pop-up brunches and supper clubs for women across London. Her food blog Carrot and Crumb (www.carrotandcrumb.com) was a finalist in the 2019 Saveur Blog Awards.
A Good Day to Bake is her second cookbook.
[H] Quadrille Publishing  /  March 01, 2022
0.9" H x 9.9" L x 7.5" W (1.85 lbs) 192 pages

A Good Day to Bake: Simple Baking Recipes for Every Mood /// Benjamina Ebuehi

“A compelling story of how the transformative events of history weigh on individual lives and relationships.” - Barack ObamaThe Nobel Prize–nominated Kenyan writer’s best-known novel, featuring an introduction by Nobel Prize winner Abdulrazak GurnahSet in the wake of the Mau Mau rebellion and on the cusp of Kenya's independence from Britain, A Grain of Wheat follows a group of villagers whose lives have been transformed by the 1952–1960 Emergency. At the center of it all is the reticent Mugo, the village's chosen hero and a man haunted by a terrible secret. As we learn of the villagers' tangled histories in a narrative interwoven with myth and peppered with allusions to real-life leaders, including Jomo Kenyatta, a masterly story unfolds in which compromises are forced, friendships are betrayed, and loves are tested. BIO Ngugi wa Thiong'o is an award-winning novelist, playwright, and essayist from Kenya whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages. He lives in Irvine, California, where he is Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine. REVIEWS “One of the greatest writers of our time.” -- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Guardian“His novels . . . have been deservedly canonized by the iconic [Penguin Classics] series.” --The Wall Street Journal [P] Penguin Group / June 05, 2012 0.8" H x 7.6" L x 5.1" W (0.45 lbs) 272 pages

A Grain of Wheat /// Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, introduction by Abdulrazak Gurnah, edited by Chinua Achebe

The New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • Longlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction​ • A sweeping and beautifully rendered exploration of home and yearning, following the fracturing of a family upon the demise of its patriarch“Each character here is richly and deeply drawn…This is a novel that encourages us to stand in life’s burning doorways, and to think long before we walk away or walk through.”—New York TimesIn the early hours of June 14, 2017, the world watches as flames leap up the sides of a residential high-rise in West London, consuming Grenfell Tower and many of the lives within it. Across town, an earlier spark has caught fire. A cigarette left burning in an ashtray. A table strewn with post-it reminders and old newspapers. And one Cornelius Winston Pitt—estranged husband, complicated dad, and Pitt family patriarch—takes his final breaths alone.These twin tragedies open Diana Evans’s A House for Alice, an aching portrait of a family of women shaken by loss and searching for closure. At the novel’s center is Alice herself, the Pitt matriarch who, after fifty years in England, now longs to live out her final years in her homeland of Nigeria. Her three daughters are torn on the issue of whether she stays or goes, and while youngest sibling Melissa also grapples with the embers of her own failed relationship, the Pitt family’s foundational pillars—of trust, love, and cultural identity—begin to crack.Intimately drawn and set against a fraught political backdrop, yet equally full of hope, humor, and humanity, A House for Alice traces the scars of grief and betrayal across generations and uncovers the secrets we keep from those closest to us. BIO Diana Evans is the author of the novels 26a, The Wonder and Ordinary People. She has received nominations for the Whitbread First Novel, the Guardian First Book and the Commonwealth Best First Book awards and was the inaugural winner of the Orange Award for New Writers. Ordinary People won the 2019 South Bank Sky Arts Award for Literature and was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Rathbones Folio Prize and the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction, and also received a nomination for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction. Her journalism appears in among others Time magazine, the Guardian, Vogue, and the Financial Times. She lives in London. REVIEWS A Most Anticipated Book: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Good Morning America •“Each character here is richly and deeply drawn, with histories and personalities so fully realized that it’s a pleasure to get to know them…This is a novel that encourages us to stand in life’s burning doorways, and to think long before we walk away or walk through.” -- New York Times“A beautiful, deep exploration of home and fractured families” -- Good Morning America“Twin domestic tragedies entwine in this richly loving and fraught novel. The 2017 Grenfell Towers fire in London looms as Diana Evans juxtaposes this disaster with the death of a patriarch whose loss complicates the actions of his wife, Alice, who longs to return at last to her homeland, Nigeria.” -- Boston Globe“The shifting sands of relationships, time, and place frame a vibrant new novel from an award-winning British writer.Broad in range, vivid in detail, alight often with eloquent language, Evans’ fourth novel, set among a Black community in London, takes time to reveal itself. Sprawling but always engaging, the novel’s cast is filled with rounded individuals, their problems and options as Black, middle-class Londoners showcased at work and play and contemplation, with humor and empathy.” -- Kirkus Review (starred review) “All is conjured with Evans’s keen eye for human behavior… Her prose is distinguished by its lively, lyrical energy, by its seemingly effortless expansiveness, and by masterful turns of phrase” -- Guardian “A warm but devastating narrative, dealing with the fallout of the Grenfell tragedy… Like any Evans novel, it is unputdownable” -- Harper’s Bazaar “Evans…has an exquisite turn of phrase…The people on the page, and the problems they face, are real and raw" -- Times UK [H] Pantheon Books / September 12, 2023 1.6" H x 9.3" L x 6.1" W (1.35 lbs) 352 pages

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The New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • Longlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction​ • A sweeping and beautifully rendered exploration of home and yearning, following the fracturing of a family upon the demise of its patriarch “Each character here is richly and deeply drawn…This is a novel that encourages us to stand in life’s burning doorways, and to think long before we walk away or walk through.” —New York Times In the early hours of June 14, 2017, the world watches as flames leap up the sides of a residential high-rise in West London, consuming Grenfell Tower and many of the lives within it. Across town, an earlier spark has caught fire. A cigarette left burning in an ashtray. A table strewn with post-it reminders and old newspapers. And one Cornelius Winston Pitt—estranged husband, complicated dad, and Pitt family patriarch—takes his final breaths alone. These twin tragedies open Diana Evans’s A House for Alice, an aching portrait of a family of women shaken by loss and searching for closure. At the novel’s center is Alice herself, the Pitt matriarch who, after fifty years in England, now longs to live out her final years in her homeland of Nigeria. Her three daughters are torn on the issue of whether she stays or goes, and while youngest sibling Melissa also grapples with the embers of her own failed relationship, the Pitt family’s foundational pillars—of trust, love, and cultural identity—begin to crack. Intimately drawn and set against a fraught political backdrop, yet equally full of hope, humor, and humanity, A House for Alice traces the scars of grief and betrayal across generations and uncovers the secrets we keep from those closest to us.
BIO
<meta charset="utf-8">Diana Evans is the author of the novels 26a, The Wonder and Ordinary People. She has received nominations for the Whitbread First Novel, the Guardian First Book and the Commonwealth Best First Book awards and was the inaugural winner of the Orange Award for New Writers. Ordinary People won the 2019 South Bank Sky Arts Award for Literature and was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Rathbones Folio Prize and the Orwell Prize for Political Fiction, and also received a nomination for the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction. Her journalism appears in among others Time magazine, the Guardian, Vogue, and the Financial Times. She lives in London.
REVIEWS
<meta charset="utf-8">A Most Anticipated Book: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Good Morning America • “Each character here is richly and deeply drawn, with histories and personalities so fully realized that it’s a pleasure to get to know them…This is a novel that encourages us to stand in life’s burning doorways, and to think long before we walk away or walk through.” -- New York Times “A beautiful, deep exploration of home and fractured families” -- Good Morning America “Twin domestic tragedies entwine in this richly loving and fraught novel. The 2017 Grenfell Towers fire in London looms as Diana Evans juxtaposes this disaster with the death of a patriarch whose loss complicates the actions of his wife, Alice, who longs to return at last to her homeland, Nigeria.” -- Boston Globe “The shifting sands of relationships, time, and place frame a vibrant new novel from an award-winning British writer. Broad in range, vivid in detail, alight often with eloquent language, Evans’ fourth novel, set among a Black community in London, takes time to reveal itself. Sprawling but always engaging, the novel’s cast is filled with rounded individuals, their problems and options as Black, middle-class Londoners showcased at work and play and contemplation, with humor and empathy.” -- Kirkus Review (starred review)   “All is conjured with Evans’s keen eye for human behavior… Her prose is distinguished by its lively, lyrical energy, by its seemingly effortless expansiveness, and by masterful turns of phrase” -- Guardian   “A warm but devastating narrative, dealing with the fallout of the Grenfell tragedy… Like any Evans novel, it is unputdownable” -- Harper’s Bazaar   “Evans…has an exquisite turn of phrase…The people on the page, and the problems they face, are real and raw" -- Times UK
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[H]  Pantheon Books  /  September 12, 2023 
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A House for Alice /// Diana Evans

Our history echoes with events which, over time, have become hidden, yet are important to all of us. Juneteenth is a celebration which recognizes the end of the enslavement of Black people in America. This book opens a door to understanding our history and celebrating our future—together.Meet A Kids Co., a new kind of media company with a collection of beautifully designed books that kickstart challenging, empowering, and important conversations for kids and their grownups. Learn more about us at akidsco.com. BIO Garrison Hayes (he/him) is a filmmaker, creator, and entrepreneur who amplifies stories which change the world. He believes the truth of the past helps us better understand the present and gives us the foundation to build a better tomorrow. [H] DK Publishing / May 21, 2024 0.5" H x 10.5" L x 8.3" W (0.9 lbs) 64 pages For ages 6 to 9

A Kids Book About Juneteenth /// Garrison Hayes

“Steady-handed and gut-punching. I’m in awe.”—NoViolet Bulawayo An Oprah Daily Most Anticipated Book of 2024 In ten vivid, evocative stories set in contemporary Nigeria, Uche Okonkwo’s extraordinary debut asks: why are the people and places we hold closest so often the ones that drive us to madness? A teenage girl from a poor family is dazzled by her rich, vivacious friend, but as the friend’s behavior grows unstable and dangerous, she must decide whether to cover for her or risk telling the truth to get her the help she needs. A young woman and her mother bask in the envy of their neighbors when the woman receives an offer of marriage from the family of a doctor living in Belgium—though when the offer fails to materialize, that envy threatens to turn vicious, pitting them both against their community. And a lonely daughter finds herself wandering a village in eastern Nigeria in an ill-fated quest, struggling to come to terms with her mother’s mental illness. Across ten stories, Uche Okonkwo’s A Kind of Madness unravels the tensions between mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, best friends, siblings, and more, marking the arrival of an extraordinary new talent in fiction. BIO Uche Okonkwo’s stories have been published in A Public Space, One Story, the Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2019, and Lagos Noir, among others. A former Bernard O’Keefe Scholar at Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and resident at Art Omi, she is a recipient of the George Bennett Fellowship at Phillips Exeter Academy, a Steinbeck Fellowship, and an Elizabeth George Foundation grant. Okonkwo grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, and is currently pursuing a creative writing PhD at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln REVIEWS "This debut short-story collection features 10 stories set in present-day Nigeria, all concerned with madness—both the literal madness of mental illness as well as the unruliness of outsize emotions like envy, shame, and desire." -- Oprah Daily, A Most Anticipated Book of 2024"Okonkwo has a Chekhovian eye for the tangle of internal motivations and assumptions that steer her characters. . . .Readers will be eager for more of Okonkwo’s artful writing." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review"Surprising, illuminating, and deeply human." -- Booklist"Vivid. . . . In addition to striking a perfect balance between humor and heartbreak, A Kind of Madness shows incredible wiseness on the complexity and at times maddening nature of loving our family, our friends, and our home.” -- Chicago Review of Books, A Best Book of April"Amazingly written characters in unforgettable settings. Okonkwo’s writing is transformative". -- Debutiful, A Best Book of April [P] Tin House Books / April 16, 2024 0.64" H x 8.52" L x 5.57" W (0.53 lbs) 224 pages

<div class="book-short-description" data-mce-fragment="1">
“Steady-handed and gut-punching. I’m in awe.”—NoViolet Bulawayo
An Oprah Daily Most Anticipated Book of 2024
In ten vivid, evocative stories set in contemporary Nigeria, Uche Okonkwo’s extraordinary debut asks: why are the people and places we hold closest so often the ones that drive us to madness?
</div>
A teenage girl from a poor family is dazzled by her rich, vivacious friend, but as the friend’s behavior grows unstable and dangerous, she must decide whether to cover for her or risk telling the truth to get her the help she needs. A young woman and her mother bask in the envy of their neighbors when the woman receives an offer of marriage from the family of a doctor living in Belgium—though when the offer fails to materialize, that envy threatens to turn vicious, pitting them both against their community. And a lonely daughter finds herself wandering a village in eastern Nigeria in an ill-fated quest, struggling to come to terms with her mother’s mental illness.
Across ten stories, Uche Okonkwo’s A Kind of Madness unravels the tensions between mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, best friends, siblings, and more, marking the arrival of an extraordinary new talent in fiction.
BIO
Uche Okonkwo’s stories have been published in A Public Space, One Story, the Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2019, and Lagos Noir, among others. A former Bernard O’Keefe Scholar at Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and resident at Art Omi, she is a recipient of the George Bennett Fellowship at Phillips Exeter Academy, a Steinbeck Fellowship, and an Elizabeth George Foundation grant. Okonkwo grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, and is currently pursuing a creative writing PhD at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
REVIEWS
"This debut short-story collection features 10 stories set in present-day Nigeria, all concerned with madness—both the literal madness of mental illness as well as the unruliness of outsize emotions like envy, shame, and desire." -- Oprah Daily, A Most Anticipated Book of 2024 "Okonkwo has a Chekhovian eye for the tangle of internal motivations and assumptions that steer her characters. . . .Readers will be eager for more of Okonkwo’s artful writing." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review "Surprising, illuminating, and deeply human." -- Booklist "Vivid. . . . In addition to striking a perfect balance between humor and heartbreak, A Kind of Madness shows incredible wiseness on the complexity and at times maddening nature of loving our family, our friends, and our home.” -- Chicago Review of Books, A Best Book of April "Amazingly written characters in unforgettable settings. Okonkwo’s writing is transformative". -- Debutiful, A Best Book of April
[P]  Tin House Books  /  April 16, 2024
0.64" H x 8.52" L x 5.57" W (0.53 lbs) 224 pages

A Kind of Madness: Stories /// Uche Okonkwo

-- SIGNED COPIES - From the award-winning author of High on the Hog—inspiration for the “energetic, emotional, and deeply nuanced” (The New York Times) Netflix series of the same name—comes a new and updated edition of A Kwanzaa Keepsake, another important exploration of African American culture, food, and family, featuring recipes and stories to help this generation create unique holiday traditions.Now with a new introduction by award-winning writer and iconic culinary historian Jessica B. Harris, a foreword by chef and television personality Carla Hall, revised recipes and stories, and a fresh new package, A Kwanzaa Keepsake offers proverbs, ceremonies, family projects, inspirational biographies, blessings, and of course, wonderful recipes. Structured around the seven days of Kwanzaa and the virtues each day represents, Harris shares a themed feast for each night, designed to reflect the principle of the day. Some of the menus include:- Umoja (Unity), featuring dishes of multinational origin such as Seasoned Olives, Mechoui-Style Leg of Lamb with cumin, mint, and chili, and a classic Caribbean rum punch, and reminds readers of the union of all peoples of African descent. - Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), composed of dishes from the African continent including Sweet Potato Fritters, Grilled Pepper Salad, and Piment Aimee, a hot sauce from one of the author’s friends. - Kuumba (Creativity) is a healing supper and communal meal that opens the gates of remembrance through food. The repast is centered around a heritage recipe and includes others for Pickled Black-Eyed Peas, a fish dish from the the Ivory Coast, Spicy Cranberry Chutney, and a killer pecan pie with molasses whipped cream.Interspersed throughout the book are spaces to record family memories, sayings, and recipes. Rich in culinary history, and a source of inspiration for treasuring and recording family traditions both old and new, A Kwanzaa Keepsake is a book to cherish, and one that families will turn to again and again. BIO Dr. Jessica B. Harris holds a PhD from NYU and taught English at Queens College for more than thirty years. She lectures internationally. She is the author of High on the Hog, which inspired the hit 2021 Netflix show of the same name. She is also the author of a memoir, My Soul Looks Back, as well as twelve cookbooks. Her articles have appeared in Vogue, Food & Wine, Essence, and The New Yorker, among other publications. She has made numerous television and radio appearances and has been profiled in The New York Times. Considered one of the preeminent scholars of the food of the African Diaspora, Harris has been inducted into the James Beard Who’s Who in Food and Beverage in America, she received the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020, and an Augie Award from the Culinary Institute of America in 2022. She also received an honorary doctorate from Johnson & Wales University and recently helped the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture to conceptualize its cafeteria. [H] Scribner Book Company / November 05, 2024 0.64" H x 9.13" L x 7.38" W (0.53 lbs) 256 pages

A Kwanzaa Keepsake and Cookbook: Celebrating the Holiday with Family, Community, and Tradition /// Dr. Jessica B. Harris

In this lyrical picture book, world-renowned poet, New York Times bestselling author, and Coretta Scott King Honor winner Nikki Giovanni and fine artist Erin Robinson craft an ode to the magic of a library as a place not only for knowledge but also for imagination, exploration, and escape. In what other place can a child "sail their dreams" and "surf the rainbow" without ever leaving the room? This ode to libraries is a celebration for everyone who loves stories, from seasoned readers to those just learning to love words, and it will have kids and parents alike imagining where their library can take them. This inspiring read-aloud includes stunning illustrations and a note from Nikki Giovanni about the importance of libraries in her own childhood. BIO Nikki Giovanni, poet, activist, mother, and professor, is a seven-time NAACP Image Award winner and the first recipient of the Rosa Parks Woman of Courage Award, and holds the Langston Hughes Medal for Outstanding Poetry, among many other honors. The author of twenty-eight books and a Grammy nominee for The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection, she is the University Distinguished Professor of English at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. Erin Robinson is a Fashion Designer by trade but also a trained fine artist from Parsons School of Design and the Corcoran School of Art. Her daydreamy, magical imagination is inspired by travel, color, texture, the feminine shape and the many shades and coifs of Brooklyn. She currently splits her time between New York City and Washington, D.C. Find her at brooklyndolly.com and on Instagram @brooklyndolly. REVIEWS “Powerful.... Playful and inspiring. Every lover of books, young or old, will see themselves in this story.” -- Booklist (starred review) “Vibrant, carefully composed digital illustrations, with bright colors that invite readers in.... A lushly illustrated homage to librarians.” -- Kirkus Reviews “In this picture-book celebration of libraries and reading, poet Giovanni writes about the Carnegie Library, which she regularly visited as a child. Robinson’s digital art resembles vibrant collages.” -- Horn Book Magazine “Poetic text and evocative, textured illustrations work in concert to show how books and libraries enable people to imagine other lives—including other versions of their own selves.... A must-have.” -- School Library Journal [H] Versify / September 27, 2022 0.3" H x 11.1" L x 9.0" W (0.95 lbs) 32 pages

A Library /// Nikki Giovanni, illustrations by Erin K. Robinson

Sequel to the New York Times bestseller Amari and the Night Brothers! Artemis Fowl meets Men in Black in this magical second book in the New York Times and Indie bestselling Supernatural Investigations trilogy—perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, the Percy Jackson series, and Nevermoor. After finding her brother and saving the entire supernatural world, Amari Peters is convinced her first full summer as a Junior Agent will be a breeze. But between the fearsome new Head Minister’s strict anti-magician agenda, fierce Junior Agent rivalries, and her brother Quinton’s curse steadily worsening, Amari’s plate is full. So when the secretive League of Magicians offers her a chance to stand up for magiciankind as its new leader, she declines. She’s got enough to worry about! But her refusal allows someone else to step forward, a magician with dangerous plans for the League. This challenge sparks the start of the Great Game, a competition to decide who will become the Night Brothers’ successor and determine the future of magiciankind. The Great Game is both mysterious and deadly, but among the winner’s magical rewards is Quinton’s last hope—so how can Amari refuse? BIO B. B. Alston lives in Chapin, South Carolina. His debut novel, Amari and the Night Brothers, was a #1 Kids’ Indie Next Pick and the winner of the Barnes & Noble Children's Book Award for Young Readers as well as a New York Times and indie bestseller. When not writing, he can be found eating too many sweets and exploring country roads to see where they lead. Visit him online at bbalston.com. REVIEWS “An enchanting fantasy adventure filled with heart and soul. Amari is magical!” -- Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give [H] Storytide / August 30, 2022 1.5" H x 8.3" L x 5.6" W (1.15 lbs) 432 pages [P] Storytide / September 05, 2023 0.95" H x 7.59" L x 5.31" W (0.61 lbs) 432 pages For ages 8 to 12

Sequel to the New York Times bestseller Amari and the Night Brothers!
Artemis Fowl meets Men in Black in this magical second book in the New York Times and Indie bestselling Supernatural Investigations trilogy—perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, the Percy Jackson series, and Nevermoor.
After finding her brother and saving the entire supernatural world, Amari Peters is convinced her first full summer as a Junior Agent will be a breeze.
But between the fearsome new Head Minister’s strict anti-magician agenda, fierce Junior Agent rivalries, and her brother Quinton’s curse steadily worsening, Amari’s plate is full. So when the secretive League of Magicians offers her a chance to stand up for magiciankind as its new leader, she declines. She’s got enough to worry about!
But her refusal allows someone else to step forward, a magician with dangerous plans for the League. This challenge sparks the start of the Great Game, a competition to decide who will become the Night Brothers’ successor and determine the future of magiciankind.
The Great Game is both mysterious and deadly, but among the winner’s magical rewards is Quinton’s last hope—so how can Amari refuse?
BIO
<meta charset="utf-8">B. B. Alston lives in Chapin, South Carolina. His debut novel, Amari and the Night Brothers, was a #1 Kids’ Indie Next Pick and the winner of the Barnes &amp; Noble Children's Book Award for Young Readers as well as a New York Times and indie bestseller. When not writing, he can be found eating too many sweets and exploring country roads to see where they lead. Visit him online at bbalston.com.
REVIEWS
<meta charset="utf-8">“An enchanting fantasy adventure filled with heart and soul. Amari is magical!” -- Angie Thomas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Hate U Give 
[H]  Storytide  /  August 30, 2022
1.5" H x 8.3" L x 5.6" W (1.15 lbs) 432 pages
[P]  Storytide  /  September 05, 2023
<meta charset="utf-8">0.95" H x 7.59" L x 5.31" W (0.61 lbs) 432 pages
For ages 8 to 12

Amari and the Great Game /// B.B. Alston

From acclaimed Nigerian storyteller Atinuke, the first in a series of chapter books set in contemporary West Africa introduces a little girl who has enchanted young readers.Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa, amazing Africa, with her mother and father, her twin baby brothers (Double and Trouble), and lots of extended family in a big white house with a beautiful garden in a compound in a city. Anna is never lonely—there are always cousins to play and fight with, aunties and uncles laughing and shouting, and parents and grandparents close by. Readers will happily follow as she goes on a seaside vacation, helps plan a party for Auntie Comfort from Canada (will she remember her Nigerian ways?), learns firsthand what it’s really like to be a child selling oranges outside the gate, and longs to see sweet snow. Nigerian storyteller Atinuke’s debut book for children and its sequels, with their charming (and abundant) gray-scale drawings by Lauren Tobia, are newly published in the US by Candlewick Press, joining other celebrated Atinuke stories in captivating young readers. BIO Atinuke is a Nigerian-born author of children's books and an oral storyteller of traditional African folktales. [H] Candlewick Press (MA) / April 12, 2022 0.7" H x 8.0" L x 5.2" W (0.5 lbs) 112 pages [P] Candlewick Press (MA) / April 12, 2022 0.4" H x 7.8" L x 5.0" W (0.2 lbs) 112 pages For ages 6 to 9

Anna Hibiscus /// Atinuke, illustrations by Lauren Tobia

From the award-winning creators of Baby Goes to Market comes a delicious tale of mischievous toddlers, juicy mangoes, and cunning monkeys—starring the letter M.Oh look . . . M is for Monkeys!Oh NO! M is for Mine!M is for My Mango!M is for morning, and M is for little Mo and his beloved mu mu. M is for Mama pouring milk in a cup, and M is for the moi-moi in Mo’s bowl that is mushy! Outside, a man tinkers with a motorbike, playing music that sets Mo to dancing. But when Mo spies a perfectly ripe mango in a tree, only to see it snatched by a monkey, it’s mayhem! Time for Mama to shake her mop and shoo some monkeys away! Are there enough mangoes to share? Wait, where is Mo? In a follow-up to B Is for Baby and L Is for Love, Atinuke’s exuberant alphabet book, set in Nigeria, doubles as a cozy family story that opens into happy chaos, perfectly tuned to the youngest readers. BIO Atinuke is a Nigerian-born author of children's books and an oral storyteller of traditional African folktales. REVIEWS "The humorous conflict with the monkeys elevates the text beyond a simple alphabet primer and makes the story one that young children will want to hear again and again.Atinuke uses punctuation effectively to vary her short sentences and encourage lively read-alouds. . . . [Brooksbank’s] detailed work captures typical toddler mood swings. . . ." -- The Horn Book [H] Candlewick Press (MA) / June 24, 2025 0.5" H x 11.2" L x 10.0" W (1.1 lbs) 32 pages For ages 3 to 7

M Is for Mango /// Atinuke, illustrations by Angela Brooksbank

A wide-ranging collection, including two novellas and ten stories exploring complex identities, from the acclaimed author of Corregidora, The Healing, and Palmares“Gayl Jones’s work represents a watershed in American literature. From a literary standpoint, her form is impeccable . . . and as a Black woman writer, her truth-telling, filled with beauty, tragedy, humor, and incisiveness, is unmatched.”—Imani Perry, author of, Looking for Lorraine and BreatheGayl Jones, who was first edited by Toni Morrison, has been described as one of the great literary writers of the 20th century and was recently a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction. This new collection of short fiction is only the second in her rich career, and one that displays her strengths in the genre in many facets. Opening with two novella-length works, “Butter” and “Sophia,” this collection features Jones’s legendary talents in a range of settings and styles, from the hyper-realist to the mystical, in intricate multi-part stories, in more traditional forms, and even in short fragments.Her narrators are women and men, Black, Brown, Indigenous; her settings are historical and contemporary, in South America, Mexico and the US; her themes center on complex identities, unorthodox longings and aspirations. She writes about spies, photographers, playground designers, cartoonists, and baristas, about workers and revolutionaries, about environmentalism, feminism, poetry, film and love, but above all about our multicultural, multiethnic and multiracial society. BIO Gayl Jones was born in Kentucky in 1949. She attended Connecticut College and Brown University, and has taught at Wellesley College and the University of Michigan. Her landmark books include Corregidora, Eva’s Man, The Healing (a National Book Award finalist and New York Times Notable Book of the Year), Palmares (a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction), and most recently, The Birdcatcher (National Book Award finalist). REVIEWS “This collection of new and revised novellas, fragments, and short stories is as varied and diverse as the settings and the characters who inhabit them. As in her previous works, National Book Award finalist Jones explores expansive themes through the perspectives of richly drawn, fascinating characters who are often out of place and time. . . . There is a dreamlike quality as we enter the minds of these characters that is inviting and effective. Even in the briefest of fragments. . . . the reader is left feeling full and satisfied.” -- Booklist, Starred Review“A collection of glorious stories and rough fragments. . . . [T]hese stories sing. This is a gift for Jones’s fans.” -- Publishers Weekly“Every Jones publication is a major event, but this one is particularly precious. This wide ranging collection of short fiction is only the second by one of our most lauded literary authors.” -- Oprah Daily“Butter tells singing stories of characters navigating multiracial, multicultural societies.” -- TIME“At this point, I will read anything Gayl Jones has written, and you should too. This is a collection of novellas and stories, some never-before-published and others substantially revised.” -- Karla Strand, Ms.“Jones’s writing powerfully blends narrative and lyricism . . . Her imagination seems to thrive on outstripping one’s expectations.” -- Margo Jefferson [H] Beacon Press / April 04, 2023 0.89" H x 8.75" L x 5.83" W (0.77 lbs) 200 pages [P] Beacon Press / February 06, 2024 0.41" H x 8.31" L x 5.26" W (0.51 lbs) 200 pages

Butter: Novellas, Stories, and Fragments /// Gayl Jones

Winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama “Dazzling and ruthless…One of the most exquisitely and systematically arranged ambushes of an unsuspecting audience in years…A glorious, scary reminder of the unmatched power of live theater to rattle, roil and shake us wide awake.” —Ben Brantley, New York Times Grandma’s birthday approaches. Beverly is organizing the perfect dinner, but everything seems doomed from the start: the silverware is all wrong, the carrots need chopping and the radio is on the fritz. What at first appears to be a family comedy takes a sharp, sly turn into a startling examination of deep-seated paradigms about race in America. BIO Jackie Sibblies Drury’s other plays include Marys Seacole; We Are Proud to Present a Presentation about the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as Southwest Africa, from the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884–1915; and Really. She is the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for Fairview. REVIEWS "Usually we enter a theater knowing where to sit, where to look, how to behave. It’s a kind of safety: a role we know how to play. Yet Jackie Sibblies Drury’s shapeshifting Fairview wants us to think more carefully about those old conventions, about the way power and race move through a simple thing like consuming a piece of art." -- Helen Shaw for 4Columns "A hard-hitting drama that examines race in a highly conceptual, layered structure, ultimately bringing audiences into the actors' community to face deep-seated prejudices." -- Pulitzer Prize committee "Drury’s Fairview is theater as a punch in the stomach—it’s surely one of the most intense, innovative dramas of the year. It’s a vital production that literally forces viewers to confront the space they take up in society." -- Eben Shapiro for TIME "Rare and intimidating, unresolved and raw…It left me with the blood pounding in my ears." -- New York Magazine "Outstanding…Hilarious…Fairview takes on the notion of theatrical style and how it can enhance, obscure or toy with important questions… From moment to moment, Drury disturbed and frustrated and entertained us." -- Hilton Als for the New Yorker [P] Theatre Communications Group / August 27, 2019 0.5" H x 8.4" L x 5.3" W (0.4 lbs) 120 pages

Fairview /// Jackie Sibblies Drury

In this highly anticipated contemporary fantasy, twelve-year-old Maya’s search for her missing father puts her at the center of a battle between our world, the Orishas, and the mysterious and sinister Dark world. Perfect for fans of Aru Shah and the End of Time and The Serpent’s Secret. Twelve-year-old Maya is the only one in her South Side Chicago neighborhood who witnesses weird occurrences like werehyenas stalking the streets at night and a scary man made of shadows plaguing her dreams. Her friends try to find an explanation—perhaps a ghost uprising or a lunchroom experiment gone awry. But to Maya, it sounds like something from one of Papa’s stories or her favorite comics. When Papa goes missing, Maya is thrust into a world both strange and familiar as she uncovers the truth. Her father is the guardian of the veil between our world and the Dark—where an army led by the Lord of Shadows, the man from Maya’s nightmares, awaits. Maya herself is a godling, half orisha and half human, and her neighborhood is a safe haven. But now that the veil is failing, the Lord of Shadows is determined to destroy the human world and it’s up to Maya to stop him. She just hopes she can do it in time to attend Comic-Con before summer’s over. BIO Rena Barron grew up in small-town Alabama, where stories of magic and adventure sparked her imagination. After penning her first awful poem in middle school, she graduated to writing short stories and novels by high school. Rena has an affinity for good cheese, wine, and nature. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading or brushing up on her French. Find her online at www.renabarron.com. REVIEWS "Astonishing series of subsequent revelations leaves readers agog, eager to know how Maya and her pals will use their powers to heal the veil and save their mostly black and brown neighborhood. A truly #BlackGirlMagic, cloudy-day, curl-up kind of book." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "The vivid world-building, quick pace, high stakes, and steady stream of legendary African creatures keep readers engaged and invested in the tweens’ predicament. Mixing in hard choices, believable emotions, tough lessons, and mistakes made with the best of intentions, Barron has created a must-read tale." -- School Library Journal (starred review) "This opening installment of what will be a much-anticipated series is fast-paced and adventurous, offering a fresh blend of culture, community, and folklore rooted broadly in the African diaspora." -- ALA Booklist "A fresh new fantasy adventure with epic stakes and a fierce heroine at its heart. This book will keep you turning pages well into the night!" -- Marcy-Kate Connolly New York Times bestselling author of the Monstrous and Shadow Weaver series [P] Clarion Books / August 17, 2021 0.94" H x 7.56" L x 5.12" W (0.53 lbs) 320 pages For ages 8 to 12

In this highly anticipated contemporary fantasy, twelve-year-old Maya’s search for her missing father puts her at the center of a battle between our world, the Orishas, and the mysterious and sinister Dark world. Perfect for fans of Aru Shah and the End of Time and The Serpent’s Secret.
Twelve-year-old Maya is the only one in her South Side Chicago neighborhood who witnesses weird occurrences like werehyenas stalking the streets at night and a scary man made of shadows plaguing her dreams. Her friends try to find an explanation—perhaps a ghost uprising or a lunchroom experiment gone awry. But to Maya, it sounds like something from one of Papa’s stories or her favorite comics.
When Papa goes missing, Maya is thrust into a world both strange and familiar as she uncovers the truth. Her father is the guardian of the veil between our world and the Dark—where an army led by the Lord of Shadows, the man from Maya’s nightmares, awaits. Maya herself is a godling, half orisha and half human, and her neighborhood is a safe haven. But now that the veil is failing, the Lord of Shadows is determined to destroy the human world and it’s up to Maya to stop him. She just hopes she can do it in time to attend Comic-Con before summer’s over.
BIO
<meta charset="utf-8">Rena Barron grew up in small-town Alabama, where stories of magic and adventure sparked her imagination. After penning her first awful poem in middle school, she graduated to writing short stories and novels by high school. Rena has an affinity for good cheese, wine, and nature. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading or brushing up on her French. Find her online at www.renabarron.com.
REVIEWS
<meta charset="utf-8">"Astonishing series of subsequent revelations leaves readers agog, eager to know how Maya and her pals will use their powers to heal the veil and save their mostly black and brown neighborhood. A truly #BlackGirlMagic, cloudy-day, curl-up kind of book." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) 
"The vivid world-building, quick pace, high stakes, and steady stream of legendary African creatures keep readers engaged and invested in the tweens’ predicament. Mixing in hard choices, believable emotions, tough lessons, and mistakes made with the best of intentions, Barron has created a must-read tale." -- School Library Journal (starred review)
"This opening installment of what will be a much-anticipated series is fast-paced and adventurous, offering a fresh blend of culture, community, and folklore rooted broadly in the African diaspora." -- ALA Booklist
"A fresh new fantasy adventure with epic stakes and a fierce heroine at its heart. This book will keep you turning pages well into the night!" -- Marcy-Kate Connolly New York Times bestselling author of the Monstrous and Shadow Weaver series
[P]  Clarion Books  /  August 17, 2021
<meta charset="utf-8">0.94" H x 7.56" L x 5.12" W (0.53 lbs) 320 pages
For ages 8 to 12

Maya and the Rising Dark (Maya and the Rising Dark #1) /// Rena Barron

Cracking the code isn’t all it’s cracked up to be in this scavenger-hunt adventure from a Coretta Scott King Honor–winning author.Chester Keene takes great comfort in his routines. After school Monday to Thursday is bowling, and Friday, the best of days, is laser tag! But most special of all is when Chester gets secret spy messages from his dad, who is always on covert government assignments, which is why Chester has never met him.Then, one day at lunch, Chester’s classmate Skye approaches him with a clue. They’ve been tasked with a complex puzzle-solving mission. Chester takes their assignments very seriously, but Skye treats it like a big game. Skye proves to be a useful partner and good company, even if her haphazard, free-wheeling ways are disruptive to Chester’s carefully curated schedule.As Chester and Skye get closer to their final clue, they discover the key to their spy assignment: they have to stop a heist! But cracking this code might lead to a discovery Chester never saw coming. BIO Kekla Magoon is the author of many novels and nonfiction books for young readers, including Chester Keene Cracks the Code, The Season of Styx Malone, The Rock and the River, How It Went Down, and the Robyn Hoodlum Adventure series. She has received the Margaret A. Edwards Award, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Michael L. Printz Honor, the Coretta Scott King–John Steptoe Award for New Talent, four Coretta Scott King Honor Awards, the Walter Award Honor, an NAACP Image Award, and inclusion on the National Book Award Longlist. REVIEWS ”Magoon makes space for and celebrates the sensitive and solitary middle-grade readers who are happiest flying under the radar.” -- Shelf Awareness, starred review“Engrossing and heartwarming; explores belonging, love, and forgiveness in families and friendships.” -- Kirkus Reviews“A wacky adventure that toes the line between playful fantasy and ­deep-rooted emotional journey.” --School Library Journal“Taking great care with issues related to blended families and bullying, Magoon gives readers another emotional and satisfying read.” -- The Horn Book“Astutely conceived riddles and Chester’s lively first-person narration deliver an action-packed mystery.” -- Publishers Weekly [P] Yearling Books / July 11, 2023 0.9" H x 7.7" L x 5.2" W (0.45 lbs) 304 pages For ages 8 to 12

Chester Keene Cracks the Code /// Kekla Magoon

Today is a great day for a walk so a young boy named Daniel is heading to the park for a summer picnic. Along the way, he encounters his neighborhood friends. Not only does he find out that everyone has a different way of saying hello, they each have a special surprise to share. A charming story about diversity. Children's early introduction to various languages, cultures and acceptance. Young children will learn how to greet in a few languages and also learn the names of some favorite foods in these languages. The message is that people are all the same even if we have different ways of expressing ourselves. REVIEWS "The message of friendship across cultures resonates. Children surrounded by diversity will find this book relatable; others may use it as a window into unfamiliar cultures." -- Kirkus Reviews [H] Pears Lane Publishing / February 04, 2020 0.25" H x 8.5" L x 8.5" W (0.69 lbs) 34 pages [P] Pears Lane Publishing / February 04, 2020 0.09" H x 8.5" L x 8.5" W (0.22 lbs) 34 pages For ages 3 to 6

Today is a great day for a walk so a young boy named Daniel is heading to the park for a summer picnic. Along the way, he encounters his neighborhood friends. Not only does he find out that everyone has a different way of saying hello, they each have a special surprise to share. A charming story about diversity. Children's early introduction to various languages, cultures and acceptance. Young children will learn how to greet in a few languages and also learn the names of some favorite foods in these languages. The message is that people are all the same even if we have different ways of expressing ourselves.
REVIEWS
"The message of friendship across cultures resonates. Children surrounded by diversity will find this book relatable; others may use it as a window into unfamiliar cultures."  -- Kirkus Reviews
[H]  Pears Lane Publishing  /  February 04, 2020
<meta charset="utf-8">
0.25" H x 8.5" L x 8.5" W (0.69 lbs) 34 pages
[P]  Pears Lane Publishing  /  February 04, 2020
<meta charset="utf-8">0.09" H x 8.5" L x 8.5" W (0.22 lbs) 34 pages
For ages 3 to 6

Hello, Friends! /// Bola Williams, illustrations by Daniel Stevens

In this, her third collection of poetry, Phillippa Yaa De Villiers invokes images of past and present with hypnotic clarity, summoning the heart and heat of memory – painful and happy alike – with the distinct musicality and visceral punch she is known for. Some poems invite contemplation. Question and provoke. Others are elegiac, moments for reverence in a rich, diverse collection that both spans decades and pauses to revel in the intensity and beauty of a single moment. In liquid form that incorporates prose and poetry, De Villiers fearlessly confronts and disrupts, dipping into a well spring of images that are euphoric and horrifying. At once prophetic and playful, ice cream headache in my bone is an exploration and celebration of language, a definitive collection that yields and responds, burns and soothes, all the while, calling to a longing for truth, and a tongue not tempered by oppression or pain. BIO Phillippa Yaa de Villiers writes, performs and lectures in Creative Writing at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. In 2006 her debut collection, Taller than buildings was published in 2006 and The Everyday Wife in 2010 – it was awarded the SALA Prize for poetry in 2011. ice-cream headache in my bone is her third collection. She co-edited No Serenity Here, an anthology of African poetry translated into Mandarin. (2010). Her short stories have also won prizes, ‘The day that Jesus dropped the ball’ (shortlisted for Pen/Studinski Prize 2009) and ‘Keeping everything the same’ (winner: National Arts Festival/Het Beschrijf Writing beyond the fringe winner 2009). Her one-woman play Original Skin toured South Africa and abroad. Since 2007 she has read and performed at poetry festivals in Germany, Denmark, UK, Cuba, Sweden, Zimbabwe and Ghana, and her work is translated into French, Dutch, Flemish, Burmese, Mandarin, Italian, German and Spanish. REVIEWS "Uncommonly well-structured poems – mixing verse and prose, pushing the boundaries of form – which which resonate with lives of their own. These are not poems to read in a rush. One needs to sit down and enjoy them or else you will end up missing the cream of the poems." -- Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho, author of A Traumatic Revenge and The Violent Gestures of Life "The poetry of Yaa De Villiers invites you watch her wrestle with the inverses and anti-climaxes of life and her enchanted embrace of its harmonies and ecstasies." -- Mphutlane wa Bofelo, author of The Heart’s Interpreter, Remembrance and Salutations, Bluesology and Bofelosophy "Yaa is vulnerable and insecure and figuring things out. Her collection is filled with grappling and contradiction, making her accessible. Touchable. Even her adventurous use of form, particularly in “What I found” and “Horse” reveal a womxn who lives inside, on and outside the colouring lines. The vacillation between lyrical and narrative poetry, and prose adds to the experience of living in Yaa’s skin. This collection is not all blood and skin, however. “Tongue” registers as a familiar charming post ’94 sitcom, and “Elegy for jazz” is as musical live – alongside bass and keys – as it is on page. At times her voice is out of tune and off beat, but always honest." -- Vangi Gantsho, author of Undressing in Front of the Window “There is a pervasive energy and diversity of form, subject, and style in Yaa De Villiers’s volume, a multiplicity of emotional threads woven through a wide range of subjects… Culmulativley, they epitomise the fullness, range, and intricacy of the poet’s life.” -- Tony Ullyatt, New Contrast [P] Modjaji Books / August 16, 2017 0.21" H x 8.27" L x 5.83" W (0.22 lbs) 82 pages

ice-cream headache in my bone /// Phillippa Yaa De Villiers

On a rare chilly day in Miami, Florida, young Leila sets off for school bundled up in her bright red jacket. But this isn’t just any cold day—her grandmother, Grandma Issa, gives her an unusual warning: “Watch out for falling iguanas.” As Leila navigates her morning, she can’t stop thinking about Grandma’s strange words. From remembering dodging coconuts and seeing her parents’ car being held up by chickens crossing the road to admiring roaming peacocks, Leila’s day is full of curious encounters. But nothing prepares her for the moment she sees an iguana drop from a tree. Join Leila, her close friends, and her teacher Ms. Benoit on an unexpected adventure as they discover why these tropical creatures fall from trees during cold snaps. With charming illustrations by acclaimed Jamaican artist Rachel Moss and a truly heartwarming story, Watch Out for Falling Iguanas is a delightful tale about family, friendship, and the surprises nature can bring. BIO Edwidge Danticat was born in Haiti and moved to the United States when she was twelve. She is the editor of Haiti Noir and Haiti Noir 2: The Classics and author of Breath, Eyes, Memory (an Oprah’s Book Club selection), Krik? Krak!, and The Dew Breaker, among other books for adults. Her books for children include Watch Out for Falling Iguanas, Eight Days: A Story of Haiti, Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation, The Last Mapou, and My Mommy Medicine. Her young adult novels Untwine, Anacaona: Golden Flower, and Behind the Mountains offer profound insights into the immigrant experience and the beauty and complexity of Haitian culture. A MacArthur Fellow, Danticat currently teaches at Columbia University. Rachel Moss is an illustrator in love with the bright colors and vibrant energy of the Caribbean. She was born in Jamaica and studied animation in England at the University for the Creative Arts. Moss now lives in Jamaica where she spends her days illustrating children’s books such as Respect with song lyrics by Otis Redding, These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ with song lyrics by Lee Hazlewood, African with song lyrics by Peter Tosh, I Am a Promise by Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce, Abigail’s Glorious Hair, and Milo & Myra Learn Manners with Mr. Mongoose. Her latest work is Lean on Me with song lyrics by Bill Withers. [H] Black Sheep / July 01, 2025 0.43" H x 8.66" L x 10.25" W (0.84 lbs) 32 pages For ages 4 to 8

On a rare chilly day in Miami, Florida, young Leila sets off for school bundled up in her bright red jacket. But this isn’t just any cold day—her grandmother, Grandma Issa, gives her an unusual warning: “Watch out for falling iguanas.”
As Leila navigates her morning, she can’t stop thinking about Grandma’s strange words. From remembering dodging coconuts and seeing her parents’ car being held up by chickens crossing the road to admiring roaming peacocks, Leila’s day is full of curious encounters. But nothing prepares her for the moment she sees an iguana drop from a tree.
Join Leila, her close friends, and her teacher Ms. Benoit on an unexpected adventure as they discover why these tropical creatures fall from trees during cold snaps. With charming illustrations by acclaimed Jamaican artist Rachel Moss and a truly heartwarming story, Watch Out for Falling Iguanas is a delightful tale about family, friendship, and the surprises nature can bring.
BIO
<meta charset="utf-8">Edwidge Danticat was born in Haiti and moved to the United States when she was twelve. She is the editor of Haiti Noir and Haiti Noir 2: The Classics and author of Breath, Eyes, Memory (an Oprah’s Book Club selection), Krik? Krak!, and The Dew Breaker, among other books for adults. Her books for children include Watch Out for Falling Iguanas, Eight Days: A Story of Haiti, Mama’s Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation, The Last Mapou, and My Mommy Medicine. Her young adult novels Untwine, Anacaona: Golden Flower, and Behind the Mountains offer profound insights into the immigrant experience and the beauty and complexity of Haitian culture. A MacArthur Fellow, Danticat currently teaches at Columbia University.
<meta charset="utf-8"> Rachel Moss is an illustrator in love with the bright colors and vibrant energy of the Caribbean. She was born in Jamaica and studied animation in England at the University for the Creative Arts. Moss now lives in Jamaica where she spends her days illustrating children’s books such as Respect with song lyrics by Otis Redding, These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ with song lyrics by Lee Hazlewood, African with song lyrics by Peter Tosh, I Am a Promise by Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce, Abigail’s Glorious Hair, and Milo &amp; Myra Learn Manners with Mr. Mongoose. Her latest work is Lean on Me with song lyrics by Bill Withers.
[H]  Black Sheep  /  July 01, 2025
<meta charset="utf-8">0.43" H x 8.66" L x 10.25" W (0.84 lbs) 32 pages
For ages 4 to 8

Watch Out for Falling Iguanas /// Edwidge Danticat, illustrations by Rachel Moss

-- This is a preorder title and will ship on or after February 03, 2026 -- Breaks open the privilege and promise of food justice to envision a radical liberatory future. Food justice activists have worked to increase access to healthy food in low-income communities of color across the United States. Yet despite their best intentions, they often perpetuate food access inequalities and racial stereotypes. Hanna Garth shows how the movement has been affected by misconceptions and assumptions about residents, as well as by unclear definitions of justice and what it means to be healthy. Focusing on broad structures and microlevel processes, Garth reveals how power dynamics shape social justice movements in particular ways. Drawing on twelve years of ethnographic research, Garth examines what motivates people from more affluent, majority-white areas of the city to intervene in South Central Los Angeles. She argues that the concepts of "food justice" and "healthy food" operate as racially coded language, reinforcing the idea that health problems in low-income Black and Brown communities can be solved through individual behavior rather than structural change. Food Justice Undone explores the stakes of social justice and the possibility of multiracial coalitions working toward a better future. BIO Hanna Garth is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University, author of Food in Cuba: The Pursuit of a Decent Meal, and coeditor of Black Food Matters: Racial Justice in the Wake of Food Justice. REVIEWS "In Food Justice Undone, Garth listens at the fault lines of broken systems and distills from their ruptures a blueprint for movements rooted in care, precision, and collective power. A landmark achievement." -- Laurence Ralph, author of Sito: An American Teenager and the City that Failed Him"An unflinching yet nuanced account of why efforts to 'bring healthy food' to communities like South Central Los Angeles often undo the potential for food justice. Garth demonstrates how urban food programs can operate as 'racialization projects'—and suggests how justice might yet be realized." -- Heather Paxson, Professor of Anthropology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology"Garth meticulously details the contradictions and possibilities in the food justice movement. Food Justice Undone is a cautionary tale about what happens when food justice's radical origins are co-opted or overshadowed by pragmatism." -- Ashanté M. Reese, author of Black Food Geographies: Race, Self-Reliance, and Food Access in Washington, D.C."Through careful and compassionate ethnography, Garth questions the 'good intentions' of food justice movements and shows how local communities are already successfully working toward truly liberatory change and community well-being." -- Melissa L. Caldwell, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz"A welcome intervention. Hanna Garth powerfully demonstrates the ways in which well-meaning outsiders override the lived experience and leadership of communities targeted by food justice interventions, undermining the radical potential of the movement." -- Maggie Dickinson, author of Feeding the Crisis: Care and Abandonment in America's Food Safety Net"This is a brilliant, impassioned, ethnographically grounded critique of the food justice movement. In lucid and accessible prose, Garth demonstrates how the implicit whiteness of food justice organizations produces undesired outcomes and what is needed to forge true multiracial food movements that center the knowledge and sovereignty of Black and Brown communities." -- Akhil Gupta, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles [P] University of California Press / February 03, 2026 0.9" H x 8.9" L x 5.9" W (0.9 lbs) 296 pages

-- This is a preorder title and will ship on or after February 03, 2026 --
<meta charset="utf-8">Breaks open the privilege and promise of food justice to envision a radical liberatory future.   Food justice activists have worked to increase access to healthy food in low-income communities of color across the United States. Yet despite their best intentions, they often perpetuate food access inequalities and racial stereotypes. Hanna Garth shows how the movement has been affected by misconceptions and assumptions about residents, as well as by unclear definitions of justice and what it means to be healthy. Focusing on broad structures and microlevel processes, Garth reveals how power dynamics shape social justice movements in particular ways.   Drawing on twelve years of ethnographic research, Garth examines what motivates people from more affluent, majority-white areas of the city to intervene in South Central Los Angeles. She argues that the concepts of "food justice" and "healthy food" operate as racially coded language, reinforcing the idea that health problems in low-income Black and Brown communities can be solved through individual behavior rather than structural change. Food Justice Undone explores the stakes of social justice and the possibility of multiracial coalitions working toward a better future.
BIO
<meta charset="utf-8">Hanna Garth is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Princeton University, author of Food in Cuba: The Pursuit of a Decent Meal, and coeditor of Black Food Matters: Racial Justice in the Wake of Food Justice.
REVIEWS
"In Food Justice Undone, Garth listens at the fault lines of broken systems and distills from their ruptures a blueprint for movements rooted in care, precision, and collective power. A landmark achievement." -- Laurence Ralph, author of Sito: An American Teenager and the City that Failed Him "An unflinching yet nuanced account of why efforts to 'bring healthy food' to communities like South Central Los Angeles often undo the potential for food justice. Garth demonstrates how urban food programs can operate as 'racialization projects'—and suggests how justice might yet be realized." -- Heather Paxson, Professor of Anthropology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology "Garth meticulously details the contradictions and possibilities in the food justice movement. Food Justice Undone is a cautionary tale about what happens when food justice's radical origins are co-opted or overshadowed by pragmatism." -- Ashanté M. Reese, author of Black Food Geographies: Race, Self-Reliance, and Food Access in Washington, D.C. "Through careful and compassionate ethnography, Garth questions the 'good intentions' of food justice movements and shows how local communities are already successfully working toward truly liberatory change and community well-being." -- Melissa L. Caldwell, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz "A welcome intervention. Hanna Garth powerfully demonstrates the ways in which well-meaning outsiders override the lived experience and leadership of communities targeted by food justice interventions, undermining the radical potential of the movement." -- Maggie Dickinson, author of Feeding the Crisis: Care and Abandonment in America's Food Safety Net "This is a brilliant, impassioned, ethnographically grounded critique of the food justice movement. In lucid and accessible prose, Garth demonstrates how the implicit whiteness of food justice organizations produces undesired outcomes and what is needed to forge true multiracial food movements that center the knowledge and sovereignty of Black and Brown communities." -- Akhil Gupta, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles
[P]  University of California Press  /  February 03, 2026
<meta charset="utf-8">0.9" H x 8.9" L x 5.9" W (0.9 lbs) 296 pages

Food Justice Undone: Lessons for Building a Better Movement (Volume 88: California Studies in Food and Culture) /// Hanna Garth /// pre

-- This is a preorder title and will ship on or after June 16, 2026 -- A celebration of Black culinary history, creativity, and joy—with 100 wildly inventive homemade ice creams, sorbets, and nondairy flavors. For generations, Black ice cream makers and entrepreneurs have shaped American food culture—yet their stories have been buried deep. With every ice cream flavor Lokelani Alabanza creates, she pays tribute to their legacies, shedding light on Black culinary history. Her recipes include Parmesan, which dates back to at least the mid-1800s when Alabanza’s ice cream fairy godmother, Sarah Estell, was making it at her ice cream saloon at 89 N. Cherry Street in Nashville; a brightly hued Juneteenth Sorbet made with raspberries, hibiscus, and lime; Gin and Juice, a boozy watermelon favorite; an earthy Sorghum; and a tart Buttermilk Plum. Designed for home cooks of all skill levels, Ice Cream Queen builds on simple bases for recipes that range from refreshing and fruity to adventurous and decadent. Whether you’re a history buff, dessert lover, or kitchen experimenter, this cookbook offers something entirely new: Ice cream as an act of memory, identity, and Black excellence. BIO Lokelani Alabanza’s professional culinary journey started in the United States, at the New England Culinary Institute. From there, her love of food has taken her around the world. From her first kitchen job in Denmark to her time working as a private chef in Japan, her travels have expanded her palate and refined her ability to create incredible food. It was in Los Angeles, under the tutelage of renowned pastry chef Elizabeth Belkind, that Loke’s passion for pastry cooking was ignited. There, she worked with Dahlia Narvaez and Nancy Silverton at the now-shuttered James Beard award-winning restaurant Campanile, before landing in Nashville, as Culinary Director for Hattie Jane’s Creamery. Lokelani’s time there grew both her passion for ice cream, expanded her experience (while at Hattie Jane’s, she created over 300 flavors), and her love of integrating nostalgia into her cooking. Today, she creates beautiful flavors that spur the imagination while educating consumers about African American culinary history. [H] W. W. Norton & Company / June 16, 2026

-- This is a preorder title and will ship on or after June 16, 2026 --
A celebration of Black culinary history, creativity, and joy—with 100 wildly inventive homemade ice creams, sorbets, and nondairy flavors.
For generations, Black ice cream makers and entrepreneurs have shaped American food culture—yet their stories have been buried deep. With every ice cream flavor Lokelani Alabanza creates, she pays tribute to their legacies, shedding light on Black culinary history.
Her recipes include Parmesan, which dates back to at least the mid-1800s when Alabanza’s ice cream fairy godmother, Sarah Estell, was making it at her ice cream saloon at 89 N. Cherry Street in Nashville; a brightly hued Juneteenth Sorbet made with raspberries, hibiscus, and lime; Gin and Juice, a boozy watermelon favorite; an earthy Sorghum; and a tart Buttermilk Plum.
Designed for home cooks of all skill levels, Ice Cream Queen builds on simple bases for recipes that range from refreshing and fruity to adventurous and decadent. Whether you’re a history buff, dessert lover, or kitchen experimenter, this cookbook offers something entirely new: Ice cream as an act of memory, identity, and Black excellence.
BIO
Lokelani Alabanza’s professional culinary journey started in the United States, at the New England Culinary Institute. From there, her love of food has taken her around the world. From her first kitchen job in Denmark to her time working as a private chef in Japan, her travels have expanded her palate and refined her ability to create incredible food.
It was in Los Angeles, under the tutelage of renowned pastry chef Elizabeth Belkind, that Loke’s passion for pastry cooking was ignited. There, she worked with Dahlia Narvaez and Nancy Silverton at the now-shuttered James Beard award-winning restaurant Campanile, before landing in Nashville, as Culinary Director for Hattie Jane’s Creamery. Lokelani’s time there grew both her passion for ice cream, expanded her experience (while at Hattie Jane’s, she created over 300 flavors), and her love of integrating nostalgia into her cooking. Today, she creates beautiful flavors that spur the imagination while educating consumers about African American culinary history. 
[H]  W. W. Norton &amp; Company  /  June 16, 2026

Ice Cream Queen: Flavors from Black America's Past, Present, & Future /// Lokelani Alabanza /// pre

-- This is a preorder title and will ship on or after June 16, 2026 -- Cooking from Scratch is chef and storyteller Toya Boudy's most personal--and most irresistible--cookbook yet. Written during a transformative chapter in her life, it's infused with the warmth, humor, and grit that have made her a morning-show favorite. Drawing inspiration from Malinda Russell's groundbreaking 1866 cookbook, A Domestic Cook Book, Boudy reimagines simple, soul-satisfying dishes designed to bring people together. In the wake of divorce and deep self-reflection, she has returned to the kitchen--the place that saved her nearly 30 years ago as a teenage single mom. Cooking from Scratch includes 70 family-loved recipes shaped by the cultures that define her: Mini Crawfish Pies, Jamaican Curry, African Spinach Stew, homey Salisbury Steak, and more. Beyond the table, she shares 20 natural remedies--from herbal cough syrup to "Detox" Lentil Soup--that nourish body and spirit alike. With every page, Boudy shows how healing, joy, and resilience can begin with something beautifully simple: cooking from scratch. BIO Toya Boudy has appeared on Guy’s Grocery Games, TLC, and Food Network. Crowned Best Home Cook by Hallmark’s Home & Family Channel, Boudy is an ambassador for the New Orleans Multicultural Tourism Network. She lives with her family in New Orleans, Louisiana. [H] Countryman Press / June 16, 2026

-- This is a preorder title and will ship on or after June 16, 2026 --
Cooking from Scratch is chef and storyteller Toya Boudy's most personal--and most irresistible--cookbook yet. Written during a transformative chapter in her life, it's infused with the warmth, humor, and grit that have made her a morning-show favorite. Drawing inspiration from Malinda Russell's groundbreaking 1866 cookbook, A Domestic Cook Book, Boudy reimagines simple, soul-satisfying dishes designed to bring people together. In the wake of divorce and deep self-reflection, she has returned to the kitchen--the place that saved her nearly 30 years ago as a teenage single mom. Cooking from Scratch includes 70 family-loved recipes shaped by the cultures that define her: Mini Crawfish Pies, Jamaican Curry, African Spinach Stew, homey Salisbury Steak, and more. Beyond the table, she shares 20 natural remedies--from herbal cough syrup to "Detox" Lentil Soup--that nourish body and spirit alike.
With every page, Boudy shows how healing, joy, and resilience can begin with something beautifully simple: cooking from scratch.
BIO
<meta charset="utf-8">Toya Boudy has appeared on Guy’s Grocery Games, TLC, and Food Network. Crowned Best Home Cook by Hallmark’s Home &amp; Family Channel, Boudy is an ambassador for the New Orleans Multicultural Tourism Network. She lives with her family in New Orleans, Louisiana.
[H]  Countryman Press  /  June 16, 2026

Cooking from Scratch: A Careful Selection of Useful Recipes /// Toya Boudy /// pre

Deluxe digital edition of the Hugo and Eisner Award winning graphic novel! Exclusive extras include a chapter of Okorafor’s script, a new cover and never-before-seen art from Ford, a behind-the-scenes look at the creation process, extensive process art section, and more! On a planet Earth bursting with integrated extraterrestrial life, pregnant doctor Future Nwafor Chukwuebuka is fleeing Nigeria under mysterious conditions. Her fiancé doesn’t know she’s left, and she’s smuggling an illegal, sentient plant into NYC. There, she’ll be thrown into a vibrant immigrant community of humans and aliens, fighting for social justice and facing her past and her unexpected future. But to come to America, you must come through LaGuardia Interstellar and International Airport… and it’s still under construction. BIO Nnedi Okorafor is a Nigerian-American author of African-based science fiction, fantasy and magical realism for children and adults. Her works include Who Fears Death (currently in development at HBO into a TV series), the Binti novella trilogy, The Book of Phoenix, the Akata books, and Lagoon. She is the winner of Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, Locus, and Lodestar Awards, an Eisner Award nominee, and her debut novel Zahrah the Windseeker won the prestigious Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature. Nnedi has also written comics for Marvel, including Black Panther: Long Live the King and Wakanda Forever (featuring the Dora Milaje) and the Shuri series. Her science fiction comic series LaGuardia (from Dark Horse) is an Eisner and Hugo Award nominee and her memoir Broken Places & Outer Spaces is a Locus Award nominee. Nnedi is also creating and co-writing the adaptation of Octavia Butler’s Wild Seed with Viola Davis and Kenyan film director Wanuri Kahiu. Nnedi holds two MAs (literature and journalism) and a PhD (literature). She lives with her daughter Anyaugo and family in Illinois. Follow Nnedi on Twitter (as @Nnedi), Facebook, and Instagram. Learn more about Nnedi at Nnedi.com. REVIEWS “Science fiction, fantasy, YA, short stories, novels… and now comics. Nnedi Okorafor does it all. LaGuardia is a powerful, entertaining story about an important issue, beautifully drawn, with fun aliens. Read it!” -- George R.R. Martin “Prescient and profoundly inventive, LaGuardia is a tale of hard-won hope in a world that is both familiar and freshly reimagined. Okorafor and Ford bring unique characters together to tell a story about what it takes to live by your principles, and to create a different – and better – world with the family you choose.” -- G. Willow Wilson “Nnedi Okorafor expands the comics medium with her innumerable talents, stirring vital conversations about race and immigration. LaGuardia explores how the macro scale of interplanetary exchange and the micro scale of plant consciousness can unlock the solutions to global politics, cultural clash, and refugee crisis. Tana Ford’s ink line imbues all species with warmth, empathy, and playful sci-fi detail.” -- Craig Thompson “Okorafor at her best; both timely and weird. LaGuardia jabs pointed fingers at here-and-now paranoia centered around borders and race, while having wild fun creating some of the best extra-terrestrials ever.” -- Nalo Hopkinson, author of Sandman: House of Whispers and Sister Mine“LaGuardia is unique, playful, heartbreaking, empowering and full of hope for the future. The wisdom Okorafor imparts in each panel pushes back against the darkest urges of our human nature and creates a space that lets us all live.” -- John Jennings “Instead of tossing around volatile political issues like a knee-jerk twitter debate, LaGuardia imagines them through the lives of authentic and engaging characters, placing them into a surreal, but shrewd, reflection of our current reality. Ford’s art deftly balances the unique mix of intense personal drama and cool alien worldbuilding” -- Sean Murphy, author of Punk Rock Jesus and Batman: White Knight “The best of Okorafor’s prose— personal, political and deeply relatable.” -- Newsarama “With Laguardia, Nnedi Okorafor continues her work of bringing a unique, insightful Black African science fiction aesthetic to audiences.” -- Black Nerd Problems [H] Berger Books / February 22, 2022 0.79" H x 10.39" L x 6.85" W (1.7 lbs) 208 pages

LaGuardia (Deluxe Edition) /// Nnedi Okorafor, illustrations by Tana Ford

“A magnificent job in making known the secrets of the Haitian kitchen . . . a testimony of love, family harmony, and strong determination!” - Yvon Nicolas, Haïti Progrès Now available in paperback for the first time, this popular Hippocrene cookbook brings the flavors of Haiti to readers. With African, French, Arabic and Amerindian influences, the food and culture of Haiti are fascinating subjects to explore. From the days of slavery to present times, Haitian cuisine has relied upon staples like root vegetables, pork, fish and flavor enhancers like pikliz (picklese, or hot pepper vinegar) and zepis (ground spices). This cookbook offers over 100 traditional Haitian recipes, including holiday foods and the author’s favorite drinks and desserts. Interspersed throughout is information on Haiti’s history, holidays and celebrations, food staples and cooking methods to guide the home chef on a culinary adventure to this beautiful island. Recipe titles are provided in English, Haitian Creole and French. Sample recipes: Doukounou Salted Codfish Croquettes (Boulet Pomdete ak Mori) Picklese (Pikliz) Breadfruit with Okra (Tonmtonm ak Kalalou) Rice with Pigeon Peas (Diri ak Pwa Kongo) Polenta with Smoked Herring (Mayi Moulen ak Aranso) Pumpkin Soup (Soup Joumou) Guinea Fowl (Pentad) Creole Red Snapper (Pwason ak Sos) BIO Mirta Yurnet-Thomas is a law school graduate with a passion for food and travel. She is married to a Haitian, and was inspired to write this cookbook after she could not find a Haitian cookbook in the United States. With the help of her in-laws, she embarked on the journey of documenting favorite recipes of the family and their friends. She and her husband reside in New York City. [P] Hippocrene Books / September 22, 2020 0.7" H x 8.5" L x 5.5" W (0.65 lbs) 224 pages

“A magnificent job in making known the secrets of the Haitian kitchen . . . a testimony of love, family harmony, and strong determination!” - Yvon Nicolas, Haïti Progrès
Now available in paperback for the first time, this popular Hippocrene cookbook brings the flavors of Haiti to readers. With African, French, Arabic and Amerindian influences, the food and culture of Haiti are fascinating subjects to explore. From the days of slavery to present times, Haitian cuisine has relied upon staples like root vegetables, pork, fish and flavor enhancers like pikliz (picklese, or hot pepper vinegar) and zepis (ground spices).
This cookbook offers over 100 traditional Haitian recipes, including holiday foods and the author’s favorite drinks and desserts. Interspersed throughout is information on Haiti’s history, holidays and celebrations, food staples and cooking methods to guide the home chef on a culinary adventure to this beautiful island. Recipe titles are provided in English, Haitian Creole and French.
Sample recipes:
<ul>
<li>Doukounou</li>
<li>Salted Codfish Croquettes (Boulet Pomdete ak Mori)
</li>
<li>Picklese (Pikliz)
</li>
<li>Breadfruit with Okra (Tonmtonm ak Kalalou)
</li>
<li>Rice with Pigeon Peas (Diri ak Pwa Kongo)
</li>
<li>Polenta with Smoked Herring (Mayi Moulen ak Aranso)
</li>
<li>Pumpkin Soup (Soup Joumou)
</li>
<li>Guinea Fowl (Pentad)
</li>
<li>Creole Red Snapper (Pwason ak Sos)
</li>
</ul>
BIO
<meta charset="utf-8">Mirta Yurnet-Thomas is a law school graduate with a passion for food and travel. She is married to a Haitian, and was inspired to write this cookbook after she could not find a Haitian cookbook in the United States. With the help of her in-laws, she embarked on the journey of documenting favorite recipes of the family and their friends. She and her husband reside in New York City.
[P]  Hippocrene Books  /  September 22, 2020
<meta charset="utf-8">0.7" H x 8.5" L x 5.5" W (0.65 lbs) 224 pages

A Taste of Haiti /// Mirta Yunet-Thomas

-- This is a preorder title and will ship on or after May 26, 2026 -- A bold vision for a Black and Indigenous future rooted in real solidarity, a future that exists beyond the confines of the liberal imagination Current advocates of reparations for slavery and land back often fail to scrutinize racial capitalism and settler colonialism, instead accepting that their destinies will forever be tied to US empire. But as scholar Kyle T. Mays insists in When We Are Kin, we can and should demand a kind of repair that goes beyond a white supremacist idea of what justice can be. In a series of short essays, Mays traces the history of alliances between Black and Indigenous movements; outlines the limitations of certain demands for reparations, including cash payments, that do not fundamentally critique racial—settler capitalism; and interrogates contemporary land back initiatives that fail to fully address decolonization. Along the way, he asks, What does solidarity look like between Black and Indigenous peoples in the United States? Can we find ways to co—belong and co—resist on Turtle Island?Drawing on the Anishinaabe philosophy of mino—bimaadiziwin (the good life), Mays argues that we can resist as kin only when we center the land in building our collective futures. BIO Kyle T. Mays is an Afro—Indigenous (Saginaw Chippewa) writer and scholar. He is a professor of African American studies, American Indian studies, and history at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author or co—author of four books, including Rethinking the Red Power Movement (with Sam Hitchmough), City of Dispossessions: Indigenous Peoples, African Americans, and the Creation of Modern Detroit, An Afro—Indigenous History of the United States, and Hip Hop Beats, Indigenous Rhymes: Modernity and Hip Hop in Indigenous North America. [P] Haymarket Books / May 26, 2026

-- This is a preorder title and will ship on or after May 26, 2026 --
<meta charset="utf-8">A bold vision for a Black and Indigenous future rooted in real solidarity, a future that exists beyond the confines of the liberal imagination
Current advocates of reparations for slavery and land back often fail to scrutinize racial capitalism and settler colonialism, instead accepting that their destinies will forever be tied to US empire. But as scholar Kyle T. Mays insists in When We Are Kin, we can and should demand a kind of repair that goes beyond a white supremacist idea of what justice can be. 
In a series of short essays, Mays traces the history of alliances between Black and Indigenous movements; outlines the limitations of certain demands for reparations, including cash payments, that do not fundamentally critique racial—settler capitalism; and interrogates contemporary land back initiatives that fail to fully address decolonization. Along the way, he asks, What does solidarity look like between Black and Indigenous peoples in the United States? Can we find ways to co—belong and co—resist on Turtle Island? Drawing on the Anishinaabe philosophy of mino—bimaadiziwin (the good life), Mays argues that we can resist as kin only when we center the land in building our collective futures.
BIO
<meta charset="utf-8">Kyle T. Mays is an Afro—Indigenous (Saginaw Chippewa) writer and scholar. He is a professor of African American studies, American Indian studies, and history at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author or co—author of four books, including Rethinking the Red Power Movement (with Sam Hitchmough), City of Dispossessions: Indigenous Peoples, African Americans, and the Creation of Modern Detroit, An Afro—Indigenous History of the United States, and Hip Hop Beats, Indigenous Rhymes: Modernity and Hip Hop in Indigenous North America.
[P]  Haymarket Books  /  May 26, 2026

When We Are Kin: The History and Future of Afro-Indigenous Solidarity /// Kyle T. Mays /// pre

-- This is a preorder title and will ship on or after May 12, 2026 -- In this unique guide intertwining personal memoir with practical fishing advice, Mercury-award winning rapper Speech Debelle explores fishing as a powerful allegory for navigating life’s challenges and triumphs.Find patience, resilience and joy in every cast – whether in life’s journey or your next catch.Using fishing as a metaphor for personal growth, healing and belonging, Black Fish is a captivating blend of practical fishing guide, intimate memoir and cultural reflection, written by multitalented musician Speech Debelle. Lyrically woven across an array of practical fishing advice – from chosen equipment and casting techniques to weather considerations and mindfulness – each chapter interlaces interviews and stories by seasoned anglers with Speech’s reflections on community, identity and finding one’s roots. Fishing can be a practice of healing from trauma. Understand how to trust the process, have grace with yourself and break emotional cycles. Learn about fishing as an indigenous practice and ancestral skill. Through stories of the movement of peoples across water, see how and why the fishing practices that have evolved with them. Discover how to reclaim space and to create your own fishing community. Understand the water and how to create a relationship with it, including all the guidance you’ll need on what equipment to use when, safety gear, comfort and convenience tips, tide times and packing essentials. Practice how to tie and untie personal knots, set up your gear, navigate weather and terrain and get to grips with mindfulness before casting. Once you get a bite, strike and reel it in. Learn how to remove a hook, dispatch and release. Be sure to celebrate your successes and return home with your catch. Speech’s story offers a unique perspective that inspires you to find inner peace within life’s tumultuous currents and become a steward to our abundant oceans. BIO Speech Debelle is a rapper and musician from South London, probably best known for winning the Mercury Music Prize for her debut album, "Speech Therapy" (2009), most of which was co-produced by Big Dada label mate Wayne Lotek. In 2011 she released her second album, "Freedom of Speech," this time with production from Kwes (Warp).She has also been politically and socially active with a number of charities and movements, and hosted the BBC documentary Hidden Homeless. [H] Watkins Publishing / May 12, 2026

-- This is a preorder title and will ship on or after May 12, 2026 --
<meta charset="utf-8">In this unique guide intertwining personal memoir with practical fishing advice, Mercury-award winning rapper Speech Debelle explores fishing as a powerful allegory for navigating life’s challenges and triumphs. Find patience, resilience and joy in every cast – whether in life’s journey or your next catch. Using fishing as a metaphor for personal growth, healing and belonging, Black Fish is a captivating blend of practical fishing guide, intimate memoir and cultural reflection, written by multitalented musician Speech Debelle. Lyrically woven across an array of practical fishing advice – from chosen equipment and casting techniques to weather considerations and mindfulness – each chapter interlaces interviews and stories by seasoned anglers with Speech’s reflections on community, identity and finding one’s roots.  
<ul>
<li>
Fishing can be a practice of healing from trauma. Understand how to trust the process, have grace with yourself and break emotional cycles.</li>
<li>
Learn about fishing as an indigenous practice and ancestral skill. Through stories of the movement of peoples across water, see how and why the fishing practices that have evolved with them. Discover how to reclaim space and to create your own fishing community.</li>
<li>
Understand the water and how to create a relationship with it, including all the guidance you’ll need on what equipment to use when, safety gear, comfort and convenience tips, tide times and packing essentials.</li>
<li>
Practice how to tie and untie personal knots, set up your gear, navigate weather and terrain and get to grips with mindfulness before casting.</li>
<li>
Once you get a bite, strike and reel it in. Learn how to remove a hook, dispatch and release. Be sure to celebrate your successes and return home with your catch.</li>
</ul>
 Speech’s story offers a unique perspective that inspires you to find inner peace within life’s tumultuous currents and become a steward to our abundant oceans.
BIO
<meta charset="utf-8">Speech Debelle is a rapper and musician from South London, probably best known for winning the Mercury Music Prize for her debut album, "Speech Therapy" (2009), most of which was co-produced by Big Dada label mate Wayne Lotek. In 2011 she released her second album, "Freedom of Speech," this time with production from Kwes (Warp). She has also been politically and socially active with a number of charities and movements, and hosted the BBC documentary Hidden Homeless.
[H]  Watkins Publishing  /  May 12, 2026

Black Fish: How to Fish, and Stories of the Wata, Kin & Community /// Speech DeBelle /// pre

-- This is a preorder title and will ship on or after January 20, 2026 -- This stunning cultural and personal reclamation of Black history and Black botanical mastery offers up lessons from the natural world shared through the stories of long-lived trees.The histories of trees in America are also the histories of Black Americans. Pecan trees were domesticated by an enslaved African named Antoine; sycamore trees were both havens and signposts for people trying to escape enslavement; poplar trees are historically associated with lynching; and willow bark has offered the gift of medicine. These trees, and others, testify not only to the complexity of the Black American narrative but also to a heritage of Black botanical expertise that, like Native American traditions, predates the United States entirely.In When Trees Testify, award-winning plant biologist Beronda L. Montgomery explores the ways seven trees—as well as the cotton shrub—are intertwined with Black history and culture. She reveals how knowledge surrounding these trees has shaped America since the very beginning. As Montgomery shows, trees are material witnesses to the lives of enslaved Africans and their descendants.Combining the wisdom of science and history with stories from her own path to botany, Montgomery talks to majestic trees, and in this unique and compelling narrative, they answer. BIO Beronda L. Montgomery is an award-winning plant biologist and the author of the acclaimed Lessons from Plants (Harvard University Press, 2021). She has been named one of the journal Cell’s 100 Inspiring Black Scientists in America, and was awarded the 2021 Cynthia Westcott Science Writing Award and 2022 Adolph E. Gude, Jr. Award for outstanding service to the science of plant biology. She was named a Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University (2025-26), and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Plant Biologists, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the American Academy of Microbiology. REVIEWS A Top 10 Title in Publishers Weekly’s Science Preview“A poignant and singular retelling of Black American history.” -- Publishers Weekly“Botanical knowledge, Montgomery argues persuasively, was intrinsic to Black people’s survival and sustenance before and after emancipation. A fresh perspective on Black history.” -- Kirkus Reviews“When Trees Testify is a beautiful journey through the imagination and intellect of one of our most important contemporary science writers. Montgomery is an inheritor of the Black ecological tradition, who brings her heart and knowledge to bear on the world around us, offering deep illumination and abundant wisdom.” -- Imani Perry, National Book Award-winning author of South to America and Black in Blues“Beronda L. Montgomery draws on the experience of Black Americans, her memories of growing up in Arkansas, and her expertise as a plant scientist to reflect on the deep connections between botany and history. When Trees Testify is a fascinating, informative, and deeply moving book.” -- Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction and Life on a Little-Known Planet [H] Henry Holt & Company / January 20, 2026 1.0" H x 8.25" L x 5.38" W (1.0 lbs) 320 pages

-- This is a preorder title and will ship on or after January 20, 2026 --
<meta charset="utf-8">This stunning cultural and personal reclamation of Black history and Black botanical mastery offers up lessons from the natural world shared through the stories of long-lived trees. The histories of trees in America are also the histories of Black Americans. Pecan trees were domesticated by an enslaved African named Antoine; sycamore trees were both havens and signposts for people trying to escape enslavement; poplar trees are historically associated with lynching; and willow bark has offered the gift of medicine. These trees, and others, testify not only to the complexity of the Black American narrative but also to a heritage of Black botanical expertise that, like Native American traditions, predates the United States entirely. In When Trees Testify, award-winning plant biologist Beronda L. Montgomery explores the ways seven trees—as well as the cotton shrub—are intertwined with Black history and culture. She reveals how knowledge surrounding these trees has shaped America since the very beginning. As Montgomery shows, trees are material witnesses to the lives of enslaved Africans and their descendants. Combining the wisdom of science and history with stories from her own path to botany, Montgomery talks to majestic trees, and in this unique and compelling narrative, they answer.
BIO
<meta charset="utf-8">Beronda L. Montgomery is an award-winning plant biologist and the author of the acclaimed Lessons from Plants (Harvard University Press, 2021). She has been named one of the journal Cell’s 100 Inspiring Black Scientists in America, and was awarded the 2021 Cynthia Westcott Science Writing Award and 2022 Adolph E. Gude, Jr. Award for outstanding service to the science of plant biology. She was named a Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University (2025-26), and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Plant Biologists, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the American Academy of Microbiology.
REVIEWS
<meta charset="utf-8">A Top 10 Title in Publishers Weekly’s Science Preview “A poignant and singular retelling of Black American history.” -- Publishers Weekly “Botanical knowledge, Montgomery argues persuasively, was intrinsic to Black people’s survival and sustenance before and after emancipation. A fresh perspective on Black history.” -- Kirkus Reviews “When Trees Testify is a beautiful journey through the imagination and intellect of one of our most important contemporary science writers. Montgomery is an inheritor of the Black ecological tradition, who brings her heart and knowledge to bear on the world around us, offering deep illumination and abundant wisdom.” -- Imani Perry, National Book Award-winning author of South to America and Black in Blues “Beronda L. Montgomery draws on the experience of Black Americans, her memories of growing up in Arkansas, and her expertise as a plant scientist to reflect on the deep connections between botany and history. When Trees Testify is a fascinating, informative, and deeply moving book.” -- Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction and Life on a Little-Known Planet
[H]  Henry Holt &amp; Company  /  January 20, 2026
<meta charset="utf-8">1.0" H x 8.25" L x 5.38" W (1.0 lbs) 320 pages

When Trees Testify: Science, Wisdom, History, and America's Black Botanical Legacy /// Beronda L. Montgomery /// pre

A Pulitzer Prize–winning poet reveals how poetry is a powerful tool of connection and understanding in a fractured world. Drawing on deep passion and personal experience, former US Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith demystifies the art form that has too often been mischaracterized as “inaccessible,” “irrelevant,” or “intimidating.” She argues that poetry is rooted in fundamentally human qualities innate to our capacities to love, dream, question, and cultivate community. Lifting the veil on her own creative process, Smith shows us how reading and writing poetry allows us to better confront life’s many uncertainties and losses, build camaraderie with strangers, and understand ourselves more fully. In six insightful chapters, she grounds readers in the technical elements of the craft and provides close readings of the works of contemporary poets such as Joy Harjo, Danez Smith, and Francisco Márquez, alongside classic poems by Dickinson, Keats, Millay, and others. By reimaging and reexamining the age-old art form, Fear Less is a warm invitation to find meaning, consolation, and hope through poetry for poetry fans and newcomers to the art form. BIO Tracy K. Smith is the Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at Harvard University. She served as the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States and is the author of five poetry collections, including the Pulitzer Prize–winning Life on Mars. REVIEWS "Fear Less is a great inhale of much-needed air. Smith has once again shown us that she is both brilliant and tender as she explores the ways poems can change us. This is a must-have book." -- Ada Limón, 24th U. S. Poet Laureate and author of The Hurting Kind"I can think of no more inviting, generous, thoughtful, curious, and serious a guide into poetry than Tracy K. Smith. Fear Less is a book I will share with the people in my life who love poetry, and the people in my life who might." -- Ross Gay, author of The Book of Delights"What a sincere kindness we have been granted with this book. Fear Less is an invitation for even the most reticent among us to approach poems with generosity, curiosity, and an open heart. And in the process, Smith reminds us to cultivate those same habits in our dealings with others and with ourselves." -- Eve L. Ewing, author of 1919"Using her rare blend of lyric precision, intellectual depth, and civic consciousness, Tracy K. Smith considers how language can reshape, resist, and reform a nation. Smith resists numbness, defies borders, and offers a deeper articulation of what is truly at stake: our shared humanity." -- Mahogany L. Browne, author of Chrome Valley and poet-in-residence, Lincoln Center"Smith can get away with returning to the question that most poets hope will die, because her answers are sincere and vital in this moment: ‘Does poetry matter? Why not ask does imagination matter? How about patience, courage, humility, hope, and awe?'" -- Literary Hub"A spirited literary journey." -- Kirkus Reviews [H] W. W. Norton & Company / November 18, 2025 1.0" H x 8.5" L x 5.9" W (0.8 lbs) 192 pages

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