From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Long Way Down comes a powerful print adaptation of the acclaimed, award-winning audiobook Soundtrack—a stirring story of music, friendship, and finding your voice in 2000s New York City.

★ “[A] stunning tribute to New York City’s creative scene . . . The text echoes with the sounds of N.Y.C., as Stuy perceives them, from beginning to end.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

Stuy Grey plays the drums, just like his mom, a founding member of the all-black punk band the Bed-Stuy Magic Dusters. He teaches himself by watching videos of tap dancers. Now he’s left home, estranged from his mom and her abusive boyfriend. He’s camping out with his uncle on the Lower East Side. His landlord, Dunks, has chops: He shreds on only five strings. Add Alexis on bass guitar and Keith on horn: These teens are a band, busking in New York City subway stations to scrape enough money to record an album.

As their popularity grows, so do the pressures, from complicated family dynamics to the glare of unexpected public attention. And when the police start looking for their bassist, Stuy faces his toughest decision yet.

Adapted from the acclaimed Listening Library original audiobook and written with Jason Reynolds’s signature rhythm, heart, and honesty, Soundtrack: A Novel is a raw, resonant story about friendship, creativity, and what it truly means to find, and fight for, your voice.

"This book, I suspect, will detonate over certain corners in America.... Darkology is a major and thrilling work of American history." ―Dwight Garner, New York Times Book Review
As Heard on NPR's Fresh Air: "Quite enlightening." ―Terry Gross
"Tremendous.... Barnes has corralled the chaos, contradiction, and surprise of American social reality; evaded mythology; and made... the ‘unwritten’ legible.... [A] painfully necessary autopsy of the nation’s soul." ―Walton Muyumba, Boston Globe
Named one of the Best Books of the Month by the New York Times, TIME, and Kirkus Reviews

A groundbreaking history, decades in the making, that chronicles how blackface dominated American society culturally, financially, and racially for nearly two centuries.

Never before has the disturbing story of blackface and its piercing reflection of American society been so comprehensively told. With Darkology, Princeton historian Rhae Lynn Barnes meticulously unravels the complex, subterranean, and all-too-often expunged history of “Darkology”―the insidious study, commodification, and dehumanization of Black life, through which performers caricatured the enslaved and formerly enslaved for their supposed subservience and happy demeanor.

Given the extraordinary research reflected inDarkology, it’s not surprising that Barnes spent twenty years tracking down “fading photographs, old movies, bureaucratic detritus, moldy scripts, and living witnesses, assembling an impressive archive that allowed her to demonstrate the astonishingly broad reach of blackface minstrelsy” (Laurel Thatcher Ulrich). Painstakingly piecing together these scattered shards of evidence, Barnes reveals the shocking extent to which blackface took center stage in every era of American history.

This was not a fringe activity. By 1830, as political resistance to slavery grew, blackface exploded from a niche performance into a venomous national export. Within a decade, hardly a theater in the countrydidn’tput on minstrel shows. Following the Civil War, this grotesque entertainment soared, seeping from professional theaters into everyday amateur shows, print, and advertisements. It was everywhere: Elks Clubs, religious institutions, battlefields, universities, and schools. It wasn’t justinthe Jim Crow era; itdefinedit. The very name “Jim Crow” derives from minstrelsy’s founding character.

Darkologydismantles the myth that blackface was a fleeting, post–Civil War phenomenon. Even in eras known for liberal progressivism, it flourished. Barnes unearths the startling fact that four-term president Franklin D. Roosevelt was a devotee who died hours before a blackface show he had commissioned at Warm Springs. It permeated U.S. military bases and was even used in World War II Japanese American concentration camps and German POW camps as a bizarre tool of “Americanization.”

After WWII, the tide began to turn as Black veterans and mothers in places like suburban California protested the practice in schools. Still, blackface performances proved resilient, surfacing as late as 1969 at the University of Vermont. Even as the Civil Rights movement fought for equality, blackface remained present in American politics and white supremacist organizing through the Nixon and Ford administrations, its legacy still percolating in variable forms today.

By tracing minstrelsy’s evolution through oral histories, material culture, and a wide range of multimedia sources, Barnes’s “masterpiece” (David Blight) forces us to reckon with the myriad ways the American Dream wore blackface. Recasting this American story with “vivid and engaging storytelling” (Howard French),Darkologyis a landmark work that peers beneath the boulders deliberately obscuring our past―illuminating a path toward a more just and equal society in America’s future. 72 illustrations

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Liveright

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 24, 2026

• Author: Rhae Lynn Barnes

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 528 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1631496344

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1631496349

The first full and definitive narrative of one of the most shocking and largely unknown events of racial injustice in US history: the execution of nineteen Black soldiers in Texas

On the sweltering, rainy night of August 23, 1917, one of the most consequential events affecting America’s long legacy of racism and injustice began in Houston, Texas. Inflamed by a rumor that a white mob was arming to attack them, and after weeks of police harassment, more than 100 African American soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, took their weapons without authorization and, led by a sergeant, marched into the largely Black San Felipe district of the city. Violent confrontations with police and civilians ensued and nineteen lives were lost.

The Army moved quickly to court-martial 118 soldiers on charges of mutiny and murder, even though a majority of the soldiers involved had never fired their weapons. Inadequately defended en masse by a single officer who was not a lawyer and had no experience in capital cases, in three trials undermined by perjured testimony and clear racial bias, and confronted by an all-white tribunal committed to a rapid judgment, 110 Black soldiers were found guilty—despite the fact that no mutiny had, in fact, taken place. In the predawn darkness of December 11, thirteen of them were hanged at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio—hastily and in secret, without any chance to appeal. News of the largest mass execution in the Army’s history outraged the country and inspired preventive legislation; and yet six more Black soldiers were executed in early 1918 and the rest were sentenced to life in prison.

The Houston Incident, as it became known, has remained largely untold, a deep stain on the Army’s record and pride. Award-winning historian and Army veteran John A. Haymond has spent six years researching the events surrounding the Incident and leading the efforts that ultimately led, in November 2023, to the largest act of retroactive clemency in the Army’s history when the verdicts were overturned and honorable discharges awarded to all the soldiers involved. His dramatic chronicle of what transpired—situated amongst the rampant racism in Texas and the country—is a crucially important and harrowing reminder of our racially violent past, offering the promise that justice, even posthumously, can prevail.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grove Press

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 14, 2026

• Author: John A. Haymond

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 400 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0802167594

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0802167590

THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS' CHOICE • Award-winning author and journalist Wil Haygood explores how the Vietnam War became a mirror for the struggle of Black Americans—fighting for freedom abroad while demanding equality at home—and a powerful lens through which to understand the racial and political divides that continue to shape American life.

"With this book, Wil Haygood has become the preeminent chronicler of the Black experience in America.” —Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Laureate for The Making of the Atomic Bomb

"In these masterful pages, Haygood reframes both the Vietnam War and the United States’ unfinished struggle for equality."—Mitchell Zuckoff, New York Times bestselling author of 13 Hours and Lost in Shangri-La

Drawing on the lives of soldiers and officers, doctors and nurses, journalists and activists, artists and politicians, Haygood illuminates a generation caught between two battles: one on the front lines in Vietnam and another for justice and dignity in America.

Among those at the heart of the story are Air Force pilot Fred Cherry, the first Black officer captured by the North Vietnamese and a hero to millions back home; Dr. Elbert Nelson, a doctor who came to Vietnam after watching TV footage of the Watts riots in Los Angeles and soon found himself amid rising Black soldier protests overseas; Wallace Terry, a groundbreaking Black reporter determined to expose the dynamics of race and war to the American public and Philippa Schuyler, a biracial concert pianist who traveled to Vietnam to rescue mixed-race orphans, many fathered by Black soldiers, and died trying to bring them to safety.

Surrounding their experiences are the cultural and political forces of the era, including Martin Luther King Jr., Marvin Gaye, Berry Gordy, and Lyndon Johnson, whose voices and actions shaped a decade of turbulence and transformation.

The War Within a War is both sweeping history and intimate revelation, capturing the tragedies and triumphs, the honor and hypocrisies, the courage and cowardice that shaped an era and whose repercussions resonate today.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Knopf

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 10, 2026

• Author: Wil Haygood

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 384 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593537696

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593537695

From the author of Oshún and Me and the artist of Homegrown comes a joyful picture book that celebrates community and individuality, inspired by real people with disabilities everywhere.

Today is the best day of the year: PARADE DAY! It’s the day that Hazel’s city is a little bit shinier, everyone’s a little bit happier, and she gets to wear her sparkliest, coolest gear to celebrate and attend the disability pride parade.

As Hazel takes readers on an eye-opening journey through her city on her way to the parade, along the way they will see the various ways in which communities can evolve to be more accessible and safe for everyone. Whether it's putting dips in the curb for people using mobility aids, facilitating the use of service animals, or installing wheelchair accessible playground equipment, there are a lot of ways our communities can be made safer and more accessible for everyone.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Feiwel & Friends

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 24, 2026

• Author: Adiba Nelson

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 32 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250329027

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250329028
  

The inspiring story of the creation of what is proving to be one of the world’s most innovative financing programs, which has helped thousands of underserved African communities take control of their own futures through sustainable and localized low-fee private schools.

When Irene Pritzker walked into the Agbogbloshie Market in Ghana’s capital city of Accra in 2008, her heart ached.

Inside the market was a small but growing school—Paulina’s Queensland School, run by entrepreneur Paulina Nlando—with between 100 and 150 students. It was in a desperate state of physical disrepair, with dirt floors, poor lighting, and dangerous exposed wiring. But Paulina and thousands of school owners like her were unable to obtain business loans to improve their schools.

Upon returning to the U.S., Irene made herself a promise that she would do everything in her power to give schools like Paulina’s a fighting chance.

Through the creation of the IDP Foundation and its Rising Schools Program, she set out to challenge the top-down model and foreign aid that had been in place for decades and left millions of children underserved and schools financially dependent.

Instead, the program focused on treating low-fee private schools as businesses, giving the owners what they needed—access to sustainable microloans from local financial institutions—and empowering them to grow and deliver life-changing opportunities for their students.

The results were amazing. By 2025, the Rising Schools Program had improved more than 2,300 schools like Queensland and affected the lives of more than 500,000 children while spearheading a movement of sustainable localization that has spread to Kenya and is gaining global traction.

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FPHNJ955

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amplify Publishing

• Author: Irene Pritzker

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 27, 2026

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 272 pages

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8891387188

A child discovers a secret ingredient for nurturing plants—and for helping ailing loved ones, too—in this tender story by a two-time New York Times best-selling author celebrating the power of hope.

Everyone in Henry’s family loves plants and gardening. So why can he never get his little plant to grow, no matter how hard he tries? His mom has been able to grow anything since she was young, and even cultivated a whole orchard to help feed people who were hungry. Henry imagines his mother as a great tree, with branches wrapping around the whole community. “People and seeds have a lot in common,” his mom likes to say. “If you want them to grow strong, nourishment and sunlight aren’t enough—they also need hope.” When Henry’s mom becomes sick and it looks like she may not recover, this belief that she’s sown in her son becomes key to what happens next. Frederick Joseph, award-winning author of The Black Friend, offers a bighearted story about keeping hope alive in the face of grief—and a gentle allegory with an upbeat message about healing a fragile planet.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Candlewick

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 3, 2026

• Author: Frederick Joseph

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 32 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1536233455

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1536233452

Educational leadership is messy; every decision ripples beyond your office, touching schools, families, and communities in ways you can’t always predict. This book helps school and district leaders develop contextual intelligence: the ability to read their environment, navigate power and politics, and act with courage and clarity.

Across seven chapters, we’ll walk through the big questions that sit at the heart of your daily leadership, including:

• How to navigate the power dynamics that shape district leadership;

• How to read your environment, anticipate challenges, and take action;

• What it looks like to lead amid societal shifts: demographic changes, political polarization, economic pressures, and cultural divides;

• How to activate institutional levers that promote opportunity and access, even when the system resists change; and

• The daily actions you can take now to harness possibility by building trust, modeling inclusive practices, and moving your community forward.

Throughout, the book’s tools, real stories, and reflective questions will inspire you to lead with both head and heart in an uncertain world. You’ll come away with the skills, insights, and habits of mind that will help you stay steady in any storm so your students can thrive.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Routledge

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 6, 2026

• Author: Mary Rice-Boothe

• Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 176 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1032776676

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1032776675

"An utter delight from start to finish." –Terah Shelton Harris, author of One Summer in Savannah, for Sisters with a Side of Greens

A heartwarming small-town tale of rediscovering joy in unexpected places. Starting over isn't easy, but sometimes it's exactly what we need.

Newly divorced and determined to prove she can stand on her own, Joyce Hicks moves back to small-town Texas, leaving behind the life she has known for decades for a fresh start in her late father's home. Unfinished renovations force her to share her kitchen with her tenant, Gabriella Santos, an aspiring chef with dreams of opening a restaurant inspired by her Black and Mexican roots. What begins as an inconvenience blossoms into an unlikely friendship between the two women as they learn to navigate their shared space.

Just as her life begins to settle, Joyce's summer plans upend when her grandson, Elijah, is dropped off for an unexpected seven-week stay, dredging up all kinds of buried things from her past―including visits from her ex-husband, judgment from her daughter, and insecurities that she never quite healed from. Meanwhile, Gabriella's passion for cooking and her vibrant personality infuse the household with energy, even as she faces her own struggles with self-doubt and heartbreak. 

Together, Joyce, Gabriella, and Elijah form a patchwork family that supports each other through life's highs and lows. When an old flame, Richard, reappears in Joyce's life, she must decide whether to embrace love head-on or to slow down and wait just a little longer for her happy ending.

More Praise for Michelle Stimpson

"Stimpson delivers raw, complex characters and a delicious storyline that will stay with the reader long after the last page." ― New York Times bestselling author Kim Michele Richardson for Sisters with a Side of Greens

"Full of heart, generosity, and charm." ― Lucy Gilmore, author of The Lonely Hearts Book Club, for Sisters with a Side of Greens

"This is a heartwarming story of misconceptions and learning to love people for who they are, not what you expect them to be." ― Booklist for Sisters with a Side of Greens

Dear Black Boy
You will teach the world
How to shine brightly
Just by being yourself

Celebrate the imagination, hard work, laughter, and dreams of Black boys with this expressive, empowering text from poet and author Mahogany L. Browne. With vibrant illustrations from artist Sawyer Cloud, this picture book is perfect for honoring big milestones and finding joy in everyday moments―a heartwarming and jubilant love letter to Black boys everywhere.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Roaring Brook Press

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 5, 2026

• Author: Mahogany L. Browne

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 32 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250268036

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250268037

Dear Black Girl
You teach the world
The power of creativity
Just by being yourself

Celebrate the creativity, bravery, dreams, and laughter of Black girls with this purposeful, powerful text from poet and author Mahogany L. Browne. With lush, bright illustrations from artist Sawyer Cloud, this picture book is perfect for honoring big milestones and finding joy in everyday moments―a heartwarming and jubilant love letter to Black girls everywhere.

• ublisher ‏ : ‎ Roaring Brook Press

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 5, 2026

• Author: Mahogany L. Browne

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 32 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250268044

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250268044

Discover how inclusive capitalism can restore American greatness and secure the nation's economic future for everyone

Capitalism For All: Inclusive Economics and the Future-Proofing of America by John Hope Bryant presents a revolutionary framework for rebuilding American prosperity through economic inclusion rather than division. As the founder and CEO of Operation HOPE, America's first non-profit social investment banking organization, and a former vice-chairman of the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy, Bryant brings decades of frontline experience empowering underserved communities.

This book addresses America's growing economic inequality and social fragmentation by demonstrating how inclusive capitalism – not exclusionary policies – can restore the middle class, revitalize the American Dream, and maintain our position as the world's leading economy.

Bryant's comprehensive analysis spans three critical sections: making the case for capitalism that works for all Americans, providing practical strategies for implementation, and charting the path forward on domestic and global stages. The book tackles everything from rebuilding opportunity ladders and leveraging technology as an equalizer to preparing for AI's impact and creating sustainable jobs of the future. With detailed business plans for America and insights into stakeholder capitalism, Bryant offers both diagnosis and cure for our economic challenges, concluding with a vision of America as a global model for inclusive prosperity.

Key insights and strategies include:

• The Middle Class as America's Superpower: How expanding rather than contracting our middle class strengthens national security and economic competitiveness

• Futureproofing Through Technology: Concrete plans for ensuring AI and emerging technologies lift all Americans rather than leaving communities behind

• Stakeholder Capitalism in Action: Real-world examples and frameworks for businesses to drive inclusive growth while maintaining profitability

• Global Leadership Through Inclusion: How inclusive economics positions America as a beacon of opportunity and strengthens our international influence

• Practical Implementation Tools: Detailed playbooks and business plans for creating systemic change at community, corporate, and policy levels

Capitalism For All serves business leaders, policymakers, community organizers, and engaged citizens who recognize that America's strength lies in its people's collective prosperity. Whether you're seeking to understand how economic inclusion drives national competitiveness or looking for actionable strategies to build a more equitable capitalism, Bryant provides both the moral imperative and practical roadmap for ensuring the American Dream remains achievable for all.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wiley

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 31, 2026

• Author: John Hope Bryant

• Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 256 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1394409109

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1394409105

Why is less than 1% of rural land in the U.S. owned by Black people? An acclaimed writer and activist explores the impact of land theft and violent displacement on racial wealth gaps, arguing that justice stems from the literal roots of the earth.

“With heartfelt prose and unyielding honesty, Baker explores the depths of her roots and invites readers to reflect on our own.”—Donovan X. Ramsey, author of the National Book Award for Nonfiction semi-finalist When Crack Was King

To understand the contemporary racial wealth gap, we must first unpack the historic attacks on Indigenous and Black land ownership. From the moment that colonizers set foot on Virginian soil, a centuries-long war was waged, resulting in an existential dilemma: Who owns what on stolen land? Who owns what with stolen labor? To answer these questions, we must confront one of this nation’s first sins: stealing, hoarding, and commodifying the land.

Research suggests that between 1910 and 1997, Black Americans lost about 90% of their farmland. Land theft widened the racial wealth gap, privatized natural resources, and created a permanent barrier to access that should be a birthright for Black and Indigenous communities. Rooted traces the experiences of Brea Baker’s family history of devastating land loss in Kentucky and North Carolina, identifying such violence as the root of persistent inequality in this country. Ultimately, her grandparents’ commitment to Black land ownership resulted in the Bakers Acres—a haven for the family where they are sustained by the land, surrounded by love, and wholly free.

A testament to the Black farmers who dreamed of feeding, housing, and tending to their communities, Rooted bears witness to their commitment to freedom and reciprocal care for the land. By returning equity to a dispossessed people, we can heal both the land and our nation’s soul.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ One World

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 18, 2024

• Author: Brea Baker

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 320 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593447379

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593447376

Explores the intersection of racial thought and reproductive science and policy across the British Empire.

In Generating Difference, Andrew Wells traces the entwined histories of race, sex, and reproduction in Britain and its empire during the long eighteenth century. Challenging the assumption that the concept of race evolved in the modern era solely through new forms of biological science, Wells argues that older ideas of lineage, sexual reproduction, and bodily difference remained central to how race was understood, categorized, and enforced well into the nineteenth century.

From the pages of Enlightenment science to colonial policy in the Caribbean, South Asia, and the Pacific, Wells shows how reproductive sex served as a primary framework for defining human differences. Concepts of identity were written onto bodies—especially those marked as non-white or non-male—through perceived differences in anatomy, fertility, and sexuality, albeit never unproblematically. Whether in debates about slavery, interracial relationships, embryology, or population policy, the reproductive body became the crucible in which ideas about race and sex were forged and maintained.

Offering a global scope beyond the Atlantic, including South Asia and the Pacific, and drawing from a wide range of sources—from satire to scientific treatises—Generating Difference brings the scholarship of race and sexuality into direct and compelling conversation. Wells uncovers how deeply reproduction structured imperial ideologies and how the policing of bodies helped naturalize hierarchy, control, and exclusion. At its core, the book reconsiders what made difference "visible" in a period before the dominance of the idea of racial biology.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Johns Hopkins University Press

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 13, 2026

• Author: Andrew Wells

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 390 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1421453606

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1421453606

An illustrated history that celebrates the legacy of Black actors, films, and filmmakers from the silent era through today and explores the deeply embedded racism of the film industry, from the award-winning author of The Black Panther Party

In Black Film, Eisner Award-winning author David F. Walker presents an immersive dive into the crucial history of Black actors, films, and filmmakers. Following closely behind the very first moving picture captured by Eadward Muybridge in 1872, Thomas Edison's thirty-second "actualities" from the late 1890s, including A Watermelon Contest and Dancing Darkey Boy, are among the first short films to depict Black people. These can be considered the earliest examples of how the film industry would go on to exploit, appropriate, and shape the narrative of Black people for the duration of its development.

Divided by decade, each section of the book covers an important era and milestone for Black film, highlighting both difficulties and triumphs through time. For example:

• The harmful popularization of blackface and minstrel shows (1890-1914)

• The emergence of racist feature-length movies such as Birth of a Nation after the advancement of sound in film, countered by the success of pioneering Black filmmakers such as Oscar Michaeux and brothers George and Noble Johnson (1915-1928)

• The rise of trailblazing actors such as Sidney Poitier and Dorothy Dandridge (1950-1959)

• The roots of Blaxploitation as a subgenre and how Black people ultimately saved Hollywood during trying times (1970-1979)

• The exciting crossover of hip-hop music into film (1980-1989)

• The box office success of Marvel's The Black Panther, Moonlight's history-making Best Picture win, and more.

With gorgeous illustrations, film stills, and rare pieces of ephemera, Black Film celebrates the glowing contributions of Black actors and filmmakers, without shying away from discussing the racism that is rooted in Hollywood—an important reality to address in order to make progress.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ten Speed Press

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 24, 2026

• Author: David F. Walker

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 208 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 198486016X

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1984860163

SIX STARRED REVIEWS!

Award-winning creators Anne Wynter and Micha Archer share a mother-daughter tale about delighting in small pleasures throughout the city. Perfect for fans of Oge Mora and Sophie Blackall.

Anne Wynter perfectly captures the hurry and hustle of a busy day. But when plans change and a girl and her mother slow down to savor small pleasures, the real celebration begins.

Dazzling, kaleidoscopic cut paper artwork from Caldecott Honor ar

tist Micha Archer highlights each special moment in this sweet tribute to time spent together.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Clarion Books

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 24, 2026

• Author: Anne Wynter

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 40 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0063238292

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063238299

A Scientific American Favorite Book of 2025

The riveting story of the McKissack family—the founders of the leading Black design and construction firm in the United States, from its beginnings in the mid-1800s to its thriving status today—in a moving celebration of resilience and innovation.

Captured in his native West Africa and enslaved on American shores by a North Carolina plantation owner, Moses McKissack I began to build his way to emancipation right from the start. Becoming an enslaved craftsman, he picked up the trade his family would become famous for in the earliest years of the 19th century, passing his learnings down to his children and seeing them off to freedom after the Civil War.

The family would settle in Tennessee, getting its bearings in the building trades despite rampant discrimination, establishing a foothold that now sees its latest generations working at the absolute peak of its industry.

The family’s fingerprints have been left all across the United States, spanning from Reconstruction to contemporary times, through projects like the Morris Memorial Building, Capers C.M.E. Church, John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.

Here, Cheryl McKissack Daniel, CEO and president of McKissack & McKissack, reveals the full fascinating story of her family. So much more than an exploration of architectural achievements, The Black Family Who Built America is also a compelling illustration of how history rhymes and reverberates, and a celebration of the human spirit’s ability to overcome adversity and drive change. From Moses’s humble beginnings to Cheryl’s current role as a trailblazer and champion of diversity, the family’s journey underscores the importance of perseverance, innovation, and strategic vision in shaping a legacy that continues to inspire and impact the construction industry.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atria/Black Privilege Publishing

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 12, 2025

• Author: Cheryl McKissack Daniel

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 288 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1668033992

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1668033999

In this heartwarming celebration of familial love, Auntie's favorite nephew has to navigate the growing pains of becoming a big cousin.

Auntie’s baby boy knows he’s the king of her heart―until the day she brings home someone new. Suddenly, his blankie is shared, his snuggle spot is different, and his big feelings are hard to handle. How can Auntie’s love stretch far enough for them both?

But just when it seems like baby cousin is totally taking over, one sweet smile changes everything.

Bursting with heart and humor, Auntie's Baby is a tender reminder that love doesn’t get smaller when families grow―it only gets bigger.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 7, 2026

• Author: Breanna J. McDaniel

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 32 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250881307

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250881304

Publishers Weekly • Best Books of 2025 [Nonfiction]
Foreign Policy • Most Anticipated Books of 2025

“Howard French’s The Second Emancipation stands the second half of the last century on its geopolitical head.” ―David Levering Lewis, winner of the Pulitzer Prize

From the acclaimed author of Born in Blackness comes an extraordinary account of Africa’s liberation from colonial oppression, a work that fundamentally reshapes our understanding of modern history.

The Second Emancipation, the second work in a trilogy from best-selling author Howard W. French about Africa’s pivotal role in shaping world history, underscores Adam Hochschild’s contention that French is a “modern-day Copernicus.” The title―referring to a brief period beginning in 1957 when dozens of African colonies gained their freedom―positions this liberation at the center of a “movement of global Blackness,” with one charismatic leader, Kwame Nkrumah (1909–1972), at its head.

That so few people today know about Nkrumah is an omission that French demonstrates is “typical of our deliberate neglect of Africa’s enormous role in the birth of the modern world.” Determined to re-create Nkrumah’s life as “an epic twentieth-century story,”The Second Emancipationbegins with his impoverished, unheralded birth in the far-western region of Ghana’s Gold Coast. But blessed with a deep curiosity, a young Nkrumah pursued an overseas education in the United States. Nowhere is French’s consummate style more vivid than in Nkrumah’s early years in Depression-era America, especially in his mesmerizing portrait of a culturally effervescent Harlem that Nkrumah encountered in 1935 before heading to college. During his student years in Pennsylvania and later as an activist in London, Nkrumah became steeped in a renowned international Black intellectual milieu―including Du Bois, Garvey, Fanon, Padmore, and C.L.R. James, who called him “one of the greatest political leaders of our century”―and formed an ideology that readied him for an extraordinarily swift and peaceful rise to power upon his return to Ghana in 1947.

Four years later, in a political landslide he engineered while imprisoned, Nkrumah stunned Britain by winning the first general election under universal franchise in Africa, becoming Ghana’s first independent prime minister in 1957. As leader of a sovereign nation, Nkrumah wielded his influence to promote the liberation of the entire continent, pushing unity as the only pathway to recover from the damages of enslavement and subjugation. By the time national military and police forces, aided by the CIA, overthrew him in 1966, Nkrumah’s radical belief in pan-African liberation had both galvanized dozens of nascent African states and fired a global agenda of Black power.

In its dramatic recasting of the American civil rights story and in its tragic depiction of a continent that once exuded all the promise of a newly won freedom,The Second Emancipationbecomes a generational work that positions Africa at the forefront of modern-day history.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Liveright

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 6, 2026

• Author: Howard W. French

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 512 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1324099372

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1324099376

#1 New York Times Bestseller!

Academy Award winning actress Viola Davis and the world's #1 bestselling author James Patterson’s Judge Stone “delivers first-class courtroom drama, small-town excitement, and strong characters all wrapped in a moral dilemma. Tense, readable, and relevant.” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

“Talk about a power combo! ... With Davis’s razor-sharp emotional insight and Patterson’s mastery of rocket-fuel pacing, this is the dream team to deliver an up-all-night read that will keep the group chat buzzing.” —Oprah Daily

“Wonderfully satisfying ... This legal thriller from [a] superstar duo ... demands attention from its opening pages and never lets go.” —Booklist, starred review

All rise... for Judge Stone.

The most respected citizen in Union Springs, Alabama (population 3,314), is Judge Mary Stone. She holds two responsibilities sacred: running her family farm and presiding over her courtroom. It's there she draws the most controversial case in the history of the South.

Criminally, it’s open-and-shut.

Ethically, there is no middle ground. Essentially, it’s a choice between life and death.
 
No judge can satisfy everyone. It would be dangerous to try. But Judge Stone is willing to fight to bring justice to the people and place she loves.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown and Company

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 9, 2026

• Author: Viola Davis

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 432 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0316579831

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316579834

From one of America's most venerable politicians, the powerful, untold story of the pioneering Black congressmen from South Carolina who were elected in the aftermath of the Civil War, revealing why it took nearly a century before the ninth, James Clyburn, was elected.

Today, South Carolina congressman James E. Clyburn is renowned as a Democratic kingmaker and our nation's most august Black political leader. But behind him stand eight other remarkable men: the first Black politicians to go to Congress from his home state, and who blazed a path for his own ascent. Since his own arrival in Congress in the early nineties, Congressman Clyburn has been guided by the wisdom and example of these men, and also instructed by their struggles—especially with the demon of American racism. South Carolina's first eight Black congressmen all rose to office following the Civil War and emancipation, but then the dark veil of Jim Crow fell across the South. It would take nearly a century before the ninth Black representative, Clyburn himself, was elected.

In The First Eight, Congressman Clyburn shares these men's stories, and their message of liberty, with the nation they served. Among them are Joseph Rainey, the first Black politician to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in our nation's history, who was born enslaved in 1832; Robert Smalls, iconic for his heroism during the Civil War, when he fled the Confederacy, stole a ship, and fought for the Union Army; and Richard Cain, who ran a widely read newspaper for Black South Carolinians and is associated with the Emanuel AME Church, one of the oldest and most distinguished Black churches in America, and where neo-Nazi Dylan Roof killed nine Black congregants in a mass shooting in 2015. Through the trials, tribulations, triumphs, and challenges that all nine men faced, Congressman Clyburn reveals a whole new way of understanding the period between the Civil War and the present.

A unique blend of history and memoir, The First Eight is both a monument to the legacies of these eight trailblazing Americans, and also a clear-eyed appraisal of how far we've come, and how far we have left to go, in our nation's ongoing struggle for true democracy.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown and Company

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 11, 2025

• Author: Jim Clyburn

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 304 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0316572748

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316572743

A FINALIST FOR THE 2025 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

SIX STARRED REVIEWS

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.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Versify

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 22, 2026

• Author: Ibi Zoboi

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 320 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062888889

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062888884

The award-winning co-anchor of PBS NewsHour presents a sweeping and insightful retrospective on the history of Black comedy in America.

Black comedians have long played a pivotal role in shaping the American sense of humor. The 1990s showcased a golden era for Black comedy, highlighted by the surge of iconic sitcoms that redefined television and left a lasting cultural imprint. Shows like In Living Color, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Living Single, Martin, and A Different World stood on the shoulders of decades of groundbreaking work by Black comedians, both on-screen and on-stage, to deliver nuanced portrayals of life, family, and culture. Yet, just decades earlier, the idea of Black artists dominating American airwaves with characters that were both hilarious and heartfelt would have been unimaginable. How did it come to be?

The journey begins with 19th-century minstrel shows – offensive by today’s standards but the first stage for Black performers to reach mainstream audiences. Over time, comedians challenged racial stereotypes, exploring race and identity through humor. Icons like Jackie “Moms” Mabley, Redd Foxx, Dick Gregory, Flip Wilson, Richard Pryor, Whoopi Goldberg, and Eddie Murphy shifted perceptions and changed how the nation understood itself. In this incisive history, Geoff Bennett tells the story of how they did it.

In Black Out Loud, Bennett chronicles the transformative history of Black comedy in America, drawing on research and interviews with the actors and executives behind some of the most impactful shows. This brilliant exploration traces the evolution of Black comics and provocateurs who reshaped the culture and ultimately became powerful agents of social change -- transforming the way America laughed along the way.

Includes interviews and insights from: Martin Lawrence, Robert Townsend, Debbie Allen, Tisha Campbell, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Quinta Brunson, Arsenio Hall, and many more!

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 24, 2026

• Author: Geoff Bennett

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 336 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0063418177

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063418172

A Food & Wine Best Cookbook of Winter 2026

From beloved food writer and author of the James Beard Award finalist Black Girl Baking comes a joyous cookbook that transforms everyday meals into something special and unexpected with just a few simple flourishes.

Fanciness is a mindset. It’s realizing that you can make everyday food feel special using what you likely already have on hand. It’s about seeing the act of cooking not just as another thing to do, but as a nourishing ritual to help ease away the day’s stress.

In We Fancy, Jerrelle Guy teaches you how to use pantry staples like canned beans, crackers, or a pint of vanilla ice cream, and tools like sheet pans and your air fryer, to transform typical weeknight dinners into something easy but memorable. Think: Nearly Instantaneous Risotto made with black or roasted garlic, Double-Stacked Black Bean Burgers smashed with tortilla chips, Artichokes in the Perfect Butter Wine Sauce, and Olive Oil Brownie Pudding covered with chopped nuts.

We Fancy shows that cooking is both a creative and a practical act, and in these pages with beautiful and wise writing that is meant to heal, guide and inspire, Jerrelle gives us new recipes and reasons to look forward to dinner.

Ingredients

Vibrant fusion of fiction, folklore and food

Jamaica's culture, wisdom and the healing power of plants

Storytelling meeting the kitchen pot

Characters whose lives are transformed through plant-based meals and personal awakenings

The mysterious guidance of Mama Inez, a matriarch whose spirit stirs both heart and heritage

The rich flavors and rhythms of Jamaica, where food becomes a bridge between tradition, wellness and self-discovery

Instructions

Get real, wholesome Jamaican, plant-based recipes; perfect whether you're just curious about plant-based eating, adding new dishes to your weekly table, or embracing a fully plant-powered lifestyle.

Discover how food can heal, connect and empower, and taste the stories of a Jamaica where every meal tells a tale.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ LMH Publishers

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 10, 2026

• Author: Lorrimer Burford (Author), Joyett Burford (Author)

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 174 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9766571341

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9766571344

“This fascinating and simply fantastic book is a comprehensive record of Margaret Busby’s exceptional life story . . . A true trailblazer, we all walk in the deep imprints of her footsteps.” ―Bernardine Evaristo

This rare self-portrait from pioneering publisher, writer and cultural activist Margaret Busby underscores her powerful legacy and celebrates some of the people and places that have shaped her exceptional life

Margaret Busby has been at the heart of cultural life in the UK for over 50 years. From becoming Britain’s youngest and first Black woman publisher when she founded publishing house Allison & Busby, to editing the ground-breaking international anthologies Daughters of Africa and New Daughters of Africa, her many achievements are testament to her dedication to championing the lives and stories of others, particularly those throughout the world who have been marginalized by the mainstream.

With little attention previously given to her own skills as a writer, Part of the Story is a unique opportunity to enjoy her own remarkable literary output. It brings together her writings on people, places, politics and publishing, and provides a rich insight into the many elements that have contributed to shaping her life, from her childhood in Ghana to the Black writers, intellectuals, artists and activists she has worked with, befriended, supported and championed for over half a century.

“Margaret has been a cheerleader, instigator, organizer, defender and celebrator of black arts for the past 50 years . . . She helped change the landscape of both UK publishing and arts coverage and so many Black British artists owe her a debt. I know I do.” ―Zadie Smith

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hamish Hamilton

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 16, 2026

• Author: Margaret Busby

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 512 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0241686784

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0241686782

A celebration of hope and the promise of new babyhood by Sibert Honoree Traci N. Todd and Coretta Scott King Honoree Loveis Wise

An inspirational love letter from caregiver to a child, Hello, Beautiful is an intimate and uplifting depiction of love and courage. With its warmth and promise for a bold and confident future, it lyrically reminds children that they should take up space, follow their own unique paths, and find humanity in everyone around them and, most importantly, in themselves—because that is beautiful.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Viking Books for Young Readers

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 7, 2026

• Author: Traci N. Todd

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 32 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 059335298X

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593352984

A celebration of the love between father and child from Coretta Scott King Award–winning author and Young People's Poet Laureate Carole Boston Weatherford, this beautiful rhyming board book is the perfect gift for dad and everyone who loves him!

Daddy is everything in my eyes.

He's the answer to my hows and whys.

Daddy's a tug boat that pulls me along.

Daddy's a rock band playing our song.

With simple, charming text, and colorful illustrations, My Daddy Is Everything highlights the special role that Daddy plays in a child's life and celebrates the many ways he shows his love!

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 7, 2026

• Author: Carole Boston Weatherford

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 24 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1464233608

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1464233609

Taryn Ellison doesn’t do relationships.

She learned early in life that standing still for love gets you hurt. So she runs from anything that asks too much of her heart. After watching her mother fall for the wrong men over and over, Taryn built a life where no one could get close enough to leave scars. Walls up. Exit routes ready. Always moving.

Then there’s Zion Wade.
The steady one. The patient one.

Her best friend’s brother and VP of A&R for his family's music empire, Zion understands why Taryn runs. He sees the fear beneath her sarcasm, and the independence she uses as armor. So when they finally cross the line they've been dancing around for years, and she tries to act like it meant nothing, he doesn't push.

He just stays.

Long enough for her walls to crack.
Long enough for her to realize the thing she’s spent her life running from might be the thing she wants more than anything.

She can’t avoid him. Not at his family’s record label, not at Sunday dinners with his sister Simone, not when everyone around them feels the pull between them long before either of them admits it.

But Taryn knows what no one else does: Good things don’t last, and love doesn’t stay. And the closer she gets to Zion, the more she sees herself becoming the one thing she swore she'd never be.

Her mother's daughter.

Set against the backdrop of a Black Southern music dynasty navigating legacy, loyalty, and healing, Always Running is a story about choosing vulnerability over self-protection, and discovering that the scariest love doesn’t rush you, but it does ask you to trust it.

This isn't a slow burn. It's a slow surrender.

Perfect for readers who love:

• A soft, steady hero who values patience over pressure

• Heroines who feel real, guarded, and deeply relatable

• Big family energy and Sunday dinner traditions

• Best friend’s brother romance with years of wanting

• Romance that unfolds like a slow R&B groove

• Steamy scenes with emotional depth

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0GM6RQ9KY

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chapter & Soul LLC

• Author: N.W. Brown

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 13, 2026

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 484 pages

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8994022719

Can Abby keep her cool after turning into a social media superstar?

When Abby accidentally becomes a viral sensation on the intergalactic social media network GalaxyGram, she goes all in on raising her follower count as high as she can. But as she struggles to keep up with her audience's endless appetite for new content, she starts to wonder if online fame is worth the toll it takes on her personal life. When the galaxy's biggest influencer, Moxie on Mars, offers to collab, Abby wonders if it might be too late to go back to the way things were. Can she figure out a way to get her real life back on track and keep her followers engaged at the same time?

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Albert Whitman & Company

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 9, 2026

• Author: Andrea J. Loney

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 96 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 080750436X

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0807504369

Grammy Award–winning R&B and hip-hop legend Teddy Riley recounts his journey from growing up in the projects in Harlem to inventing the genre New Jack Swing, selling out shows at Madison Square Garden, and creating music for Michael Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Pharrell, and more.

Since the early ’80s, Teddy Riley has revolutionized the music industry, from his creation of New Jack Swing to his work in R&B, hip-hop, gospel, soul, and pop that forever changed the industry. His profound influence still resonates today, and he has been inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame, awarded the Soul Train Legend Award and given his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Now, Riley—with coauthor, award-winning biographer Jake Brown—lifts the curtain on his fascinating and inspiring journey with this unforgettable memoir of talent, resilience, collaboration, betrayal, and creativity.

With heart and humor, Riley reflects on his beginnings as musical prodigy growing up in Harlem and the highs and lows of working with some of the biggest names in the industry. From masterminding his own acclaimed groups, such as Guy and Blackstreet, to producing groundbreaking hits such as Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative” and writing and producing with legends like Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Lady Gaga, and more, Riley takes us on a remarkable journey that parallels the explosion of new genres and Black influence in the contemporary music landscape.

Remember the Times also candidly illustrates the evolution of popular music through the ’80s to today, taking us behind the scenes directly from the man who grew “to define the sound and reinvigorate contemporary R&B and hip-hop” (Mixdown Magazine, Australia).

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Gallery/13A

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 10, 2026

• Author: Teddy Riley

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 256 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1668056453

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1668056455

Arsenio Hall, America’s beloved late-night TV host, reveals the ups and downs of his remarkable career as a trailblazing pioneer with this “vivid, outrageous” (The New York Times)behind-the-scenes, star-studded, no-holds-barred memoir of celebrity, race, and show business.

Arsenio Hall holds a uniquely prominent place in American culture—celebrated late-night host and comedic actor, famed for starring roles in the cultural touchstones Coming to America and Harlem Nights.

Now, he pulls back the curtain and takes us to a different time in Hollywood. Iconic scenes include: starting out as a young magician in Cleveland; hosting his first talk show in the basement of his apartment building when he was in elementary school; cutting his teeth at the world-famous Comedy Store in Hollywood, learning about comedy and life from legendary comedian Richard Pryor; forming lifelong bonds with legendary icons Muhammad Ali, Luther Vandross, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Eddie Murphy; tasting superstar success with Coming to America, the film that preceded The Arsenio Hall Show; conducting unforgettable, groundbreaking interviews with Magic Johnson, Bill Clinton, Tupac Shakur, Maya Angelou, Madonna, and Minister Louis Farrakhan; rescuing a family from a home-fire with Jay Leno; sharing hot sauces and blackjack with Patti LaBelle; and chilling with Prince.

And then, he made the difficult decision to walk away.

This bracingly candid memoir offers a new appreciation for this raw talent and gifted storyteller, who nightly, for six years, hosted what felt like a televised “party” that changed the landscape of late-night television and brought Black culture into living rooms across America.

With this book, he does it one more time.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atria/Black Privilege Publishing

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 31, 2026

• Author: Arsenio Hall

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 336 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1982191368

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1982191368

You may not have all the answers, but you can Know.

The world is loud, uncertain, and unsettled--and almost everyone feels it. Concerns about the future loom while anxiety rates continue to climb across the globe. Confusion and overwhelm have become a quiet epidemic in our homes and our minds.

In Knowing, bestselling author Touré Roberts offers a path out of the noise and into a deep internal clarity. Drawing from his own transformative journey, from his experience as an entrepreneur, pastor, and counselor, and from the findings of science, Roberts shows how reconnecting with the deep awareness within you can restore confidence, direction, and peace.

This book will help you:

• Break free from confusion, hesitation, and second-guessing

• Recognize how trauma and stress distort your perception--and how to clear the fog

• Make grounded, confident decisions even in chaotic times

• Rebuild inner trust and regain an assurance of direction

You don't have to escape uncertainty. You don't have to predict the future. But you can learn to perceive what truly matters and move forward with a steady confidence that nothing in the world can shake. Knowing is your invitation to discover how.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Zondervan

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 28, 2026

• Author: Toure’ Roberts

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 224 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0310371120

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0310371120

• Find the power to be your authentic self in Christ and take hold of the life you have been longing for.

  Are you tired of "just making it" day after day? Learn how to give voice to your changing needs and acknowledge your growth. The Power in Surrender teaches you to refuse the burden of bearing it all alone, allowing you to release the power within you.

  In a world that constantly bombards us with expectations and distractions, it's easy to lose sight of who we truly are. We're often overwhelmed by other people's projections of how we should feel, act, or respond. But imagine harnessing the power to be your authentic self, free from judgment and full of courage.

  The Power in Surrender by Sarah Jakes Roberts, New York Times bestselling author of Woman Evolve and Power Moves, will inspire you with 100 ways to seize courage, conquer doubt, and yield to God's plan. When your life is filled with noise, you need to find the strength to be unapologetically you. With her signature warmth and wisdom Sarah Jakes Roberts helps you strip away external pressures and reconnect with your true self in Christ. A life where you are free to live, love, and grow without judgment or fear is waiting for you, if you will only step into it!

  You will learn principles to activate the most powerful version of yourself and be guided in presenting your authentic self to the world. The Power in Surrender will help you:

  • Seize Courage: Learn to face life's challenges with bravery and faith, guided by Sarah's empowering words.

  • Conquer Doubt: Overcome your uncertainties and insecurities by tapping into the principles of truth and humility.

  • Yield to God's Plan: Discover the freedom that comes from surrendering to God's love and purpose for your life.

  • Unleash Authentic Power: Understand the strength that lies in being yourself, without the need for external validation.

  Take hold of the life you have been dreaming of—the one filled with purpose and courage that flows from being your true self in Christ—and let these 100 encouraging and uplifting devotions propel you to become your authentic self.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thomas Nelson

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 3, 2026

• Author: Sarah Jakes Roberts

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 224 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1400236924

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1400236923

A social activist, journalist, public theologian, and international speaker who has become a powerful and brilliant voice of her generation offers a bold path to liberation and healing for people of African descent struggling in the shadows of the American Dream.

The United States is at a critical juncture in its history. Not since the 1960s has the nation been so racially divided. White supremacy remains America’s Achilles’ heel—a moral failure that haunts us and holds us back from being the great nation we profess. For centuries, people of African descent have endured unimaginable hatred and discrimination which has manifested in pain and trauma passed from generation to generation. To break free from this historical cycle of suffering and be truly free at last, Black and brown people must reimagine ourselves, our communities, this country, and our relationship to Africa.

Weaving storytelling, socioeconomic analysis, and cultural criticism with the spiritual and political threads of liberation theology and Pan Africanism, Imagine Freedom empowers us to begin the difficult but necessary work of decolonizing our minds and overcoming the lies we have been told about ourselves for centuries. Sobering and inspiring, filled with despair and hope, Rahiel Tesfamariam dares us to see the world through a larger historical and global lens— to understand how our quests for freedom and healing are intrinsically connected to our past, present, and future. By widening our vision, we discover new ways of imagining self, community, nation, and world, and most importantly, a new way to achieve the freedom that has been too long denied.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amistad

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 3, 2026

• Author: Rahiel Tesfamariam

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 304 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0063253097

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063253094

The star of classic television series, including The Jeffersons and 227, reveals her difficult journey from a tempestuous childhood to becoming a confident Hollywood powerbroker and groundbreaker who paved the way for today’s superstar talents.

Marla Gibbs has been a Hollywood icon for generations of fans. Now, at ninety-three, she chronicles her climb from a difficult youth in which she yearned for safety and love, to the high-stakes world of Hollywood where she became a confident powerbroker learning to work behind the scenes for fair pay, access, and more creative control for herself and her colleagues.

Told in her forthright voice, It's Never Too Late illuminates Gibbs' daring move to Los Angeles to rebuild her life after an abusive marriage, how she became an actor, and how she eventually learned to balance acting with show running. She was a “Boss Bae” decades before the term would become entertainment industry shorthand for a power flex. While developing 227 her lawyer won her “all rights, courtesies and privileges of an executive producer without the credit.” Though the authority she wielded behind the scenes created deep tensions on and off the set, her hard-luck young life had prepared her to succeed even as her tenacity was put to the test. Her experiences laid the groundwork for powerbrokers like Shonda Rhimes and Issa Rae.

An inspiring personal portrait of triumph and Hollywood that reminds us we can leave the past behind, It’s Never Too Late is the true tale of a remarkable life and a wise guidebook for aspiring artists, entrepreneurs, and entertainment fans.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amistad

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 24, 2026

• Author: Marla Gibbs

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 288 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0063356635

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063356634

The iconic, multiplatinum, Grammy Award®–winning performer Brandy brings us a raw, intimate portrait of her life, charting her journey from Mississippi churches to Hollywood spotlights

From the moment she first sang at church in McComb, Mississippi, Brandy knew her voice was special. At fourteen she landed her first record deal. At fifteen her first album went platinum. At sixteen she was starring in the hit sitcom Moesha and became the first Black actress to play Cinderella on screen alongside fairy godmother, Whitney Houston.

Yet as the accolades piled up, so too did the pressure to maintain a flawless image. To onlookers, she had crafted the blueprint for the teenage “it” girl. But behind closed doors “The Vocal Bible” as she was known, was struggling.

In this piercing, revelatory memoir, Brandy shares:

• the inside stories behind her most iconic songs and albums;

• her star-studded connections with Whitney Houston and Diana Ross;

• the affirmation of friends and family, including her brother Ray J, that helped her through challenging times;

• and so much more.

Delving into the humble roots of her decades-spanning career, her early struggles with bullies and insecurities as a high schooler, and finally her inspirational journey to reclaim her sense of self and her autonomy as a woman in Hollywood and in music, this memoir is an insightful meditation on Brandy's life and how she rose to become the woman she is today. Told through a series of breathtaking vignettes and never-before-seen family photographs in a full-color insert, Phases is a fearless and remarkable story of hope, resilience and the strength it takes to make peace with the past.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hanover Square Press

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 31, 2026

• Author: Brandy

• Edition ‏ : ‎ Original

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 384 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 133501327X

What if the strength you spent your whole life proving isn't the strength you actually need? SOFT is a raw faith-forward memoir about a woman shaped by two worlds - slow-rooted Mississippi and sharp-edged New York - who learns that true resilience isn't hardness but holy softness: the courage to surrender, the wisdom to listen, and the power to love without armor. Through failed marriages, motherhood in the midst of chaos, near foreclosure, and a final, life anchoring love, Stacey Loper discovers that softness is not weakness; It's a God-given strategy for thriving as a wife, mother, and friend. Women are exhausted by “survival mode.” Many were raised to equate strength with control, especially in marriage and parenting, only to find themselves hardened, disconnected and spiritually dry. Soft reframes strength through a Christ-centered lens: softness as discernment, boundaries, trust, and spirit-led surrender. It's a blueprint for women who want flourishing homes and whole hearts - without losing their voice, value, or vision.

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0GS1HT6Z6

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ WestBow Press

• Author: Stacey Loper

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 9, 2026

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 128 pages

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8385065738

A Spiritual Journey Toward Healing and Justice for Christians of Color

You are born from a seed that cannot die.

In a world filled with discrimination, racially motivated violence, and miscarriages of justice, hope and joy can feel unattainable, and lies denying your personhood try to dim the truth that you are created in the image of God.

In Seeds of Racial Healing, counselor and spiritual director Sheila Wise Rowe offers you a season of rest and restoration. Her spiritually formative approach enables you to deepen your faith as you pursue healing from racial trauma, past and present.

Anchored in daily Scriptures, these fifty-two devotions help you become more aware of God every day, even as you confront interpersonal racism and systemic oppression. In each devotion, Rowe inspires readers to share your stories and reminds your weary soul that you are fearfully and wonderfully made.

In these devotions, you'll find

• personal stories,

• prayer and encouragement,

• Scripture passages,

• questions for reflection, and

• actionable steps to help you pursue both healing and justice.

If you're a Christian of color looking for a an accessible, trauma-informed devotional, Seeds of Racial Healing will help you confront challenges, embrace your worth as a child of God, and sow seeds of healing and transformation, whether on your own or as part of a group. You'll find encouragement to employ rest, resilience, and the power of faith to nurture growth in yourself and your community.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ IVP

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 7, 2026

• Author: Sheila Wise Rowe

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 176 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1514006170

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1514006177

Joaquín survives racism in the American Rust Belt and returns to Mexico carrying an idea too provocative to ignore.

What begins as reflection on injustice grows into a political theory that challenges the society around him.

This short novel does not ask whether racism is right or wrong. It asks what happens when the oppressed stop seeking recognition and instead act with purpose.

On the Origins of the American Racist Party is political fiction for readers willing to follow an argument all the way to its end.

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0GHFW6FXP

• Publisher ‏ : ‎SP

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 17, 2026

• Author: Xavier Villarreal

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 106 pages

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8241305688

An urgent call to rekindle our shared American ideals.

We are living through a time of crisis. The problems we face grow more serious, while our divisions continue to widen. But our history overflows with people who used the power of our foundational virtues to overcome impossible obstacles.

In Stand, Senator Cory Booker offers a hopeful and practical path forward, weaving together powerful stories and stirring personal reflections to remind us that our country’s shared ideals can serve as a North Star to guide us, even when our journey feels especially dark and perilous. He argues that our principles are not luxuries; they are vital, strategic keys to our survival and success. By wielding these tools, we can reclaim our sense of common cause and change the course of our country’s history.

Stand takes readers on a trip through America’s past and present, showcasing moments when individuals and communities―in unexpected situations and against staggering odds―prevailed by embodying the best of our nation’s virtues. Through the stories of leaders from President George Washington and Congressman John Lewis, to suffragist Alice Paul and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, to environmental justice advocate Ron Finley and disability rights activist Jennifer Keelan-Chaffins, Booker offers inspiring and actionable insights for Americans from all walks of life.

Published ahead of America’s 250th anniversary, Stand is a defiantly optimistic challenge to reclaim our national story and work together to redeem the American dream.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 24, 2026

• Author: Cory Booker

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 272 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250436737

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250436733

A profound meditation on hip hop’s transformative power, In the Hour of Chaos takes us deep into the mind of the genre’s most unabashed revolutionary.

This book is not an autobiography. It’s not a manifesto. It’s a razor-sharp investigation into hip hop and rap music by searing lyricist and global music icon Chuck D of Public Enemy.
 
Engaging with some of the world’s leading thinkers on hip hop, “Professor Chuck” sets out on a journey that celebrates fifty years of hip hop and charts paths forward for its future. Exploring the intersections of hip hop with Black radicalism and feminism, media and technology, and globalization and politics, this curated collection shows the power of culture and the arts not only to bring people together but to bring about political change in this current hour of chaos.

Features conversations with leading thinkers, including Robin D. G. Kelley, H. Samy Alim, Jeff Chang, Davey D, Scot Brown, Cheryl L. Keyes, Gaye Theresa Johnson, Bryonn Bain, Maya Jupiter, Adam Bradley, Joan Morgan, and more.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of California Press

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 10, 2026

• Author: Chuck D

• Edition ‏ : ‎ First Edition

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 352 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0520427394

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0520427396

New poems on love, family, and art from the author of Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden

America, A Love Story is Camille T. Dungy's powerful testament to living and loving as a Black woman and mother in today's America, and her first book of poetry in almost a decade. Piercingly honest and deeply compassionate, this poetry moves through the mounting griefs of contemporary American life with unwavering clarity. The book is part indictment, part celebration―full of gratitude, fear, resistance, and hope. Dungy explores intimacy, parenting, racism, history, and the natural world with clarity and depth. Some poems reflect on the past; others respond to the work of contemporary Black artists. Many are formally playful, including a series of 700-character poems inspired by the 700 hours of sleep a mother loses in her child's first year. Gorgeous, bright, and bold, these poems speak from the edges―between mother and child, body and earth, self and country. They hold tension and tenderness in equal measure, creating a space for love amidst uncertainty.

A fierce exposé of the resistance to believing Black people and its devastating effects throughout American history.

From Reconstruction to Redemption, from the enactment of landmark civil rights legislation to the execution of the Southern strategy, from 2020’s multiracial protests to the swift elimination of policies etching out a more inclusive society, Americans regularly experience periods of racial reckoning followed by walloping retrenchment.

In Black Evidence, political scientist Candis Watts Smith shows that this pattern is the result of an American habit: denying the truths about our society that Black people experience and remember. Smith then delivers a warning: the effects of this habit ripple out, dulling our ability to identify the signs of authoritarianism and heightening our tolerance for cruelty. Still, she shows how these same truths offer models to overcome our repeated predicament.

Through a curation of critical moments across four centuries, Smith invites us to review the evidence that has been obscured, distorted, and denied. She rigorously investigates the practices that turn Black witnesses into liars in the court room, Black patients into superbodies that don’t feel pain in health care settings, Black people into subhumans in scientific experiments, and Black children into superpredators. She reveals what happens when Black voices are subject to exclusion―their communities are terrorized, their memories are refuted, and their resistance is pathologized.

Written with compassion and tempered optimism, Black Evidence prescribes a cure and encourages readers to practice the skills needed to build a truly multiracial democracy: confront our past, acknowledge the damage of inequality in our present, and listen to the voices of those who experience the problems we wish to solve for an equitable future.

From The New York Times–bestselling and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Hemingses of Monticello, a groundbreaking collection of Thomas Jefferson’s writings on race that every American should read

Among America’s Founding Fathers, none was more deeply, personally, or controversially entangled with race and slavery than Thomas Jefferson. The man whose Declaration of Independence proclaimed that “all men are created equal” enslaved more than 600 people of African descent even as he acknowledged the injustice of slavery, saw himself as its opponent, and condemned it in his writings. How is this possible? In Jefferson on Race, Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Annette Gordon-Reed gathers Jefferson’s most revealing writings about African Americans, slavery, and Native Americans, enabling readers as never before to directly explore his complex and contradictory thoughts, feelings, and decisions on these subjects—the most hotly debated aspect of his legacy.

These selections come from Jefferson’s public and private writings, letters, and plantation records, as well as accounts by contemporaries, including his son Madison Hemings and three other people formerly enslaved at Monticello. The book documents Jefferson’s ideas about—and self-image in relation to—African Americans, slavery, and Native Americans, as well as his conduct, including interactions with individual Black and Native people. The writings show how Jefferson responded to living in a multiracial slave society while professing progressive ideals, and how his views on race and slavery were shaped by his experiences with enslaved Black people.

Jefferson on Race is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand Jefferson’s conflicted attitudes—and the impact of race and slavery on American history.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Princeton University Press

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 31, 2026

• Author: Thomas Jefferson

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 416 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0691122067

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0691122069

Some games are just meant to be lost...

For triplets, Cortez, Colton, and Cobra Masters, when something happens to one, it starts a chain reaction with the other two. However, when Cortez falls in love and gets married, Colton and Cobra decide that's where the domino effect ends. Colton prefers short-term relationships. However, for Cobra, no-strings-attached affairs suit him just fine. Colton and Cobra are die-hard bachelors and masters of the game'. But for how long?

What happens when they meet the women who are destined to master their hearts?

NOTE - You can read Cortez Masters and Victoria Bennett's story in THE BENNETTS' WEDDING; and you can read Colton Masters and Kelly Perkins' story in MASTERS OF THE GAME - COLTON.

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0GTZYM8PS

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Madaris Publishing Company

• Author: Brenda Jackson

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 1, 2026

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 251 pages

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8993256924

The preeminent historians of the founding era speak their mind on the anniversary of the United States’ birth

In these powerful and personal essays, some of the most celebrated historians of the American Revolutionary era reflect on the meaning of 1776 to the nation in 2026, offering fresh insights and food for thought on every page. They tackle the most pressing topics that Americans debated in 1776 and continue to debate today: the meaning of democracy; the nature of information wars; immigration and the rights and obligations of citizenship; race and slavery; public health; the various and conflicting legacies of the founders; and the shifting nature of commemoration itself. Like the Revolutionary generation they know so well, on some issues these scholarly authorities find themselves largely in accord; on others they vehemently disagree. This is historical debate at its most urgent.

The Sweet Potato Soul Vegan Cookbook brings the warmth and richness of vegan soul food to your kitchen. With delicious and healthy recipes inspired by Southern cuisine, this cookbook offers everything from breakfasts to desserts. Enjoy vegan soul food dishes that are packed with flavor, nutritious ingredients, and simple preparation methods that everyone will love.

This Sweet Potato Soul Vegan Cookbook is a must-have for anyone looking to enjoy the rich, comforting flavors of vegan soul food. With 101+ healthy, plant-based recipes, it covers every meal of the day, from breakfasts and baked goods to holiday specials and desserts. Perfect for both seasoned vegans and those new to plant-based eating, this cookbook is your go-to guide for soulful, vegan cuisine.

Types of Recipes in the Sweet Potato Soul Vegan Recipe Book

• Snacks & Appetizers: Quick and delicious bites that bring a taste of Southern soul to any occasion.

• Breakfasts: Start your day with hearty, satisfying breakfasts inspired by classic soul food traditions.

• Baked Goods: Indulge in a variety of vegan baked treats, from biscuits to breads and more.

• Main Dishes: Enjoy wholesome, flavor-packed meals that satisfy your hunger and your soul.

• Soups & Stews: Warm and comforting, these recipes are perfect for cozy evenings and nourishing lunches.

• Smoothies & Drinks: Refresh your palate with vibrant smoothies and beverages full of plant-based goodness.

• Side Dishes: Complement any meal with these tasty and healthy side dishes.

• Holiday Specials: Make your celebrations special with festive vegan soul food dishes that everyone will love.

• Salads: Light, refreshing, and full of flavor, these salads offer a healthy twist on traditional soul food.

• Desserts: End your meal on a sweet note with decadent, plant-based desserts that satisfy your cravings.

What the Sweet Potato Soul Vegan Cookbook Includes

• Excellent Layout: Easy-to-follow recipes organized in a user-friendly format.

• Clear Instructions: Step-by-step guidance to ensure success with every dish.

• 101+ Vegan Soul Food Recipes: A wide range of plant-based dishes that capture the essence of soul food.

• Broad Recipe Categories: Recipes for every meal, from breakfasts to desserts, including holiday specials.

• Easy to Make Recipes: Simple and straightforward, these recipes are ideal for busy lifestyles.

• Fit for Beginners & Advanced: Whether you're new to vegan cooking or a seasoned chef, this cookbook is for you.

• Easy to Navigate: Find exactly what you’re looking for with a well-organized index and clear sections.

Get your hands on the Sweet Potato Soul Vegan Cookbook today and explore the world of delicious vegan soul food. This is the ultimate guide for those who want to enjoy healthy, plant-based versions of traditional Southern dishes. Buy your copy now and bring soulful flavors into your kitchen!

Best known as the leader of the Harlem Renaissance, the celebrated poet and writer Langston Hughes believed in the power of art as resistance. What can we learn from his works today?

Randal M. Jelks delivers this revelatory portrait of the celebrated poet, essayist, playwright, and American artist Langston Hughes. My America traces Hughes's journey from a child captivated by the wonder of Kansas City to cosmopolitan witness in Paris, New York, Mexico City, and Madrid. We encounter Hughes as a young man discovering the pulse of modern life in a world on the verge of exploding metaphorically and literally. His experiences informed his work and his thinking on art, democracy, and activism.

Langston Hughes is one of the few American writers who consistently wrote about democracy from a joyous perspective, and My America explores how his works speak to the political anxieties and crises we face today. Jelks deftly examines the themes in Hughes's work, including creative expression, communal dignity, class struggle, and human suffering and what they mean for our inner well-being as democratic persons and political participants.

With care and no-holds-barred insight, My America removes the veneer of respectability often placed on Hughes's work and life to reveal his political adeptness. In a world threatened by fascism, Hughes's writing wasn't afforded the luxury of subtlety. He made a spiritual and political decision to stand on the side of the oppressed. He believed art should be practiced for the sake of justice. And democracy can be practiced with joy.

"Nothing is hotter and more fun than Danielle Allen’s writing."-- Ali Hazelwood

Because life’s too short, and mean girls ain’t sh…
Jazmyn Payne fled her hometown―and the fatphobes who made her life hell– the minute she graduated high school. Growing up, her haven was her Aunt Addison, and when her health takes a drastic turn, she insists that Jazz should spice up her life. Emphasis on spice.

But dating is the last thing Jazz had on her mind.

Until Lamar Anderson sits next to her at the local sports bar. He is sexy, fun, and refreshingly drama free. With him she's able to pretend that everything is alright. But as real life intrudes, Jazz has to decide if she can leave the past where it belongs… for a love that she deserves.

From the buzzy, viral sensation Only for the Week, comes the next book in Natasha Bishop’s The Forever Falling series, featuring an intimate bucket list road trip, sexy banter, and a sweet and spicy second chance romance.

If you’re reading this, I’m dead.

Dani Jenkins is a boss. A model turned influencer, she doesn’t have time for taking a risk on romance. She prefers to keep things casual, but when her mentor Tanya dies, she is brought face-to-face with the man who broke her heart.

Dani and Micah had their chance at love . . .

Artist Micah Wright is a protector who loves fiercely. He’s known as the man everyone can count on, but he’s never forgiven himself for letting down the woman he loves. With Tanya’s dying wish forcing Dani and Micah back together to complete a scavenger hunt road trip, Micah sees a second chance for them to get things right.

Does time heal all wounds?

Tensions are high as their undeniable connection reignites, but Dani refuses to let her guard down. As they continue their journey, Micah is determined to prove to Dani that love is worth fighting for, but can she release her fears and relearn the art of loving?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER From the National Book Award finalist and author of Pet comes a novel set in a magical West African world, about a teen girl who must save her missing twin while learning to navigate her own terrifying new powers.

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Elle, Horn Book, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, The Boston Globe Blue Ribbon Awards List

Somadina and her twin brother, Jayaike, are practically the same person: they finish each other's sentences and make each other whole. When the twins come of age, their magical gifts begin to develop, but while Jayaike's powers enchant, Somadina's cause fear to ripple through her town.

Always an outsider, Somadina now faces blatant--and dangerous--hostility. And things go from bad to worse when her brother—the one person she trusted—vanishes. Somadina knows that no matter the dangers, she must track him down. Even if it means entering the Sacred Forest. Even if it means grueling, otherworldly travel she may not survive. Even if it means finding the hidden places where those closest to the spirit world don't dare to go. Does Somadina have the strength --within both her body and her soul -- for the trying journey ahead?

National Book Award finalist Akwaeke Emezi masterfully weaves a tale of family, identity, and the power of the past, in a world where the extraordinary is ordinary.

Winner of the William C. Morris Debut YA Book Award
Three starred reviews!

A Black, autistic teen tries to figure out what happened the night his older brother was unjustly arrested in this “propulsive” (Jas Hammonds, award-winning author of We Deserve Monuments), moving story about brotherhood, identity, and social justice.

All Aiden has ever wanted to do was play football just like his star quarterback brother, Brandon. An overstimulation meltdown gets in the way of Aiden making the team during summer tryouts, but when the school year starts and a spot unexpectedly needs to be filled, he finally gets a chance to play the game he loves.

However, not every player is happy about the new addition to the team, wary of how Aiden’s autism will present itself on game day. Tensions rise. A fight breaks out. Cops are called.

Brandon interferes on behalf of his brother, but is arrested by the very same cops who, just hours earlier, were chanting his name from the bleachers. When he’s wrongly charged for felony assault on an officer, everything Brandon has worked for starts to slip away, and the brothers’ relationship is tested. As Brandon’s trial inches closer, Aiden is desperate to figure out what really happened that night. Can he clear his brother’s name in time?

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atheneum Books for Young Readers

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 15, 2025

• Author: DeAndra Davis

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 384 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1665952652

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1665952651

• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.8 ounces

• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 years and up

Harriet the Spy meets Black Mirror in The Genie Game, the start of a thrilling new middle-grade series from Jordan Ifueko, author of the New York Times bestselling fantasy Raybearer.

Four starred reviews! “Positive, powerful, and action-packed.” (Kirkus)

Valentine Adesanya has two missions: 1) become a Feared and Fabulous Film Director and 2) find her missing big sister, Mango. She suspects The Trio Trust, a collection of creepy mega-companies that now rule the United States, made Mango disappear.

A text lures Valentine to a magical boba shop, which comes to life and tells Valentine she is now a GENIE: a member of the General Employee Network of Immortal Engineers, an underground workforce run by the Trio Trust. Genies may only leave their bottles to grant the wishes of mortals. With each granted wish, The Trio Trust gains more magic, and so the Trio hosts a glamorous wish-granting competition, rewarding top players with fabulous prizes. The twist?

The greedy Trio forbids genies from using magic. Genies must grant wishes using nothing but smarts, luck, and elbow grease.

To free her sister Mango and escape the Genie Game, Valentine must score more wish-granting points than any other Genie. But how did the Trio Trust get so powerful in the first place? Why is a magical monster stomping through her home city of Gloss Angeles?

And why does the Trio Trust seem so afraid of 13-year-old Valentine Adesanya?ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0GTZYM8PS

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Amulet Books

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 21, 2026

• Author: Jordan Ifueko

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 368 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1419764373

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1419764370

• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.74 pounds

• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 10 - 14 years

The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. But does the nation begin in 1776, or do we trace its origins to some point earlier―for example, the arrival of the first enslaved people in 1619 or the initial settlement of Indigenous people? What’s at stake with establishing a date that marks the nation’s origins? Where does the history of the nation begin? In colonial New England, the Chesapeake, or in the Southwest?

In this unprecedented volume, leading thinkers come together to debate these―and many other―issues. Their conversation shows that U.S history is not just about what happened but who gets to tell the story and the political implications of the narratives we tell. The participants include two Pulitzer Prize winners: Nikole Hannah-Jones, who created the 1619 Project and ignited a national conversation about slavery and the nation’s founding; and Annette Gordon-Reed, who documented Thomas Jefferson’s relationship with Sally Hemmings. The other specialists include experts in Asian American, civil rights, Native American, Latino, LGBT, and early American history.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Georgia Press

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 1, 2026

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 176 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0820377120

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0820377124

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The acclaimed author of How to Be an Antiracist and the National Book Award winner Stamped from the Beginning charts how “great replacement theory” has become a dominant political idea of our time and ushered in an antidemocratic age.

“Kendi argues brilliantly that we must work across race and class lines to eradicate social ills and eliminate fascism.”—Los Angeles Times

NAMED ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF 2026 BY: The New York Times, Oprah Daily, LitHub, Foreign Policy, The Millions

Recall the words chanted in Charlottesville, Virginia: “You will not replace us!” Recall the string of mass shooters across the globe—in Oslo, Christchurch, Buffalo, El Paso, and Pittsburgh—who claimed their crimes were a defense against “White genocide.” Recall business and media figures cultivating anxiety and furor over demographic change. These incidents only scratch the surface: Popular and ruling politicians in every region of the world have expressed some version of great replacement theory, eroding democratic norms in the name of preventing demographic change.

The term was coined in 2011 by a French novelist who argued that Black and Brown immigrants were “invading” Europe, brought by shadowy elites to “replace” the White population. From there, politicians and theorists in the United States and elsewhere repackaged it as a story of “globalists” welcoming “migrant criminals” and promoting diversity to take away the jobs, cultures, electoral power, and very lives of White people. Over time, great replacement theory has expanded those under threat to include citizens, men, Jews, Christians, heterosexuals, and ethnic majorities in countries as distinct as Russia, El Salvador, Brazil, Italy, and India, all targeted with the message that they are facing an existential attack that only a strongman can prevent.

In Chain of Ideas, internationally bestselling author Ibram X. Kendi offers an unsettling but indispensable global history of how great replacement theory brought humanity into this authoritarian age—and how we can free ourselves from it.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ One World

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 17, 2026

• Author: Ibram X. Kendi

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 592 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593978021

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593978023

A scorching second-chance romance between a talented screenwriter and a phenomenal musician from "a fantastic storyteller and superb writer." ―NPR

​You never forget your first love. Isn't that what they say? Verity Hill knows this truth intimately. She didn't simply miss Wright "Monk" Bellamy when they parted ways in college. She's haunted by his touch. Every kiss, any lover since—it's a shadow of what they had. 

Time heals all wounds. Isn't that what they say? Monk doesn't believe that for a second. He wasn't simply betrayed when he and Verity split. He was devastated, with parts of him left behind in the ruins of all that was destroyed. 

More than a decade after their disastrous breakup, Verity and Monk must work together on the set of an epic Harlem Renaissance biopic. With Monk, now a world-class musician, creating the score, and Verity, an award-winning screenwriter, penning the script, there's Oscar buzz before shooting even begins. This once-in-a-lifetime project could catapult them both to new heights, but can they can put the past behind them for the sake of the film…for the sake of something more?

When Dr. Kemi Doll first began training to be a gynecologic cancer surgeon, she quickly noticed that the level of care being offered to women was rarely equal. She started to ask herself: Whose pain was believed? Who was “high maintenance” vs. “angry and non-compliant”? Who died? White women’s pain was doubted, but Black women’s pain was often outright denied. And the locus of this crisis was the womb. Day by day, fibroids, bleeding, inflammation, and cancer struck Black women the hardest, yet the medical field cared very little about their fate. When student physicians would explicitly bring up these alarming disparities, Dr. Doll's teachers would reply: “Black women just don’t do well with this,” followed by, “We don’t really know why.”

Since then, Dr. Doll has made it her goal to give Black women the tools they need to unlearn what she calls “womb suffering.” For all women navigating gynecologic care, and the medical professionals who care for them, this comprehensive, authoritative book of science-backed information and lived experience covers:

• The mechanisms behind the four primary conditions that affect the womb—often with fatal consequences—including Endometriosis, Fibroids, Heavy Bleeding, and Endometrial cancer.

• An overview of the research conducted on reproductive health outside pregnancy—the lack of which has caused healthcare inequity and obstructed access to care

• Gripping stories of smart, successful women struggling with and overcoming Womb Suffering

• What good gynecologic health looks like and why it is vital to reclaiming a full, healthy life; how to feel and respond to your body’s signals; and the tools and vocabulary needed to help advocate and prepare for medical visits.

A Terrible Strength links women’s health care to timely conversations on racial justice and healthcare inequity, arming women with the power to secure vibrant health and well-being for the rest of their lives.

Your words shape your life - whether you realize it or not.

Every day, what you say reinforces fear or faith, limits or breakthrough, defeat or destiny.

In The Power of Your Words, best-selling author and apostolic leader John Eckhardt invites you to take responsibility for one of the most overlooked spiritual forces in everyday life: the words you speak.

This book is written for believers who want more than encouragement - who want biblical clarity, spiritual authority, and practical alignment with God’s Word in daily life.

Rooted in Scripture, including the promise of Job 22:28 (“You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established for you”), Eckhardt teaches that faith is not only believed in the heart but released through the mouth.

Inside this book, you will learn how to:

• Break agreements with fear, doubt, and unbelief that quietly undermine your faith

• Align your speech with God’s promises instead of your circumstances

• Speak God’s Word with confidence over your health, finances, and future

• Replace negative patterns of confession with faith-filled declarations

• Develop discipline in how you talk so your words support - not sabotage - your walk with God

Drawing from decades of ministry, John Eckhardt shows how spoken faith activates spiritual authority and positions believers to live in alignment with heaven’s agenda.

Your words already carry power - for life or for death.

The Power of Your Words helps you choose that power intentionally, biblically, and with purpose - so you can stop speaking from habit and start speaking from faith.

This book offers a clear, Scripture-based path forward for believers who are ready to live out what they confess.

A trip to the zoo inspires a parent to list all the ways they love their child, no matter how wild they are, in this rhyming picture book.

What if you had cheetah spots? Or flew like an eagle? Follow a parent and child from a fun-filled trip to the zoo through a mess filled day and all the way to bedtime. No matter how wild a child is, a parent’s love never wavers.

If you sang like a screech owl in the night, I would be there to hug you tight.
If you crawled like a gecko up the wall, I would still love you best of all.
If you dangled upside down like a possum in a tree, that wouldn’t matter at all to me!
I would love you still.

Cuddle up at bedtime to share these charming animal rhymes and giggle at the adorable illustrations. This celebration of the special bond between parent and child is the perfect gift for baby showers, new parents, or any occasion!

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Holiday House

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 6, 2026

• Author: Adrea Theodore

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 32 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 082346265X

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0823462650

Rich with accessible, no-nonsense wisdom, this invaluable guide shows women how to utilize their leadership ability and maximize their potential in all areas of their life.

As “mentors in your pocket,” three successful Black women executives—Elaine Meryl Brown, Marsha Haygood, and Rhonda Joy McLean—share their strategies for playing, and ultimately winning, the power game in corporate America. This updated edition of their 2009 classic The Little Black Book of Success offers all corporate professionals—from college students to entry level employees, senior executives to global leaders—across all industries advice to help them find success. Covering topics like navigating unconscious biases and microaggressions, managing a global workforce, returning to the office after years of remote work, and the importance of self-care, this edition has been optimized for today's culturally and politically complex world.

Anchored in the wisdom of experience—navigating their own transitions from high-powered corporate jobs to becoming entrepreneurs, authors, public speakers, and community leaders—Brown, Haygood, and McLean share all they have learned (and wish they had known), so future generations of professionals can benefit and flourish at work and beyond.

"In her latest, Riley provides a fresh take on high seas adventure through the eyes of the courageous, swashbuckling, based-on-a-real-life female pirate Jacquotte Delahaye. The research Riley has done on this 1600s saga is truly remarkable, second only to her depictions of the lush Caribbean setting and the diverse, multi-faceted cast of characters. This is one to be savored."  —Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Queen

The real Pirates of the Caribbean were Black, and women! From Vanessa Riley, acclaimed author of Queen of Exiles, comes a sweeping, immersive saga based on the life of the legendary seventeenth-century pirate Jacquotte Delehaye.

The Caribbean Sea, 1675. Jacquotte Delahaye is the mixed-race daughter of a wealthy tavern owner on the island of Tortuga. Instead of marriage, Jacquotte dreams of joining the seafarers and smugglers whose tall-masted ships cluster in the turquoise waters around Tortuga. She falls in love with a pirate, but when he returns to the sea, Jacquotte decides to make her own way. In Haiti she becomes Jacques, a dockworker, earning the respect of those around her while hiding her gender.

Jacquotte discovers that secret identities are fairly common in the chaotic world of seafaring, which is full of outsiders and misfits. She forms a deep bond with Bahati, an African-born woman who has escaped slavery and also disguises herself as a man to navigate the world. They join forces with Dirkje De Wulf, a fearless adventurer who also lives as a man at sea. As Jacques, Jacquotte falls in love with Lizzôa d'Erville, a beautiful courtesan who deals in secrets and sex. While others see their work clothes as a disguise, Lizzôa’s true self is as a woman.

For the next twenty years, Jacquotte raids the Caribbean, making enemies and amassing a fortune in stolen gold. When her fellow pirates decide to increase their profits by entering the slave trade, Jacquotte turns away from piracy and the pursuit of riches. Risking her life in one deadly skirmish after another, she instead begins to plot a war of liberation.

From the two-time Emmy Award–winning producer and host of the Black and Published podcast comes a sweeping multi-generational epic following seven generations of Dupree women as they navigate love, loss, and the unyielding ties of family in the tradition of Homegoing and The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois.

It’s 1995, and fourteen-year-old Tati is determined to uncover the identity of her father. But her mother, Nadia, keeps her secrets close, while her grandmother Gladys remains silent about the family’s past, including why she left Land’s End, Alabama, in 1953. As Tati digs deeper, she uncovers a legacy of family secrets, where every generation of Dupree women has posed more questions than answers.

From Jubi in 1917, whose attempt to pass for white ends when she gives birth to Ruby; to Ruby’s fiery lust for Sampson in 1934 that leads to a baby of her own; to the night in 1980 that changed Nadia’s future forever, the Dupree women carry the weight of their heritage. Bound by a mysterious malediction that means they will only give birth to daughters, the Dupree women confront a legacy of pain, resilience, and survival that began with an enslaved ancestor who risked everything for freedom.

The Seven Daughters of Dupree masterfully weaves together themes of generational trauma, Black women’s resilience, and unbreakable familial bonds. Echoing the literary power of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis, Nikesha Elise Williams delivers a feminist literary fiction that explores the ripple effects of actions, secrets, and love through seven generations of Black women.

From bestselling author Ruth Forman and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honoree Raissa Figueroa comes a lyrical and vivid picture book celebrating motherhood, daughterhood, and the magic of love.

Do I love you?

Love shapes every moment in our lives. From a morning sunrise with colors bold to dandelion wishes carried on the wind to an evening sunset with shades soft and cool, the world is made of love.

Here is a book that asks and answers the most important question loved ones can ever share: Do I love you? Yes, I do!

For fans of Ainsley Earhardt and Matthew Paul Turner, this lyrical and heartwarming picture book introduces little ones to prayer and its infinite meanings, encouraging connection with God in moments big and small.

When we lie down to sleep or bless our food before we eat, we pray. But what is prayer?

Prayer is gratitude. Prayer is love. Prayer is a gift from God that everyone can use in times of need. It can be said in a shout or a whisper, in the pews of a church or on the living room couch. Prayer is simple―anyone can do it.

With simple, sweet, contemplative text from award-winning author Tameka Fryer Brown and sweet illustrations from rising-star artist Alleanna Harris, Prayer Is is a gentle exploration of the different meanings of prayer seen through the eyes of a girl and her family―the perfect gift for baby showers, christenings, birthdays, or any moment in a child’s life.

Did you enjoy Prayer Is? Then you’ll love these picture books from Tameka Fryer Brown: All the Greatness in You and Brown Baby Lullaby.

Practice a new framework for dismantling racial bias in our society, our workplaces, and ourselves: by learning to detect it as well as people of color do.

How do we combat racism in a world determined to tell us it doesn’t exist?
 
To hold the line against racism, we need to know it when we see it. And as the dominant racial group in our society, White people must take up the charge. The problem, says researcher, DEI leader, and organizational consultant Dr. Evelyn Carter, is that White people haven’t been socialized to detect racial bias in the way people of color do. Racism is more than using racial slurs or overt, hateful speech, and it’s more than unintentional slights; it's about an entire system that upholds Whiteness as the preferred standard. 
 
Fortunately, detecting it is a skill that can be learned.

Was That Racist? is a re-education, call to action, and practical guide, full of research-backed strategies including how to: cultivate a growth mindset about bias, unlearn colorblindness and practice color consciousness, talk to kids about race and racism - and bring others along for the journey.

At a time when DEI is under coordinated attack, Was That Racist? is the essential toolkit for anyone who believes we all have a role to play in creating a more equitable world.

The limited deluxe edition will include sprayed edges

A steamy, forbidden enemies to lovers romance about love after loss. It is the first book in the New Haven series, interconnected standalones featuring second chances, fiery passion, and Black heroines who get their happily ever afters.

Sloane

Dominic Alexander is my late husband's best friend and the last man on Earth that I should want. He's arrogant, dismissive, and up until recently has only ever used those dark eyes of his to look right through me. For the last twelve years, he's taken a sick pleasure in making me feel paper thin, like my entire existence is of no consequence to him at all.

But now, things are different.

After one drunken night and a surprisingly sexy act of heroism, he's started to be...nice. Treating me like something other than the physical embodiment of his annoyance, which would be nice if it didn't make me feel all the things I swore to never feel for another man after my husband died.

Dominic

Sloane Kent is going to be my undoing.

What's worse: I think I'm going to enjoy being unraveled by the gold flecks in her hazel eyes and the adorable little way she scrunches her nose up when we're arguing, which we've done a lot of over the past decade. She thinks it's because I hate her, and I've always let her think that because the alternative is...untenable.

But something is changing between us, and I don't know how to stop myself from breaking every promise I've ever made to myself regarding my best friend's wife. Promises that include never telling her that there's a long list of things I feel about her, but hate isn't one of them.

Daniel is having a terrible day. From the rain that tumbles down from the dark, grey skies to the puddles that soak his shoes, Daniel’s convinced that nothing will lift his mood. But everything changes when he hears the sweet, delicate sound of music, barely audible beneath the rain.

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.

From the Newbery Honor-winning author of Box: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom comes a joyful picture book set to “This Little Light of Mine.” With a unique jacket and case cover, it’s the perfect gift for all of life’s milestones.

This little light reflects
an everlasting flame:
Hope that was passed down to you
by those who overcame.
A new sun is rising.
Tomorrow's yours to claim.
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

Read or sing along to affirmations that will inspire children as well as adults to dream big and commemorate every success. The powerful text reminds readers that everyone has potential for greatness; it shines brightly from within and sparks your determination to reach for the stars, even when you feel doubt.

The vibrant illustrations focus on kids and adults enjoying everyday moments like reading, gardening, and reuniting, as well as commemorating milestones and achievements, like graduating or winning a medal. Certain images also pay homage to historical changemakers such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and Shirley Chisholm, and others who paved the way for the Black community.

With two distinct illustrated covers, one on the jacket and the other on the case, this book is the perfect gift for graduation and life’s major milestones. It encourages everyone to fan their spark into a flame, celebrate joy, and cherish each moment.

“I loved this book.... I looked forward to [it] more than any other in a long time, and Howard Bryant exceeded my great expectations. Kings and Pawns is brilliantly conceived and powerfully written.” — David Maraniss, author of Path Lit by Lightning

A path-breaking work of biography of two American giants, Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson, whose lives would forever be altered by the Cold War, and would explosively intersect before its most notorious weapon, the House Un-American Activities Committee — from one of the best sports and culture writers working today. 

Kings and Pawns is the untold story of sports and fame, Black America and the promise of integration through the Cold War lens of two transformative events. The first occurred July 18, 1949 in Washington, D.C., when a reluctant Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball star who integrated the game and at the time was the most famous Black man in America, appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee to discredit Paul Robeson, the legendary athlete, baritone, and actor — himself once the most famous Black man in America. The testimony would be a defining moment in Robinson’s life and contribute heavily to the destruction of Robeson’s iconic reputation in the eyes of America.

The second occurred June 12, 1956, in the midst of the last, demagogic roar of McCarthyism, when a battered, defiant Robeson – prohibited from leaving the United States – faced off in a final showdown with HUAC in the same setting Robinson appeared in seven years earlier. These two moments would epitomize the ongoing Black American conflict between patriotism and protest. On the cusp of a nascent civil rights movement, Robinson and Robeson would represent two poles of a people pitted against itself by forces that demanded loyalty without equality in return – one man testifying in conflicted service to and the other in ferocious critique of a country that would ultimately and decisively wound both.

In a time of great division, with America in the midst of a new era of retrenchment and Black athletes again chilled into silence advocating for civil rights, the story of these two titans reverberates today within and beyond Black America. From the revival of government overreach to curb civil liberties to the Cold War-era rhetoric of “the enemy within” levied against fellow citizens, Kings and Pawns is a story of a moment that remains hauntingly present.

From The Queen of Sugar Hill author ReShonda Tate—a new novel inspired by beloved Harlem jazz performer Hazel Scott and the equal parts exhilarating and tumultuous relationship that changed the course of her life.

Harlem, 1943. At just twenty-three, Hazel Scott is a woman on fire. A jazz prodigy, a glamorous film star, and a fierce advocate for civil rights, she’s breaking barriers and refusing to play by the rules. Then Adam Clayton Powell Jr. walks into her life. Harlem’s most electrifying preacher-turned-politician, Adam is as bold and unyielding as Hazel—charismatic, powerful…and married.

This kicks off a decades-long relationship that propels them into the center of a political and cultural revolution. As Hazel’s star rises, Adam takes the national stage in Congress and the couple becomes the toast of the country. But when their affair turns into a marriage, behind the glamorous façade is a battlefield of ego, ambition, and sacrifice. Forced to choose between her music and her family, Hazel must decide what she’s willing to lose—and what she refuses to give up.

Set against the pulsing backdrop of twentieth-century Harlem and featuring icons like Billie Holiday, Langston Hughes, and James Baldwin, With Love from Harlem is a sweeping, emotionally charged romantic drama, rich with historical detail. ReShonda Tate delivers a powerful portrait of love, art, and the price of being unforgettable.

In the tradition of Jordan Peele and Tiffany Jackson’s The Weight of Blood, a YA thriller about a Black teen whose fight for survival forces a small southern vacation town to face its dark history of racial violence.

When sixteen-year-old Naomi Ward and her family head to a secluded cabin in the Shenandoah Valley for summer vacation they don’t know the small, mountain town of Sparksburg, Virginia has a dark and twisted past. But when they arrive, Naomi can’t shake the feeling that something about Sparksburg just isn’t right—and it smells god awful, but for some reason Naomi is the only who can smell the town’s stench. When she learns Sparksburg had once been a Sundown Town—a town where Black people weren’t allowed after sunset lest they be murdered—Naomi’s unease starts to make sense.

As Naomi digs more into Sparksburg’s violent origins, she finds herself haunted by the ghost of a girl, appearing nightly outside her window. Then she learns of two girls who’ve recently gone missing and suspects the past may still be present in Sparksburg and beneath the quaint façade of this tourist town is a palpable danger.

When Naomi decides to track the disappearance of the two girls herself, she becomes suspicious of a local man who has kindled fear in Naomi more than once. She soon learns he has a connection to one of the missing girls, and Naomi is certain he’s responsible for the disappearances.

When no one believes her, Naomi takes matters into her own hands. But to save the missing girls, she’ll have to finally face her own past trauma as a “missing girl” as she finds herself in a fight for survival.

Gripping and triumphant, L.S. Stratton tells an important and unforgettable story of racial reckoning inspired by historical events.

THE CURATORS OF CULTURE: Celebrate Black digital art in this essay collection revealing how Black artists have shaped everything from TikTok dances to viral memes

Steven Underwood digs into the current Black digital arts movement that has shaped popular culture for the last decade. He connects this current space to historical influences, speaking to a “legacy of audacity and daring that presented us with the opportunity to redirect the conversations on Blackness back on its center. Back to Black people.” Written as a collection of thought-provoking essays pulling in social commentary, interviews, popular culture, and deep research, Underwood taps into a topic that is incredibly relevant but often unknown.

The nature of the internet is so ephemeral that sometimes we forget when we do something worth celebrating. For Black people particularly, that’s unforgiveable. Digital Black art has become increasingly more outspoken, introspective, and genre-defining. But it’s also vulnerable. Original phrases, tweets, dances, songs, and other content are often taken from a Black artist and attributed to a white influencer. And Black creators are paid less for their work, though their engagement is often higher than that of their white peers. There is also the added risk of backlash and hate that comes with publicly existing online. As an award-winning writer with a popular online presence, Underwood is no stranger to the experiences of Black digital artists. Using his own personal stories, he highlights the beauty, vulnerability, and innovation of the Black digital arts movement.

Shining a light on the curators of our culture, Forever for the Culture narratively follows the construction of a new Black art movement and how creators have defined a community when that community does not have a physical space.

‍ ‍For readers of Annette Gordon-Reed and Nikole Hannah-Jones, the shocking untold story of the British royal family’s centuries-long investment in slavery and continued profiting off its legacy—from Elizabeth I to the present—and the monarchy’s culpability in the racial injustice that gave birth to the United States.  

For centuries, Britain has told itself and the world that it is an abolitionist nation, one that, unlike the United States, rejected human bondage and dismantled its Atlantic slave empire without tearing itself apart in violence. An abolitionist nation headed by a just, humane monarch who liberated enslaved Africans and recognized their descendants as free and equal subjects of the British Crown. As Prince William put it recently, “We’re very much not a racist family.” When slaveholding nations write their collective history, the enslavers hold the pen.

Now, acclaimed historian Brooke Newman reveals the true story: the enslavers were supported by members of the royal family. From the 1560s to 1807, the British monarchy invested in the transatlantic slave trade and built a slave empire in colonial America and the Caribbean, with the labor of millions of enslaved Africans who would see none of its riches. It profited from African slave trading and hereditary bondage, setting the stage for other colonial powers to develop brutal slave systems that remained legal long after full emancipation in the British Empire in 1838. The scars of this history remain visible the world over, from economic inequality and educational and health disparities to racial discrimination and prejudice. Still, Crown officials continue to insist the legacies of slavery “belong to the past.” 

Newman focuses not on portraits of British monarchs but on their actions and investments that led to the rise and fall of the transatlantic slave trade and colonial slavery, and on some of the people whose lives it took, placing the struggles and sacrifices of innumerable individuals of African origin and ancestry at the center of Britain’s story.

Commemorating its 20th anniversary with a new Introduction and updated content, Shifting explores the many identities Black women must adopt in various spaces to succeed in America. 

Based on the African American Women's Voices Project, Shifting reveals that a large number of Black women feel pressure to compromise their true selves as they navigate America's racial and gender bigotry. Black women "shift" by altering the expectations they have for themselves or their outer appearance. They modify their speech. They shift "white" as they head to work in the morning and "Black" as they come back home each night. They shift inward, internalizing the searing pain of the negative stereotypes that they encounter daily. And sometimes they shift by fighting back. In commemoration of its twentieth year in print with a new Introduction and updated content throughout Shifting is a much-needed, clear, and comprehensive portrait of the reality of Black women's lives today.

An illuminating, electrifying exploration of the work of Toni Morrison by an award-winning novelist and Harvard professor

“In this lavish yet clear-eyed study, Serpell shows how Morrison breathed new life into the novel. This is literary criticism at its finest.”—Time

“As gripping as it is intellectually brilliant . . . a classic.”—Cathy Park Hong

“Serpell puts Morrison’s genius on full display. This will enthrall Morrison fans.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Filled with unique analyses, deep dives, and an intellectual playfulness that Morrison herself so valued, this book will stand as one of the most important twenty-first-century works on the great American writer.”—Imani Perry, author of South to America

ONE OF THE MOST ANTICIPATED BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, Time, The Today Show, Harper's Bazaar, Ms., The Millions, Well-Read Black Girl, Kirkus Reviews, Lit Hub

Toni Morrison, Nobel Laureate and one of our most beloved writers, has inspired generations of readers. But her artistic genius is often overshadowed by her monumental public persona, perhaps because, as Namwali Serpell puts it, “she is our only truly canonical black female writer—and her work is highly complex.” In On Morrison, Serpell brings her unique experience as both an award-winning writer and a professor who teaches a course on Morrison to illuminate her masterful experiments with literary form.

This is Morrison as you’ve never encountered her before, a journey through her oeuvre—her fiction and criticism, as well as her lesser-known dramatic works and poetry—with contextual guidance and original close readings. At once accessible and uncompromisingly rigorous, On Morrison is

‍n this gripping thriller, truth and justice are called into question when a Black man is gunned down in cold blood—the first novel in a riveting series from renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump.

“A sensationally good crime and legal thriller . . . This is exactly what a book should be.”—Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of the Reacher series

It’s the night of November 4, 2008. America’s first Black president has just been elected. And fifty-three-year-old Hollis Montrose—a Black ex–police officer from the suburbs of Chicago—has become the latest victim of a brutal attack. As the result of a traffic stop gone wrong, Hollis is shot ten times in cold blood, by four white men who could have been his colleagues back in his police days.

Beau Lee Cooper was born serious, as if on an urgent mission with little time to waste. Raised in the tumultuous world of 1970s Texas, he always dreamed of becoming a lawyer and fighting for what’s right, ever since he was a little boy reading To Kill a Mockingbird. And now, ten years into running his own law firm with his best friend and partner in crime, Nelson “Nellie” Rivers, and his suave right-hand-man, Brent “Cape” Capers, he feels he’s finally making a difference. When Beau Lee learns about Hollis’s situation, he’s determined to help.

Miraculously, Hollis survives the encounter, but the Chicago police department has already spun the narrative in its favor, and Hollis is given a wrongful prison sentence with an unreasonable bail. What really happened that night the car was pulled over? Was it random or was Hollis targeted? Beau Lee knows he’s treading in dangerous waters, and finding evidence of the truth will be his biggest challenge yet, but with troubling powers at play, one innocent man’s life hangs in the balance.

A magnificent new novel from the bestselling, award-winning author of An American Marriage—Tayari Jones has written an unforgettable novel that sparkles with wit and intelligence and deep feeling about two lifelong friends whose worlds converge after many years apart in the face of a devastating tragedy.

"Kin is the kind of all-encompassing reading experience I’m always hoping to find: smart and funny and deftly profound. This is Tayari Jones’s very best work.” —Ann Patchett, author of Tom Lake

Vernice and Annie, two motherless daughters raised in Honeysuckle, Louisiana, have been best friends and neighbors since earliest childhood but are fated to live starkly different lives. Raised by a fierce aunt determined to give her a stable home in the wake of her mother’s death, Vernice leaves Honeysuckle at eighteen for Spelman College, where she joins a sisterhood of powerfully connected Black women and discovers a world of affluence, manners, aspiration, and inequality. Annie, abandoned by her mother as a child and fixated on the idea of finding her and filling the bottomless hole left by her absence, sets off on a journey that will take her into a world of peril and adversity, as well as love and adventure, culminating in a battle for her life.

A novel about mothers and daughters, friendship and sisterhood, and the complexities of being a woman in the American South, Kin is an exuberant, emotionally rich, unforgettable work from one of the brightest and most irresistible voices in contemporary fiction.

Cleopatra tells her own story in this evocative and sensuous historical epic from the bestselling and award-winning author of Faebound and The Final Strife.

“Enchanting, smart, and subversive—this is El-Arifi’s masterpiece.”—R.F. Kuang, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Katabasis

This stunning edition includes designed endpapers and a custom case stamp.

YOU KNOW MY NAME, BUT YOU DO NOT KNOW ME.

Your historians call me seductress, but I was ever in love's thrall.

Your playwrights speak of witchcraft, but my talents came from the gods themselves.

Your poets sing of my bloodlust, but I was always protecting my children.

How wilfully they refuse to concede that a woman could be powerful, strategic, and divinely blessed to rule.

Death will silence me no longer.

This is not the story of how I died. But how I lived.

From critically acclaimed author Veronica G. Henry comes a thought-provoking science fiction fantasy set in near-future Cleveland that follows a reluctant curator of digital human consciousness who must uncover twisted secrets and navigate ethical quandaries and dangers when anti-technology rebels attack the futuristic library.

Echo London never wanted to be the curator of the People’s Library, a digital collection of human consciousness. But when she’s assigned as its head librarian, Echo is entrusted with humanity’s greatest minds and historical figures, all of whom have been recreated through controversial consciousness-capturing technology that lets visitors interact with the dead.

But an anti-tech rebellion is stirring. When a rebel attack results in tragedy, a mysterious woman wearing an ancient death mask leaves behind cryptic final words for Echo: It all begins with nothing. Caught between the resistance and a potentially virtual evolution, Echo begins to fear that there’s more to her job than meets the eye and the mind. There are secrets here. And the People’s Library may be less of a promise of things to come than a warning of the danger that lurks beneath the surface. Now the fate of humanity lies in uncovering the truth.

A November LibraryReads Pick

Longtime NBC News reporter Char Adams writes a deeply compelling and rigorously reported history of Black political movements told through the lens of Black-owned bookstores, which have been centers for organizing from abolition to the Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter.

In Black-Owned, Char Adams celebrates the living history of Black bookstores. Packed with stories of activism, espionage, violence, community, and perseverance, Black-Owned starts with the first Black-owned bookstore, which an abolitionist opened in New York in 1834, and after the bookshop’s violent demise, Black book-lovers carried on its cause. In the twentieth century, civil rights and Black Power activists started a Black bookstore boom nationwide. Malcolm X gave speeches in front of the National Memorial African Book Store in Harlem—a place dubbed “Speakers’ Corner”—and later, Black bookstores became targets of FBI agents, police, and racist vigilantes. Still, stores continued to fuel Black political movements.

Amid these struggles, bookshops were also places of celebration: Eartha Kitt and Langston Hughes held autograph parties at their local Black-owned bookstores. Maya Angelou became the face of National Black Bookstore Week. And today a new generation of Black activists is joining the radical bookstore tradition, with rapper Noname opening her Radical Hood Library in Los Angeles and several stores making national headlines when they were overwhelmed with demand in the Black Lives Matter era. As Adams makes clear, in an time of increasing repression, Black bookstores are needed now more than ever.

Dream A World Anew is the stunning gift book accompanying the opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. It combines informative narratives from leading scholars, curators, and authors with objects from the museum's collection to present a thorough exploration of African American history and culture. The first half of the book bridges a major gap in our national memory by examining a wide arc of African American history, from Slavery, Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Great Migrations through Segregation, the Civil Rights Movement, and beyond. The second half of the book celebrates African American creativity and cultural expressions through art, dance, theater, and literature. Sidebars and profiles of influential figures--including Harriet Tubman, Robert Smalls, Ida B. Wells, Mordecai Johnson, Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, and many others--provide additional context and interest throughout the book. Dream a World Anew is a powerful book that provides an opportunity to explore and revel in African American history and culture, as well as the chance to see how central African American history is for all Americans.

A New York Times Bestseller
"This suspenseful YA thriller is yet another testament to Jackson’s talent.”—ELLE

New York Times bestselling author Tiffany D. Jackson delivers another stunning, ripped-from-the-headlines thriller, following a freshman girl whose college life is turned upside down when her roommate’s ex-convict brother moves into their dorm and starts controlling their every move.

Out from under her overprotective parents, Jordyn is ready to kill it in prelaw at a prestigious, historically Black university in Washington DC. When her new roommate’s brother is released from prison, the last thing Jordyn expects is to come home and find the ex-convict on their dorm room sofa. But Devonte needs a place to stay while he gets back on his feet—and how could she say no to one of her new best friends?

Devonte is older, as charming as he is intelligent, pushing every student he meets to make better choices about their young lives. But Jordyn senses something sinister beneath his friendly advice and growing group of followers. When one of Jordyn’s roommates goes missing, she must enlist the help of the university’s lone white student to uncover the mystery—or become trapped at the center of a web of lies more tangled than she can imagine.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Quill Tree Books

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 7, 2025

• Author: Tiffany D. Jackson

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 368 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0063271273

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0063271272

BLACK CAUCUS OF THE ALA - CHILDREN & YOUTH LITERARY AWARDS WINNER

In this debut speculative YA mystery, a Black teen with premonition-like powers must solve her friend's disappearance before she finds herself in the same danger, perfect for fans of Ace of Spades.

Sariyah Lee Bryant can hear what people need―tangible things, like a pencil, a hair tie, a phone charger―an ability only her family and her best friend, Malcolm, know the truth about. But when she fulfills a need for her friend Deja who vanishes shortly after, Sariyah is left wondering if her ability is more curse than gift. This isn’t the first time one of her friends has landed on the missing persons list, and she’s determined not to let her become yet another forgotten Black girl.

Not trusting the police and media to do enough on their own, Sariyah and her friends work together to figure out what led to Deja’s disappearance. When Sariyah’s mother loses her job and her little brother faces complications with his sickle cell disease, managing her time, money, and emotions seems impossible. Desperate, Sariyah decides to hustle her need-sensing ability for cash―a choice that may not only lead her to Deja, but put her in the same danger Deja found herself in.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wednesday Books

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 4, 2025

• Author: Channelle Desamours

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 320 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250334810

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250334817

From CNN’s Abby Phillip comes a fresh, nuanced portrait of legendary civil rights activist, Rev. Jesse Jackson.

“A joyful, rich, must-read biography of a politician whose flaws and gifts were in constant, intense competition.” ―Jake Tapper

Jesse Jackson was one of the most influential political figures of the 20th century. He was a civil rights leader, activist, and an adept politician whose presidential runs shaped the course of Democrat politics to this day. In A Dream Deferred, Abby Phillip charts the course of his life through conversations with Jackson himself, as well as interviews with his inner circle, political peers, critics, and historians.

Focusing on his presidential runs in 1984 and, especially, 1988, Phillip highlights how Jackson built an unlikely coalition that showed the power of the Black vote and the resonance of an inclusive message of economic populism. His experience working under Martin Luther King; his organizing the SLCC’s Operation Breadbasket in Chicago and beyond; and his roots in the deep South combined into two astonishingly impactful presidential campaigns. Appealing to the working people of urban enclaves like Chicago, young people on college campuses, and Black people across the South, white farmers in rural areas and many others, he created the modern Democratic coalition―one that has been used by all major Democrats seeking national success from Obama to Biden to Harris.

Drawing on her expert reporting and natural storytelling skills, Abby Phillip has written a rousing popular history brimming with humanity, politics, and hope that sheds new light on an American icon.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Flatiron Books

• Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 27, 2026

• Author: Abby Phillip

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Print length ‏ : ‎ 352 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250806305

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250806307