An all-new stand-alone novel featuring Brenda Jackson’s fan-favorite Madaris family.

Ninetysomething Mama Laverne is determined to find all of her great-grandchildren their perfect match before going home to glory. So far, her success rate is 100 percent—and she intends to keep it that way.

After sustaining injuries in Iraq, US army ranger Chancellor (Chance) Madaris was told he’d never walk again. Chance credits his great-grandmother Mama Laverne with giving him the will and fortitude to heal and prove the doctors wrong. He has a healthy respect for her meddling ways and knows he’ll eventually end up next on her matchmaking list.

When Zoey Pritchard was eight, she survived a car accident that left both her parents dead. She was sent to live with her great-aunt, who refused to speak about her parents. Zoey has no memory from before the crash, but she’s been having the same dream over and over…

Guided by nothing but a hunch and images from her dream, Zoey travels to Houston. Searching for answers, Zoey uncovers a scandal involving her parents and the wealthy and powerful Madaris family. Her trail leads her straight to Chance’s door. The dislike and intense attraction are instant and simultaneous. Was it chance or Mama Laverne’s plan to throw this pair together?

A thoughtful guide to ancestral veneration, with a focus on the importance of reclaiming African Spiritual practices as an act of liberation.

Your ancestors remember you. Do you remember them? They have been waiting for this very moment in time.

In this book, Ifa and Orisa priestess Ehime Ora shares the importance of connection to the ancestors, and to one’s spiritual roots. There’s a certain type of radical healing that takes place when we recommend to our ancestral veneration and follow through with their wisdom.

Providing healing through the written word, Ehime walks you though the reclamation of African Spiritual practices, discussing the spiritual renaissance occurring in the African community, and includes interviews with elders of the rich traditions. She also provides tangible spiritual tools so that you can incorporate ancestral veneration in your life: how to properly set up and work with an ancestral altar, the importance of spiritual hygiene, and bringing forth the concept of the ori, or the higher self.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Iyanla Vanzant returns with an exciting new book introducing the transformational practice of spiritual hygiene!

Spiritual Hygiene is a spiritually based guidebook born of lived experience, personal loss, and divine assignment. With clarity and compassion, Iyanla Vanzant brings readers onto a transformational path of remembering, restoring, and realigning their inner temple. Inspired by the life and passing of Iyanla’s daughter, Nisa, and Iyanla’s own personal healing journey, this book teaches that just as we tend to our physical hygiene, our mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness also require conscious daily care and sacred maintenance. In a world overwhelmed by emotional clutter, mental chaos, physical depletion, and spiritual confusion, Spiritual Hygiene offers a life-affirming framework to cleanse the mind, heart, body, and soul, facilitating a return to sacred alignment.

Spiritual Hygiene guides readers to:

- Release toxic emotional patterns and outdated mental narratives.
- Develop sacred boundaries that lead to energetic clarity.
- Recognize the voice of trauma so it can be silenced.
- Reconnect with our Divine purpose with intentionality, personal healing ritual, silence, and inner alignment.
- Embrace sorrow, grief, and loss as teachers and portals to deeper wisdom.

*This item will ship or be ready for pick up in 7-10 business days

A fascinating history of the art form that has transformed the cultural landscape, by one of its influential practitioners, an award-winning poet, professor, and slam champion

In 2009, when he was twenty years old, Joshua Bennett was invited to perform a spoken word poem for Barack and Michelle Obama, at the same White House "Poetry Jam" where Lin-Manuel Miranda declaimed the opening bars of a work-in-progress that would soon revolutionize American theater. That meeting is but one among many in the trajectory of Bennett's young life, as he rode the cresting wave of spoken word through the 2010s. In this book, he goes back to its roots, considering the Black Arts movement and the prominence of poetry and song in Black education; the origins of the famed Nuyorican Poets Cafe in the Lower East Side living room of the visionary Miguel Algarín, who hosted verse gatherings with legendary figures like Ntozake Shange and Miguel Piñero; the rapid growth of the "slam" format that was pioneered at the Get Me High Lounge in Chicago; the perfect storm of spoken word's rise during the explosion of social media; and Bennett's own journey alongside his older sister, whose work to promote the form helped shape spaces online and elsewhere dedicated to literature and the pursuit of human freedom.    

A celebration of voices outside the dominant cultural narrative, who boldly embraced an array of styles and forms and redefined what—and whom—the mainstream would include, Bennett's book illuminates the profound influence spoken word has had everywhere melodious words are heard, from Broadway to academia, from the podiums of political protest to cafés, schools, and rooms full of strangers all across the world.

Scripps National Spelling Bee champ, New York Times bestselling author, and Sports Illustrated Sports Kid of the Year Zaila Avant-garde shares her love of sports in this level 1 Step Into Reading book. Perfect for children just beginning to read.

Be a soccer star. Kick, kick, score! Bounce a basketball. Bounce, bounce, soar!

New readers will find playful encouragement in this easy reader that sings out about the joy of playing sports. Wth ample rhyme and helpful repetition, Zaila Avante-garde takes readers on a boisterous romp through the wide world of sports, showing cheerful scenes of baseball, swimming, running, gymnastics, and more.

Step 1 Readers feature big type and easy words for children who know the alphabet and are eager to begin reading. Rhyme and rhythmic text paired with picture clues help children decode the story.

Don't miss Erika J. Kendrick's next book in the world of Valentine Middle School, Cookie Monsters! 

Camp is in session in this cheer-tastic middle-grade novel about making new friends, finding your place, and learning to embrace your inner Magic.

Magic Olive Poindexter has big shoes to fill. Her mother was a professional cheerleader, her father is a retired NBA legend, her big sister is the new face of the oh-so-glamorous Laker Girls, and her grandmother was the first black cheerleader ever on Valentine Middle School's HoneyBee cheer squad. Magic wants nothing more than to follow in their footsteps. But first, she has to survive Planet Pom Poms, the summer cheer camp where she'll audition for a spot on the HoneyBee squad. But with zero athletic ability and a group of mean girls who have her number, Tragic Magic is a long way from becoming the toe-touching cheerleader heroine she dreams of being.

Things start to look up when her best friend Cappie joins her at camp—until Cappie gets bitten by the popularity bug, that is. To make matters worse, Magic's crushing hard on football star Dallas Chase. Luckily, Magic's not alone: with the help of a new crew of fabulous fellow misfits and her Grammy Mae's vintage pom poms by her side, Tragic Magic might just survive—and even thrive—at cheer camp.

For more adventures at Valentine Middle, don't miss these school stories from Erika J. Kendrick: 
Cookie Monsters
Instafamous

¡La continuación de Srta. Quinces, la exitosa y galardonada novela gráfica para grados intermedios de Kat Fajardo!

¡Este verano Sue va al campamento El Sauce! Quiere practicar senderismo, tiro con arco y dibujar cómics al aire libre. Pero sobre todo le gustaría jugar rol en vivo, además de disfrutar la oportunidad de estar lejos de casa. Sin embargo, no está lejos de su familia porque su hermana mayor, Carmen, trabaja como monitora en el campamento y su hermana pequeña, Ester, también es campista y no le da ni un respiro. Sue desea compartir todo el tiempo con sus amigos, pero desafortunadamente no están siempre en las mismas clases. Por otra parte, ¿tiene su mejor amiga Sam una antigua amiga llamada Marisol en el campamento? ¡¿Y está Izzy, el amigo de Sue, enamorado de ella?! ¡Este verano no marcha como estaba previsto!

A companion to Miss Quinces, Kat Fajardo's bestselling, award-winning middle-grade graphic novel!

It's summer again, and Sue is heading to Camp Willow with her friends for two whole weeks! She's looking forward to hiking, archery, and making some comics in the fresh air. She’s especially excited about LARPing (live-action roleplaying, of course), and can't wait for the freedom that comes with being away from home. But she won't be far from her family's watchful eye because her big sister, Carmen, is a camp counselor this year and her little sister, Ester, will be a camper! All Sue wants is to spend quality time and make memories with her friends, but Ester won't give her any space and Sue can't escape the responsibility of having to look after her. And it turns out that Sue won't have as many activities with her friends as she thought. Also, hold on, what's this? Her best friend, Sam, has a best camp friend named Marisol? And Sue's good friend Izzy has a crush on Sue?! This summer isn't at all going as planned!

A powerful picture book biography of Stacey Abrams, politician, voters’ rights activist, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, that shows how Abrams’s fight for voters’ rights was inspired by luminaries before her, such as Sojourner Truth and Fannie Lou Hamer. Brilliant artwork from Laura Freeman, Coretta Scott King Honoree for Hidden Figures, brings Stacey’s journey to life. Perfect for fans of Kamala Harris: Rooted In Justice by Nikki Grimes and I Dissent by Debbie Levy.

Read about Stacey Abrams, politician and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, in this poetic picture book that follows Abrams’s fight for voters’ rights, narrated by Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Septima Poinsette Clark, and Fannie Lou Hamer.

“Sometimes she would light the way. Sometimes her way would be lit by others…”

Stacey Abrams was always destined for big things because she always imagined more. Now she protects the least powerful, works toward making voting fair and easy, and demands better for Georgia and every other state in this nation. Stacey Abrams’s determination, perseverance, and courage will inspire younger generations to make meaningful change in the world.

*Ships in 7-10 Business Days*

An empowering debut picture book from iconic voting rights advocate and #1 New York Times bestselling author, Stacey Abrams, about a little girl who discovers the power of words after competing in a spelling bee—inspired by Stacey’s own childhood.

Stacey is a little girl who loves words more than anything. She loves reading them, sounding them out, and finding comfort in them when things are hard. 

But when her teacher chooses her to compete in the local spelling bee, she isn’t as excited as she thought she’d be. What if she messes up? Or worse, if she can’t bring herself to speak up, like sometimes happens when facing bullies at school? 

Stacey will learn that win or lose . . her words are powerful, and sometimes perseverance is the most important word of all. 

The companion to the #1 New York Times bestseller and NAACP Image Award winner Stacey's Extraordinary Words, from political leader Stacey Abrams and artist Kitt Thomas.

Stacey’s favorite day of the week is Thursday, when the whole class goes to the library and she gets to lose herself in her beloved books.

On one of these special days, Stacey discovers that a new student named Julie has trouble reading in English, so they begin sharing books and stories to practice. Soon, more students start to join them.

Books take the group on magical adventures and reveal other worlds and cultures—but best of all, they bring them together as friends.

This is another inspiring tale, based on a true story from Stacey Abrams’s childhood, about the life-changing power of books.

*Ships in 7-10 Business Days*

Brave, clear-eyed, and passionate, Stakes Is High is the book we need to guide us past crisis mode and through an uncertain future.

The events of the past decade have forced us to reckon with who we are and who we want to be. We have been invested in a set of beliefs about our American identity: our exceptionalism, the inevitable rightness of our path, the promise that hard work and determination will carry us to freedom. But in Stakes Is High, Mychal Denzel Smith confronts the shortcomings of these stories -- and with the American Dream itself -- and calls on us to live up to the principles we profess but fail to realize.

RACE. Uh-oh. The R-word.
But actually talking about race is one of the most important things to learn how to do.

Adapted from the groundbreaking bestseller Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, this book takes readers on a journey from present to past and back again. Kids will discover where racist ideas came from, identify how they impact America today, and meet those who have fought racism with antiracism. Along the way, they’ll learn how to identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their own lives.

The National Book Award winning history of how racist ideas were created, spread, and deeply rooted in American society.

Some Americans insist that we're living in a post-racial society. But racist thought is not just alive and well in America -- it is more sophisticated and more insidious than ever. And as award-winning historian Ibram X. Kendi argues, racist ideas have a long and lingering history, one in which nearly every great American thinker is complicit.

In this deeply researched and fast-moving narrative, Kendi chronicles the entire story of anti-black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history. He uses the life stories of five major American intellectuals to drive this history: Puritan minister Cotton Mather, Thomas Jefferson, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, W.E.B. Du Bois, and legendary activist Angela Davis.

As Kendi shows, racist ideas did not arise from ignorance or hatred. They were created to justify and rationalize deeply entrenched discriminatory policies and the nation's racial inequities.

The construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, to create dynamics that separate and silence. This remarkable reimagining of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi's National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning reveals the history of racist ideas in America, and inspires hope for an antiracist future. It takes you on a race journey from then to now, shows you why we feel how we feel, and why the poison of racism lingers. It also proves that while racist ideas have always been easy to fabricate and distribute, they can also be discredited.

Through a gripping, fast-paced, and energizing narrative written by beloved award-winner Jason Reynolds, this book shines a light on the many insidious forms of racist ideas--and on ways readers can identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their daily lives.

In trying times, our nation demands more of us. It is time for good trouble.

Senator Cory Booker captivated Americans across the political spectrum in early 2025 with his remarkable 25-hour speech on the Senate floor, when he spoke out eloquently and forcefully against the Trump administration’s relentless challenges to civil liberties, government institutions, the rule of law, and our nation's international standing. In the process, Booker outlasted the record for longest continuous Senate floor speech set by segregationist Strom Thurmond during a filibuster of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which was delivered at another time of great uncertainty for our country when it felt like the odds were hopelessly stacked against justice and unity.

Stand expands on that message and offers a compelling vision for the future to readers who are eager to make a difference. It focuses on the virtues that are vital to our success as a nation and the lessons we can draw from past generations of Americans who fought for them. Now is not the time to surrender to cynicism or abandon our most noble ideals. Now is the time to defiantly declare, like our ancestors before us: "I, too, stand for America.”

Stand is a celebration of the Americans who chose to get up in the face of injustice, who championed the uniquely American values central to making our nation a more perfect union, despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles. It is also a guide for today: leadership is not derived from position or title, it comes from action and example.

*ships in 7-10 business days

An “enthralling” (Michael Kazin, Washington Post) account of America’s shift from a rural and agrarian society to an urban and industrial society.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, technological innovation made possible dramatic increases in industrial and agricultural productivity; by 1919, per-capita gross national product had soared. But this new wealth and new power were not distributed evenly. In this landmark work—with continued resonance for our times—acclaimed historian Nell Irvin Painter illuminates the class, economic, and political conflicts that defined the Progressive era. Demonstrating the ways in which racial and social hierarchies were interwoven with reform movements, she offers a lively and comprehensive view of Americans, rich and working-class, at the precipice of change.

Raised in the steamy bayous of New Orleans in the early 1900s, LeRoi "King" Tremain, caught up in his family's ongoing feud with the rival DuMont family, learns to fight. But when the teenage King mistakenly kills two white deputies during a botched raid on the DuMonts, the Tremains' fear of reprisal forces King to flee Louisiana.

King thus embarks on an adventure that first takes him to France, where he fights in World War I as a member of the segregated 369th Battalion—in the bigoted army he finds himself locked in combat with American soldiers as well as with Germans. When he returns to America, he battles the Mob in Jazz Age Harlem, the KKK in Louisiana, and crooked politicians trying to destroy a black township in Oklahoma.

King Tremain is driven by two principal forces: He wants to be treated with respect, and he wants to create a family dynasty much like the one he left behind in Louisiana. This is a stunning debut by novelist Guy Johnson that provides a true depiction of the lives of African-Americans in the early decades of the twentieth century.

*ships in 7- 10 business days*

9781250774125NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Bringing his cosmic perspective to civilization on Earth, Neil deGrasse Tyson shines new light on the crucial fault lines of our time—war, politics, religion, truth, beauty, gender, and race—in a way that stimulates a deeper sense of unity for us all.

In a time when our political and cultural perspectives feel more polarized than ever, Tyson provides a much-needed antidote to so much of what divides us, while making a passionate case for the twin chariots of enlightenment—a cosmic perspective and the rationality of science.

After thinking deeply about how science sees the world and about Earth as a planet, the human brain has the capacity to reset and recalibrates life’s priorities, shaping the actions we might take in response. No outlook on culture, society, or civilization remains untouched.

With crystalline prose, Starry Messenger walks us through the scientific palette that sees and paints the world differently. From insights on resolving global conflict to reminders of how precious it is to be alive, Tyson reveals, with warmth and eloquence, an array of brilliant and beautiful truths that apply to us all, informed and enlightened by knowledge of our place in the universe.

*Ships in 7-10 business days*

The National Book Award-winning author of Felix Ever After delivers a beautifully tender story of two grumpy/sunshine, fake-dating actors navigating their love story both on and offscreen—perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Alexis Hall.

Logan Gray is Hollywood's bad boy—a talented but troubled actor who the public loves to hate. Mattie Cole is an up‑and‑coming golden boy, adored by all but plagued by insecurities.

When Logan and Mattie are cast as leads in a new romantic film, Logan claims that Matt has “zero talent,” sending the film’s publicity into a nosedive. To create positive buzz, the two are persuaded into a fake‑dating scheme—but as the two actors get to know their new characters, real feelings start to develop. 

As public scrutiny intensifies and old wounds resurface, the two must fight for their relationship and their love.
 

*ships in 7 - 10 days*

Change the way you think about cooking! In this epic guide to better eating, the chef, recipe developer, and video producer Sohla El-Waylly reimagines what a cookbook can be, teaching home cooks of all skill levels how cooking really works.

“The book I wish someone had handed me when I began my own journey as a cook.”—from the Foreword by Samin Nosrat

A practical, information-packed, and transformative guide to becoming a better cook and conquering the kitchen, Start Here is a must-have master class in leveling up your cooking.
Across a dozen technique-themed chapters—from “Temperature Management 101” and “Break it Down & Get Saucy” to “Go to Brown Town,” “All About Butter,” and “Getting to Know Dough”—Sohla El-Waylly explains the hows and whys of cooking, introducing the fundamental skills that you need to become a more intuitive, inventive cook.

A one-stop resource, regardless of what you’re hungry for, Start Here gives equal weight to savory and sweet dishes, with more than two hundred mouthwatering recipes, including:

• Crispy-Skinned Salmon with Radishes & Nuoc Cham
• Charred Lemon Risotto
• Chilled Green Tahini Soba
• Lemon, Pecorino & Potato Pizza
• Fruity-Doodle Cookies
• Masa & Buttermilk Tres Leches

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Emma is an inspiring force, a modern day business mogul and visionary…[This book] should be your guide if you are starting a business, thinking about starting a business, already in a business, want to make a better business for yourself and want to be a better person in that business, I highly recommend Start With Yourself…It’s a good reminder that a well-lived life starts with you.” —Oprah Winfrey, The Oprah Podcast

“Emma Grede is a modern executive for the influencer age…Start With Yourself makes the case for putting yourself first in work, life, and child-rearing. It’s Lean In for the post-girlboss era.” —The Wall Street Journal

As seen on Good Morning America, TODAY, Morning Joe, ABC News Live, and Meet the Press.

Start With Yourself is a game-changing, no-BS guide for anyone seeking meaningful success on their own terms. It’s an essential framework that will give you the tools and mindset to unlock your full potential in life and business—straight from a woman who defied all the odds to become a serial entrepreneur, a cofounder of culture-defining global businesses, a nonprofit champion, and the host of the Aspire with Emma Grede podcast. All while raising a family of four children.

Based on the factors of her early life—she’s the child of a working-class single mother and grew up in a rough neighborhood in East London and dropped out of high school—you’d never guess that Emma Grede would go on to become one of America’s richest self-made women.

This makes Grede unique, but she’s convinced you can do it, too: Start With Yourself is a blueprint to her mindset and how she thinks about business and life, structured in easy takeaways, so you can immediately apply her philosophy to what you’re trying to build and create.

Among her most blazing insights, Grede identifies what she calls “Old Thoughts”: stale thinking, outdated ideas; set-in-stone rules ingrained into the culture about work-life balance, the crassness of money, and the unseemliness of ambition—that aren’t actually rules at all. They’re biases, Grede insists, system errors, and we must strike them from our minds so that we can gain a greater sense of control, even mastery, over our day-to-day and long-range goals.

Ultimately, this is a book for everyone tired of feeling like a bystander or passenger in their own life. Grede offers tangible and applicable-right-now solutions to create a mindset, an overall system of thought to manage emotions, clarify ideas, and illuminate the right next step—while always staying positive.

It’s about gathering yourself after failure. It’s about being accountable but also forgiving yourself. It’s about not expecting shortcuts while never being bashful about grabbing them when they appear. It’s about pushing hard for wins and never apologizing for your dreams.

Above all, Grede offers a new vision for work and life that encourages readers everywhere to take responsibility for their own thinking in order to achieve personal and professional success at the highest levels.

*ships in 7-10 business days

Social justice leader Tamika D. Mallory states her case for action in this searing indictment of America’s historical, deadly, and continuing assault on Black and brown lives.

From Minneapolis to Louisville, to Portland, Kenosha, and Washington, DC, America’s reckoning with its unmet promises on race and class is at a boiling point not seen since the 1960s. While conversations around pathways to progress take place on social media and cable TV, history tells us that meaningful change only comes with radical legislation and boots-on-the-ground activism. Here, Mallory shares her unique personal experience building coalitions, speaking truth to power, and winning over hearts and minds in the struggle for shared prosperity and safety.

At long last, the most famous face of the Milestone Universe makes his shocking return!
 

Bullied nerd Virgil Hawkins wasn’t the kind of kid you’d normally find on the streets at a protest—but like everyone else in the city of Dakota, he was fed up. Unfortunately, the first time he stood up to raise his voice, the world turned upside down. The experimental tear gas released that day left some of his classmates maimed or dead…but it left Virgil, and others, with stunning new abilities. Virgil has power inside him now—real power, the ability to channel and manipulate electromagnetic fields. 
 
But there’s anger burning inside him, too. 
 
What is he supposed to do about all of this? And first and foremost—what is he supposed to do about his bullies, now that they’ve got superpowers too?
 
A dynamic creative team of new comics voices including writer Vita Ayala and finisher Nikolas Draper-Ivey join Milestone Media veteran layout artist ChrisCross to tell a new chapter in the story of the most iconic Black teen superhero in comics history. Like every classic Milestone tale, it will take you places you could never dream!
 
Includes Static (Season One) #1-6.

Twice unlucky in love, natural hair vlogger, Angela Strickland, has settled into a life centered around avoiding men and relationships like the plague. Unwilling to risk another broken heart, she resigns herself to being a perpetually single woman.Corporate man and self-professed womanizer, Ryan Boyé, doesn't believe in relationships or love and thinks anyone who does is a fool. But there's just something about Angela Strickland he can't shake...When these two cross paths, their attraction to one another is undeniable. Will they find that the love they've both evaded is exactly what they both need?

*ships in 7-10 business days

Stepmotherland is a tour-de-force debut collection about coming of age, coming out, and coming to America.

Winner of the Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize, Stepmotherland, Darrel Alejandro Holnes’s first full-length collection, is filled with poems that chronicle and question identity, family, and allegiance. This Central American love song is in constant motion as it takes us on a lyrical and sometimes narrative journey from Panamá to the USA and beyond. The driving force behind Holnes’s work is a pursuit for a new home, and as he searches, he takes the reader on a wild ride through the most pressing political issues of our time and the most intimate and transformative personal experiences of his life. Exploring a complex range of emotions, this collection is a celebration of the discovery of America, the discovery of self, and the ways they may be one and the same.

Holnes’s poems experiment with macaronic language, literary forms, and prosody. In their inventiveness, they create a new tradition that blurs the borders between poetry, visual art, and dramatic text. The new legacy he creates is one with significant reverence for the past, which informs a central desire of immigrants and native-born citizens alike: the desire for a better life. Stepmotherland documents an artist’s evolution into manhood and heralds the arrival of a stunning new poetic voice.

A radical, urgent collection of poems about Blackness, the self, and the dismantling of corrupt powers in the fight for freedom.

A PEN America Literary Award Winner

Jonah Mixon-Webster works at the intersections of space and the body, race and region, sexuality and class. Stereo(TYPE), his debut collection of poetry, is a reckoning and a force, a revision of our most sacred mythologies, and a work of documentary reporting from Mixon-Webster’s hometown of Flint, Michigan, where clean tap water remains an uncertainty and the aftermath of racist policies persist.

Challenging stereotypes through scenes that scatter with satire, violence, and the extreme vagaries of everyday life, Mixon-Webster invents visual/sonic forms, conceptualizes poems as transcripts and frequently asked questions, and dives into dreamscapes and modern tragedies, deconstructing the very foundations America is built on. Interrogating language and the ways we wield it as both sword and shield, Stereo(TYPE) is a one-of-a-kind, rapturous collection of vital and beautiful poems.

In Stigma and Culture, J. Lorand Matory provocatively shows how ethnic identification in the United States—and around the globe—is a competitive and hierarchical process in which populations, especially of historically stigmatized races, seek status and income by dishonoring other stigmatized populations. And there is no better place to see this than among the African American elite in academia, where he explores the emergent ethnic identities of African and Caribbean immigrants and transmigrants, Gullah/Geechees, Louisiana Creoles, and even Native Americans of partly African ancestry.  
           
Matory describes the competitive process that hierarchically structures their self-definition as ethnic groups and the similar process by which middle-class African Americans seek distinction from their impoverished compatriots. Drawing on research at universities such as Howard, Harvard, and Duke and among their alumni networks, he details how university life—while facilitating individual upward mobility, touting human equality, and regaling cultural diversity—also perpetuates the cultural standards that historically justified the dominance of some groups over others. Combining his ethnographic findings with classic theoretical insights from Frantz Fanon, Fredrik Barth, Erving Goffman, Pierre Bourdieu and others—alongside stories from his own life in academia—Matory sketches the university as an institution that, particularly through the anthropological vocabulary of culture, encourages the stigmatized to stratify their own.

Sometimes, a single moment is the start of forever.

Everett

Legacy is carved into my bloodline, centuries deep.

Power, wealth, duty-none of it feels like a choice.

Now I wear the crown of LEVMARK, the empire my family built, and I'm tasked with creating what my mother once dreamed of-a fine jewelry line that will outlast us all.

But the designer I need is the one woman I should keep at a distance.

The woman I've already saved once, though she never knew my name.

River

Design is the language of my soul.

Metal, fire, and vision-I bend them into beauty, creating pieces that whisper of who I am and who I want to become.

But in this industry, ambition comes at a cost.

Blacklisted. Betrayed. Still, I rise.

And now my dream collides with him-the man who could shatter my defenses, or set everything I've built ablaze.

This is our story.

One night.

One secret.

One love.

A story forged in fire and etched in steel.

"Still" is a standalone, billionaire, contemporary Black romance.

From the author of Digging Up Love comes a heartfelt story about two rivals whose passion for food and their communities brings them together in ways they never expected.

After doing her time in corporate Chicago, Simone Blake returns to small-town Illinois to tackle a new venture: her grandfather’s barbecue restaurant. The secret, as they say, is in the sauce. Simone’s plan is to sell Honey and Hickory’s signature sauce to put her hometown on the map.

But she’s not the only one with a recipe and a plan: chef Finn Rimes from nearby Springfield has a similar vision. To jump-start his dream of opening a culinary school, he shows up at the local farmers’ market with his own barbecue sauce.

When Simone’s plan to outsell Finn falls flat, she auditions for a reality show to pitch her brand. But she’s horrified to discover Finn’s had the same idea. As Simone and Finn wage barbecue war on television, their feud turns into an undeniable attraction.

With their livelihoods on the line, it may not be so much about making the best sauce―but finding their way to each other.