Celebrate the release of Bones at the Crossroads with LaDarrion Williams!

EVENT DEETS

When: Sunday, August 10 @ 5:30 PM

Where: Kindred Stories (2310 Elgin St #2, Houston, TX 77004)

How: RSVP ONLY to reserve your seat or RSVP WITH BOOK to support the author and our store programming.

You must purchase a copy of Bones at the Crossroads to join the signing line. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

It's Homecoming season at Caiman University, and all 17-year-old Malik Baron wants to do is be a regular college student…or as regular as he can get at a magical HBCU for young, Black Conjurers. He’s ready to go to parties, hang out with his new friends, choose a major, and talk to girls. Instead, he's reeling from a summer of revelations, heartbreak and betrayal, and still uncovering the truth about his powers and his legacy. 

The family he only just discovered is already fractured beyond repair, and a new relative who shows up on his doorstep brings even more questions. Then there’s the mother he risked everything to find, who might be the biggest threat to the life he's trying to build. To protect his new community, Malik joins an elite secret society with roots in ancient magic.

His journey takes him even deeper into his own heritage and the history of the magical world, while bringing him closer to a classmate whose friendship might mean something more, if Malik is ready to let her in. But how can he use powers he can’t even control to defend a world he’s not sure will ever fully accept him? And as the pressure and danger builds, will he be able to confront the deepening cracks within the magical society, and those building within himself?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hailing from the small town of Helena, Alabama, LaDarrion Williams is a self-taught playwright, filmmaker, author, and screenwriter committed to shaping a new era of Black fantasy. His theatrical work has garnered attention at notable venues, including the Echo Theatre Playwrights Lab, the Great Plains Theatre Conference in Omaha, TSU’s Black and Latino Playwrights Festival, and the Boise Contemporary Theater BIPOC Playwrights Festival.

An esteemed alum of the Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, LaDarrion’s play Hurt People was selected for the 2024 conference, further solidifying his place as a bold and necessary voice in contemporary theater. His play Coco Queens was featured in the 2019 Sundance Institute’s Playwriting Intensive, won the New Works@theWorks Playwriting Award, and celebrated its world premiere at Playhouse on the Square in July 2024.

His Jeff Award-nominated play Boulevard of Bold Dreams—a poignant exploration of Hattie McDaniel’s historic Oscar win—debuted at TimeLine Theatre Company in Chicago, had its East Coast Premiere at Greater Boston Stage Company in March 2023, and was part of the Orlando Shakes Theater Signature Series in October 2023, with plans for national productions in 2024-2025.

Beyond theater, LaDarrion has directed three short films featured on YouTube and made his mark as a debut author with Blood at the Root, a New York Times and USA Today Bestseller. Through storytelling across multiple mediums, he continues to craft narratives that amplify Black voices, history, and imagination.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Janaya Britton is a Dallas native turned Houstonian. Coining herself as a “professional cool girl”, Janaya is forging her path by honoring her passions, creating art + working in spaces that uplift the Black community, and advocating for self-expression. She currently works as a fashion/lifestyle content creator, host, model, singer-songwriter, and the Social Media Manager for Kindred Stories. 

She graduated from Texas Southern University in 2022 with a Bachelor’s in Radio, TV, and Film. At TSU, she served as On-Air talent at KTSU2, started a fashion blog “Mommy’s Lil Militant", and became a Spring '20 initiate of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. 

After noticing the lack of support from the school’s counseling center, she created a self-love/mental health organization, Me-lationship, during her freshman year of college--garnered over 100 members before becoming an official campus org.

Now, her star is shining brighter than ever-- from developing the first large-scale digital + on-site Black influencer campaign for the Broccoli City Music Festival in Washington, D.C., to creating content for brands like Walmart and Hot Topic.

She hopes to continue growing as a media personality + artist and preserve her family’s historical legacy at the Lott-Canada School, American Legion Post #818, and the Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church in Beeville, Texas.