From moments fussy to fond, Academy Award–winning filmmaker Spike Lee and his wife, producer Tonya Lewis Lee, present a behind-the-scenes look at the chills, spills, and unequivocal thrills of bringing up baby! Featuring illustrations by Kadir Nelson, winner of the Coretta Scott King - Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement!

Go back to bed,
baby, please, baby, please.
Not on your HEAD
baby baby baby, please!

Vivid illustrations from celebrated artist Kadir Nelson evoke toddlerhood from sandbox to high chair to crib, and families everywhere will delight in sharing these exuberant moments again and again.

My Brother Ashley Clark Has Broke It Down To What Black Film Was, Is Present Day, And What The Future Might Be. BLAK IZ BLAK. YA-DIG? SHO-NUFF. Enjoy This BLAK CINEMATIC SCIENCE. - Spike Lee

This book belongs on the shelf of every film lover, every student of cinema, and everyone who believes in the transformative power of storytelling. It's a celebration, an education, and an inspiration all at once. - Julie Dash

Resonant, exciting and eye-opening - one of the best books I've read about Black cinema. - Mark Cousins

The World of Black Film is an entertaining, informed, and thought-provoking survey of important and influential Black films from around the globe. Starting with the unfinished silent comedy Lime Kiln Club Field Day (1913) and concluding with Steve McQueen's World War II epic Blitz (2024), this book takes readers on an exciting journey through an eclectic mix of classics and hidden gems spanning more than 100 years and 30 countries.

Beautifully designed and bursting with eye-catching film imagery and poster art, this is essential reading for general film fans, enthusiasts of Black cinema, educators, and students alike.
Includes a foreword by Sir John Akomfrah, CBE RA.

Films and directors include:
Black Orpheus (Marcel Camus, 1959)
Black Girl (Ousmane Sembène, 1966)
Hollywood Shuffle (Robert Townsend, 1987)
Malcolm X (Spike Lee, 1992)
Belle (Amma Asante, 2013)
Timbuktu (Abderrahmane Sissako, 2015)
Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016)
Black Panther (Ryan Coogler, 2018)
Saint Omer (Alice Diop, 2022)
Dahomey (Mati Diop, 2024)
Blitz (Steve McQueen, 2024)

A dedicated single mother and a librarian with a secret write their own sweet and sexy love story in this small-town rom-com about family, friendships and embracing the next chapter.

“[Such] HAWT sex scenes.… Every touch, kiss, caress, feels incredibly real and deliciously sexy.”—Autostraddle on The 7-10 Split

Nothing cures a lonely heart quite like a good book

and an unexpected crush…

For Dani, life is a juggling act. As a single mom devoted to her son and family, she barely has a moment to herself. But when her sister announces she’s moving out of the house, the ache of loneliness creeps in, and Dani can’t help but wonder if there’s something else she’s been missing in her life…

Zoey came to Peach Blossom eager to start her new job as the town’s librarian and do a little research for her next book. Yet she never expected to find inspiration in fellow book club member Dani, whose captivating brown eyes tell a story of their own. Before they know it, lingering glances over their favorite fiction turn into first dates and sizzling nights.

As their connection deepens, the two women must decide if they should turn the page on what their lives used to look like or if this thrilling plot twist is the happily-ever-after they’ve been chasing all along.

From showing up to glowing up, the characters in Afterglow Books are on the path to leading their best lives and finding sizzling romance along the way. Don’t miss any of these other fun titles…

Peach Blossom

Book 1: The 7-10 Split
Book 2: The Relationship Mechanic
Book 3: The Secret Crush Book Club

This one-of-a-kind treasure trove of Black cultural ephemera, from the entrepreneurs behind the vintage shop BLK MKT Vintage, expands on their mission to curate vintage objects that tell Black stories and celebrate the contributions Black people have made to our American consciousness.
 
Jannah Handy and Kiyanna Stewart have spent years scouring piles, stacks, bookshelves, and dilapidated boxes in search of themselves and their history, Black history. Through their Brooklyn brick-and-mortar BLK MKT Vintage and online shop, they have uncovered tens of thousands of items including vintage literature, vinyl records, clothing, art, decor, furniture and more.
 
BLK MKT Vintage: Reclaiming Objects and Curiosities That Tell Black Stories invites readers into Handy and Stewart’s work and partnership as they pick, collect, curate, design, and reimagine futures for the objects of the past. Brimming with more than 300 photographs of vintage pieces of ephemera, the book is a beautiful, ephemeral object itself calling to mind a scrapbook or family album that has a surprise on every page whether that’s 1972 celluloid pins from Shirley Chisholm’s presidential campaign, early 1800’s hand-drawn maps of the African continent, or 1920’s bound yearbooks from various HBCUs. The book also explores the various concepts that ground Handy and Stewart’s work; interviews with Black archivists, artists, memory workers and collectors – including a foreword from Spike Lee; a look into their private collection of thousands of items they have discovered over the years; an explanation of the different players in the antiques and vintage world; and tips and tricks on how to begin your own collection and curate physical spaces that reflect your identity and experience.

Under the editorship of the late Robert Nemiroff, with a provocative and thoughtful introduction by preeminent African-American scholar Margaret B. Wilkerson and a commentary by Spike Lee, this completely restored screenplay is the accurate and authoritative edition of Lorraine Hansberry's script and a testament to her unparalled accomplishment as a Black artist.

The 1961 film version of A Raisin in the Sun, with a screenplay by the author, Lorraine Hansberry, won an award at the Cannes Film Festival even though one-third of the actual screenplay Hansberry had written had been cut out. The film did essentially bring Hansberry's extraordinary play to the screen, but it failed to fulfill her cinematic vision.

Now, with this landmark edition of Lorraine Hansberry's original script for the movie of A Raisin in the Sun that audiences never viewed, readers have at hand an epic, eloquent work capturing not only the life and dreams of a Black family, but the Chicago—and the society—that surround and shape them.

Important changes in dialogue and exterior shots, a stunning shift of focus to her male protagonist, and a dramatic rewriting of the final scene show us an artist who understood and used the cinematic medium to transform a stage play into a different art form—a profound and powerful film.

A heartfelt, interracial, contemporary romance debut--and a love letter to K dramas--featuring a single mom whose chance to turn her neighborhood restaurant into a household name is upended by an unexpected spark with a swoon-worthy Korean business magnate, for fans of Kennedy Ryan, Tia Williams, and Susan Lee.

Keisha Thomson loves K-Dramas, but she never thought her life would turn into one. Keisha is a 37-year-old, divorced mom of her beloved autistic son, Kai, and the ambitious owner of True Soul, a Harlem soul-food restaurant. Set between Harlem and Seoul, the novel follows bold and pragmatic Keisha, charming yet duty-bound Han Seojun, and the viral red velvet cake that brings them together. What begins as a cultural and culinary clash becomes a whirlwind romance that upends everything they thought they knew about love, ambition, and what it means to put yourself first.

Life is a K Drama brings together Sherri Shepherd and Jayci Lee's complementary voices to create something truly fresh. Part escapism and part self-discovery, it’s for anyone who’s ever rebuilt themselves from scratch and for readers who crave joy that feels earned and real. With shades of Tia William’s Seven Days in June and Sally Thorne’s The Hating Game, it’s a sweeping, cinematic love story that glows with humor, heart, and hard-won hope. Importantly, it’s not just a romance between Keisha and Seojun, it’s also a love story about family, food, and culture.

An essential history of modern Black cinema, as led by avant-garde filmmaker, director, novelist, composer, and playwright Melvin Van Peebles.

Beg Borrow Steal, a title inspired by Black artists’ make-a-way-out-of-no-way ethos, is a stirring and remarkable deep dive into Black independent film and culture, as modeled by raconteur and iconoclast Melvin Van Peebles. Award-winning writer Santi Elijah Holley enriches the extraordinary history with interviews from today’s most innovative Black independent filmmakers and actors, such as Julie Dash, Charles Burnett, and Samuel L. Jackson, as well as Van Peebles’s published and unpublished manuscripts, critical reviews, analyses, and reflections.

Independent Black artists across all disciplines—from music and theater to literature and poetry—continue to push boundaries, challenge stereotypes, and pursue their own vision, away from traditional gatekeepers. The success of artists like Spike Lee, Barry Jenkins, Ava DuVernay, Jordan Peele, and Ryan Coogler can be traced directly to the pioneering work of Van Peebles, whose ambitious and innovative multidisciplinary artistry never yielded to anybody else’s vision but his own.

As a Black American who’d overcome poverty, discrimination, and other obstacles, Van Peebles refused to let White America take advantage of him and his talent. It’s made him a beacon for every Black auteur and independent filmmaker of the past 50 years. Sinners, Black Panther, Sorry to Bother You, Get Out, She's Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, Boyz n the Hood, Shaft, Superfly, Daughters of the Dust, Selma, the list goes on. It is impossible to imagine any of these culturally defining films existing, if not for the groundwork laid by Melvin Van Peebles’s 1971 Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song. It is canon in Black film.

Beg Borrow Steal is the story of the legendary man who provided the blueprint for independent Black cinema, and a tribute to the power of radical Black creativity in American art and culture.

The riveting, darkly humorous, and deeply strange story of three roommates whose everyday struggle to survive in New York is complicated by the intestine-eating demon who haunts their apartment.

Leni was kidnapped and almost sacrificed to the devil as a child, but now she’s perfectly fine. Aside from the fact that she has four reflections in the mirror…and one of them wants her to poison people.

Emerson was a leading heart surgeon until The Incident that left his patient dead. Now he’s too sick to work, keeps finding severed fingers in his water bottles, and is followed around by a faceless Girl Scout with a creaky red wagon.

Jasper is a line cook with a criminal record, just trying to keep his chosen family together. Sure, he sees a man in the shadows who likes the taste of blood, but he’s very good at ignoring that. He would do anything for Leni and Emerson. Anything.

They’re fine. They’re normal. They’re roommates making it work in New York City.

That is, until a demon leaves his sigil on their wall.

Now, they have seven days to bring Sychar a sacrifice, or he’ll tear off their skin. Who knew demon-slaying wasn’t a valid excuse to miss work? Why are murder supplies so expensive? Just how is a low-income household supposed to afford a human sacrifice?

As their personal ghosts grow louder and Sychar’s deadline draws nearer, Leni, Emerson, and Jasper discover just how far they’ll go to protect each other.

For readers who love:
* Grady Hendrix and Stephen King
* Morally gray protector
* Haunted apartment
* Found family in danger
* Demon-slaying
* Darkly funny, deeply haunted stories

Hollywood icon and Emmy Award-winning Abbott Elementary actress Sheryl Lee Ralph shares the personal stories that have shaped her and the advice that has guided her throughout her life—helping readers breathe deeper, love stronger, and rise higher.

Sheryl Lee Ralph understands a truth most of us learn the hard way: There are moments in life when you must let your light shine. Moments when the noise of the world tries to mute your mic and silence your voice, dull your glow, and convince you to forget who you are. She has known those moments intimately—under the bright lights of Broadway and in the quiet hum of hospital rooms, on red carpets and in church pews. Sheryl has worn crowns and carried a few crosses, but through it all remained her unshakable faith in one simple belief: better must come. No matter how many times life knocks you down, you can rise, you must rise, reclaim yourself, and begin again.

You Better Love What You See isn’t a list of commandments to make you feel guilty, a to-do list, or the play-by-play story of an actor’s life. Filled with boundless empathy and wisdom, it’s a moving guide for anyone who wonders if they’re enough, who wants to lead with love and heal themselves, or who still battles with self-doubt.

Sheryl’s reflections draw from her life as a performer, mother, daughter, wife, sister, and above all a wise, wild woman. She shares stories about remaining determined in the face of defeat, overcoming obstacles when systemic oppression tried to keep her down, and how to find strength in every storm, including:

* Experiences from her childhood as the only girl of color in her Catholic school, to being fired from a TV role for not being “Black enough”
* Enrolling in the very first coed class at Rutgers University
* Bringing down the house with her historic Emmy Award win and acceptance speech
* And many more inspiring moments touching on themes such as faith, resilience, choosing joy, and finding purpose

Sheryl’s warm and empowering message is that, bottom line, when you look in the mirror, you better love what you see, because feeling powerful and purposeful won’t come from external accolades or approval—it starts with YOU. Her strong, authentic voice and magnetic presence are evident on every page—and readers will return to it again and again whenever their light is feeling a little dim.

From moments fussy to fond, Academy Award–nominated filmmaker Spike Lee and his wife, producer Tonya Lewis Lee, present a behind-the-scenes look at the chills, spills, and unequivocal thrills of bringing up baby!

Spike Lee is a world-renowned, Academy Award-winning filmmaker, a cultural icon, and one of the most prominent voices on race and racism for more than three decades. His prolific career has included over 35 films, including his directorial debut She's Gotta Have It (1986), his seminal masterpiece Do the Right Thing (1989), and more recently, his Oscar-winning film BlacKkKlansman (2018). Spike Lee's provocative feature films, documentaries, commercials, and music videos, have shone the spotlight on significant stories and have made an indelible mark in both cinematic history and in contemporary society.

This career-spanning monograph titled SPIKE is a visual celebration of his life and career to date. The custom bold, typographic design is inspired by the LOVE/HATE brass rings that Radio Raheem wore in Do the Right Thing and that Spike Lee wore at the 2019 Academy Awards. The gold foil deboss on SPIKE on the vibrant fuchsia front cover is a bold and beautiful, eye-catching design. Featuring hundreds of never-before-seen photographs by David Lee, Spike's brother and long-time still photographer, SPIKE the book, includes behind-the-scenes, insider images that underscore his creative process and his significant impact on the culture at large. From his critically acclaimed film Malcolm X (1992) starring Denzel Washington, to his recent film Da 5 Bloods (2020) featuring the late Chadwick Boseman, Spike Lee's work continues to resonate now more than ever. Also included here are his beloved commercials with Michael Jordan for Nike, which helped launch the billion-dollar Jordan brand product empire, as well as his music videos with Prince and Michael Jackson. This is a must-have collector's item and ideal gift for any cinephile and fan of one of the most prominent and influential filmmakers in history.