Originally published in 2005, former NBA star Etan Thomas’s first poetry collection defies the stereotype of the apolitical athlete; featuring brand-new poems by Thomas and his son―and University of Dayton basketball star―Malcolm Thomas

RETIRED NBA STAR, AUTHOR, AND OUTSPOKEN POLITICAL ACTIVIST, Etan Thomas is more than an athlete. In this, his first collection of poems―originally published in 2005 and reissued here with many new poems―the former center for the NBA’s Washington Wizards defies the stereotype of the apolitical athlete, and plants his roots in his budding literary career. With the conviction of a Bill Russell, and the poetic finesse of Muhammad Ali, Thomas takes on controversial topics such as the Death Penalty, the GOP, and racism. 

This fiery poet approaches his work fearlessly, writing in the strong, historical lineage of his literary elders Amiri Baraka and Sonia Sanchez, and in the tradition of more contemporary poets Ras Baraka, Tony Medina, and asha bandele. More Than an Athlete is not just a book of poetry; it’s a statement about new generations not being confined to a box, a definition, or a label. Some people play ball, and some people write poems. Etan Thomas has mastered the art of both.

The reimagined 2027 edition features brand-new poems by Thomas as well as his son Malcolm, who is following in his father’s footsteps on the court as a collegiate athlete, and on―and off―the page as a poet and activist.

A truly groundbreaking exploration of the lessons learned from the basketball GOAT, Michael Jordan, from those who competed with and against him

REFLECTIONS ON MICHAEL JORDAN―the true GOAT of men’s basketball―often center around his six championships with the Chicago Bulls. There has been remarkably little in-depth coverage of his two years with the Washington Wizards at the tail end of his NBA career. Lessons from Michael Jordan is a fascinating exploration of this surprisingly fertile, influential, and largely ignored period in MJ’s life.

This volume is a conversation―a collection of personal reflections, raw insights, and lived moments shared by the people who actually played alongside Michael Jordan, learned from him, competed against him, and saw him up close during this time in his career. Lessons from Michael Jordan includes twenty-three interviews (an homage to the #23 on MJ’s jersey) conducted by Etan Thomas, with Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, Jerry Stackhouse, Phil Chenier, Kwame Brown, Jahidi White, Chamique Holdsclaw, Popeye Jones, Christian Laettner, Tyronn Lue, Wes Unseld Jr., and more. 

Whether a reader is drawn to a specific voice or a theme (leadership, legacy, work ethic, media pressure, etc.), they will find a great deal to hold on to. This is a book you keep close, not just read once and shelve; it is designed so readers can pick it up, drop into any section, and walk away with something powerful.

Lessons from Michael Jordan reads like a locker room conversation turned life lesson. The tone stays raw but reflective. Each contributor brings their truth, and Etan Thomas steps in as a guide. It’s for the student who needs a shot of belief, the athlete grinding in silence, the young person wondering if they’re seen or understood―or anyone interested in learning life and basketball lessons from the greatest player to ever grace the hardwood.

Now you can support your favorite independent bookstore everywhere you go!

Wear our little bookshop with Love and Pride.

Celebrate the release of If This World We're Mine with Arriel Vinson!

EVENT DEETS

When: Thursday, January 28 @ 7 PM CST

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

How: 

• RSVP ONLY to reserve your seat.

• RSVP WITH BOOK to reserve your seat and purchase a copy If This World We're Mine, supporting both the author and our store programming. The book will be available for pickup at the event.

Please Note: Books purchased from other retailers are not permitted in the bookstore and are not eligible for the signing or photo line. To participate in the signing and photo opportunity, you must purchase a copy from Kindred Stories.If you already have a copy from Kindred Stories feel free to choose the RSVP only option. 

If you purchase a ticket and are unable to attend the event, your ticket is non-refundable. If your ticket includes a book, an email will be sent to all attendees before and after the event with instructions on how to receive your book. Books must be claimed within 14 days following the event. If your book is not retrieved it will be returned to the publisher and will not be available for pick up in the future.

ABOUT THE BOOK

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Arriel Vinson is a Midwesterner who writes about being young, Black, and in search of freedom. Her debut YA novel-in-verse, Under the Neon Lights, is a 2026 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award winner, a Reese’s Book Club LitUp selection, and a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection. Arriel earned her MFA in Fiction from Sarah Lawrence College and is a Tin House YA Scholar, Highlights Foundation scholarship recipient, and Walter Grant recipient. Her sophomore novel, If This World Were Mine, is forthcoming in spring 2027. You can connect with her on social media at @arriwrites and find her work at arriwrites.com

ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER

LIARA TAMANI grew up in Houston, Texas, where every spring meant one thing: rodeo season. She loved getting decked out in her best cowgirl gear and soaking up the music, food, and electric energy of the rodeo, a joy she now shares with her daughter and husband. Her deep Texas roots shine through her storytelling, capturing the spirit and rhythms of the state in all her acclaimed novels: Calling My Name, All the Things We Never Knew, and What She Missed. Before becoming a writer, she attended Harvard Law School and worked as a marketing coordinator for the Houston Rockets and Comets, television production assistant, home accessories designer, floral designer, and yoga and dance teacher. She holds an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and a BA from Duke University.

*ZOOM LINK*

Founder of Civil Righteousness Jonathan Tremaine Thomas equips Christians with a Spirit-led roadmap to navigate division with Christlike engagement and reconciling action.

Many Christians feel both heartbreak and anger over what is happening in America today, and the church often feels the most divided of all. How do we move from lament and overwhelm to Spirit-empowered impact?

In this compelling call to act as intercessors in the "radical middle," pastor and activist Jonathan Tremaine Thomas shows us how to resist both apathy and rage as we respond to the injustices and brokenness around us. Make Straight the Path reorients our call to renewal and offers practical tools:

* Integrate spiritual practices like prayer and fasting with public peacemaking.
* Receive fresh vision and language for social righteousness.
* Process our times and our own identity through the eyes and example of Jesus.
* Be empowered to co-labor with Christ in the "reconciliation of all things."
* Move beyond polarized extremes to embody the way of the Kingdom.

It is possible to turn places of pain into places of God's presence. Rich in historical context and grounded in biblical truth, Make Straight the Path is a personal, cultural, and spiritual formation guide that invites us off the sidelines and into the sacred work of reconciliation, bringing Jesus-shaped transformation to a deeply divided culture.

2 inch round button with pin back

Join us as we talk to Margaret Wilkerson Sexton about her new release, On The Rooftop. 

EVENT DEETS

When: November 3 at 7PM CST

Where: Kindred Stories' Reading Garden

How: Grab a free ticket OR purchase the book with your ticket to support the authors and our store programming. 

About the Book

A stunning novel about a mother whose dream of musical stardom for her three daughters collides with the daughters’ ambitions for their own lives—set against the backdrop of gentrifying 1950s San Francisco

At home they are just sisters, but on stage, they are The Salvations. Ruth, Esther, and Chloe have been singing and dancing in harmony since they could speak. Thanks to the rigorous direction of their mother, Vivian, they’ve become a bona fide girl group whose shows are the talk of the Jazz-era Fillmore.

Now Vivian has scored a once-in-a-lifetime offer from a talent manager, who promises to catapult The Salvations into the national spotlight. Vivian knows this is the big break she’s been praying for. But sometime between the hours of rehearsal on their rooftop and the weekly gigs at the Champagne Supper Club, the girls have become women, women with dreams that their mother cannot imagine.

The neighborhood is changing, too: all around the Fillmore, white men in suits are approaching Black property owners with offers. One sister finds herself called to fight back, one falls into the comfort of an old relationship, another yearns to make her own voice heard. And Vivian, who has always maintained control, will have to confront the parts of her life that threaten to splinter: the community, The Salvations, and even her family.

About the Author

MARGARET WILKERSON SEXTON, born and raised in New Orleans, studied creative writing at Dartmouth College and law at UC Berkeley. Her most recent novel, The Revisioners, won a 2020 Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize, an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work and a George Garrett New Writing Award; was a California and Northern California Book Award finalist, a 2020 Hurston/Wright Foundation Legacy Award Finalist and a Willie Morris Award for Southern Writing finalist; was nominated for the 2020 Simpson/Joyce Carol Oates Prize; and was a national bestseller as well as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Her debut novel, A Kind of Freedom, was long-listed for the National Book Award and the Northern California Book Award, won the Crook's Corner Book Prize, and was the recipient of the First Novelist Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in Zyzzyva, The Paris Review; O, The Oprah Magazine; The New York Times Book Review; and other publications. She lives in Oakland with her family.

About the Moderator

Kiese Laymon is a Black southern writer from Jackson, Mississippi. He is the Libby Shearn Moody Professor of English and Creative Writing at Rice University. Laymon is the author of Long Division, which won the NAACP Image Award for fiction, and the essay collection, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America. Laymon’s bestselling memoir, Heavy: An American Memoir, won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, the Christopher Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose, the Austen Riggs Erikson Prize for Excellence in Mental Health Media, and was named one of the 50 Best Memoirs of the Past 50 Years by The New York Times. The audiobook, read by the author, was named the Audible 2018 Audiobook of the Year. Laymon is the recipient of 2020-2021 Radcliffe Fellowship at Harvard. Laymon is at work on the books, Good God, and City Summer, Country Summer, and a number of other film and television projects. He is the founder of “The Catherine Coleman Literary Arts and Justice Initiative,” a program aimed at getting Mississippi young people and their parents more comfortable reading, writing, revising and sharing.

Join us as we celebrate the release of Black Roses by Harold Green III at the Houston Museum of African American Culture.  

Event Deets:

When: Tuesday, March 22 at 7:00 pm CST

Where: Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC)-4807 Caroline Street, Houston, Texas, 77004

How:   Limited in-person tickets are available.  Book purchase required with entry.

About the Book

Black Roses is a love letter to the underrepresented women that inspire and uplift author and poet, Harold Green III. After going viral on Instagram for these beautiful poems, Green assembled BLACK ROSES, a stunning collection of his odes and artist Melissa Koby’s stunning, full-color illustrations.

With poems on figures such as Ava DuVernay, Janelle Monae, Issa Rae, Kamala Harris, Lizzo, Misty Copeland, Robin Roberts, Roxane Gay, and Simone Biles, BLACK ROSES reflects the diversity of Black female excellence. Divided into five sections—dedicated to advocates, curators, innovators, luminaries, and trailblazers—Green’s odes and Koby’s portraits highlight a range of women.

About the Author

Harold Green III is an ever-evolving and internationally admired artist. Using poetry as his central art form, he is a highly sought-after talent, bandleader, and event producer. He earned the prestigious Carl Sandburg Literary Award for his self-published debut poetry collection From Englewood, with Love. He has created commissioned work in partnership with major brands and organizations, including Nike, Lululemon, Jordan, and Go

About the Moderator

Sherhara Downing the CoFounder and Chief Visionary Officer of SpeakHaus, a training and professional development company dedicated to transforming business and thought leaders into confident and bold speakers. SpeakHaus is the first in the public speaking industry to provide mobile in-person group coaching that goes directly to the homes of leaders, jumpstarting speaking transformation in one workshop.

With over 16 years of coaching and corporate training experience, Sherhara has elevated the speaking skills of leaders from companies like Under Armour, Capital One, Toyota, AT&T and more.

She has a deep passion for facilitating human connection and cultivating community! She loves tacos and remains the world-leading subject matter expert of the cult classic, Coming to America!

Common Prayer Pocket Edition helps individuals and today's diverse church pray together across traditions and denominations. With an ear to the particulars of various liturgical prayer traditions, and using an advisory team of liturgy experts, the authors have created a tapestry of prayer that celebrates the best of each tradition. This convenient and portable book also includes tools for prayer scattered throughout to aid those unfamiliar with liturgy and deepen the prayer life of those already familiar with liturgical prayer. Common Prayer Pocket Edition adds new prayers for compline (late evening) and for individual use, such as prayers for travel, protection, and various blessings. It includes a table of days and readings for the morning prayers as well as an annotated list of saints and days to remember. Churches and individuals who desire a deeper prayer life--and those familiar with Shane Claiborne and New Monasticism--will enjoy the tools offered in this book as a fresh take on liturgy.

Join us to celebrate the release of Decent People with Center for Fiction First Novel Prize winner, De'Shawn Charles WInslow & MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow, Kiese Laymon. 

EVENT DEETS

When: January 18 at 7PM CST

Where: Kindred Stories Reading Garden, 2304 Stuart Street, Houston, TX 77004

How: RSVP for a free ticket or RSVP with book to support the author and our programming. 

ABOUT DECENT PEOPLE

From prizewinning author De’Shawn Charles Winslow, a sweeping and unforgettable novel of a Black community reeling from a triple homicide, and the secrets the killings reveal.

In the still-segregated town of West Mills, North Carolina, in 1976, Marian, Marva, and Lazarus Harmon—three enigmatic siblings—are found shot to death in their home. The people of West Mills— on both sides of the canal that serves as the town’s color line—are in a frenzy of finger-pointing, gossip, and wonder. The crime is the first reported murder in the area in decades, but the white authorities don’t seem to have any interest in solving the case.

Fortunately, one person is determined to do more than talk. Miss Josephine Wright has just moved back to West Mills from New York City to retire and marry a childhood sweetheart, Olympus “Lymp” Seymore. When she discovers that the murder victims are Lymp’s half-siblings, and that Lymp is one of West Mills’s leading suspects, she sets out to prove his innocence. But as Jo investigates those who might know the most about the Harmons’ deaths, she starts to discover more secrets than she’d ever imagined, and a host of cover-ups—ranging from medical misuse to illicit affairs—that could upend the reputations of many.

For readers of American Spy and Bluebird, Bluebird, Decent People is a powerful new novel about shame, race, money, and the reckoning required to heal a fractured community.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR