Join us to celebrate the release of Shot Clock with authors, Caron Butler and Justin A. Reynolds. 

EVENT DEETS:

When: September 7, 2022 at 7 PM CST

Where: 2015 Berry Street, HTX 77004

How: You can purchase a ticket with book or you can purchase a ticket with book to help support our store, programming and the authors. 

About the Book

Former NBA all-star Caron Butler and acclaimed author Justin A. Reynolds tip off a middle grade series in which each book centers on a different young member of an AAU basketball team coached by a former NBA star in his hometown. In the first book, Tony must work to make the team while dealing with the tragedy of his friend’s death.

Tony loves basketball. But the game changed recently when his best friend, Dante, a hoops phenom and the kid he looked up to the most, was killed by a police officer. Tony and his community—Oasis Springs—are dealing with the grief, even as justice for his friend seems fleeting. Tony hopes he can carry on Dante’s legacy by making the Sabres, the AAU basketball team Dante took to two national championships.

The Sabres are one of the best teams around—after all, not every team has a former NBA all-star as its coach. Coach James likes what he sees from Tony at tryouts, but he still doesn’t make the team. Tony takes the devastating news hard until Coach James offers him another chance: join the team as the statistician.

Tony has a sharp mind for the game, and with help from Kiara, Coach James’s daughter, he makes an impact in this new role, even if it’s hard watching his friends play. As the team finds its stride, Tony faces another setback—the officer who killed his friend will be back on the job. With his community reeling and the team just finding its footing on the court, can Tony find a path to healing while helping to bring the Sabres a championship?

About the Authors

Caron Butler is a former two-time NBA all-star who played for fourteen seasons. He is currently an assistant coach for the Miami Heat and previously was a TV commentator on ESPN, NBC, TNT, and NBA TV. In 2016, his memoir, Tuff Juice: My Journey from the Streets to the NBA, was published by Lyons Press. Tuff Juice is being produced as a film by Mark Wahlberg. Caron is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist. He created the Butler Elite Basketball Program and the 3D foundation. Caron lives in Miami with his family.

EVENT DEETS

When: Sunday, April 30 at 1:30 PM

Where: Project Row House Community Gallery (2521 Holman Street, HTX, 77004)

How: RSVP to let us know you're coming. 

Join us for Kindred Spirits, a unique event where we celebrate the magic within us all. Come fellowship with ya kinfolk and take advantage of the full moon. Whether you're looking for spiritual guidance, self-discovery, or a fun way to express your individuality, Kindred Spirits is the perfect blend of mystical and modern.

EVENT DEETS

When: Wednesday, October 16, 2024 @ 6PM

Where: Kindred Stories (2304 Stuart Street, HTX, 77004)

How: RSVP to let us know you're coming!

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Step into a night of magic and connection! Discover insights with tarot reading, get a luxury piercing by a professional, or explore the colors of your energy with an aura reading. Join us for an unforgettable evening of self-discovery, mystical vibes, and community.

We hope you join us!

Celebrate the release of Revive Me with J.L. Seegars!

EVENT DEETS

When: Saturday, April 18 @ 7PM

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

How: Grab your ticket to support the author and our store programming. You can also grab a special book bundle for the first two books in the series, which includes Restore Me and Revive Me (Book 1).

Please note outside copies of Revive Me will not be allowed in the bookstore and you will not be eligible for the signing/photo line. You must buy a book from Kindred Stories.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The next book in the New Haven series, interconnected standalones featuring second chances, fiery passion, and Black heroines who get their happily ever afters. This is part one of a trilogy.

Mallory

The first time I kissed Christopher Johnson, I knew he would be my biggest mistake. It didn't stop me from wanting him though, and when the ghosts from my past came barging into the present, it didn't stop me from agreeing to let him help.

It was supposed to be a simple business arrangement, a few months of playing a role that came far too easily to the both of us, but it wasn't long before it became more.

Love. Devotion. Heartbreak in its truest form.

Some people say life is for the living, but I say life is for the prepared. For the planners who know that controlling every piece on the board is the only way to get the result you want.

To avoid unfortunate complications like having your heart broken by a man past experiences taught you, you never should have trusted in the first place.

Christopher

There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do for Mallory Kent.

I think I knew it the first time I laid eyes on her, and it's remained one of my unspoken truths for the two years that I've known her. But I never thought I'd get the opportunity to do anything about it because Mallory is one of those people who doesn't need anyone.

She's strong, serious, and always in control of every situation around her, which is why the second I see her looking panicked and uncertain in the arms of a figure from her past, I don't think. I just act.

I had no idea that one small decision would lead to this. A fake relationship―designed to solve her problems and mine―turned real. An earth shattering love torn apart by the very forces that led to its conception. Forces that turned me into the source of our destruction.

There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do for Mallory Kent, including break her heart to save her soul.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.L. Seegars is a dedicated smut peddler and lifelong nerd who’s always had a love of words, storytelling and drama. When she isn’t writing messy and emotionally complex characters like the ones she grew up around, she’s watching reality TV, supporting her fellow authors by devouring their work or spending time with her husband and son.

Celebrate the release of Talk To Me Nice with Minda Harts!

EVENT DEETS

When: Thursday, October 23 @ 7PM

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

ABOUT THE BOOK

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Minda Harts is a bestselling author, workplace consultant, and sought-after keynote speaker, helping organizations turn trust into their most significant competitive advantage. Through her groundbreaking Seven Trust Languages® framework, she equips leaders, teams, and professionals with actionable strategies to build high-trust, high-impact workplaces.

Minda has shaped conversations on workplace equity, self-advocacy, and leadership as the author of The Memo, Right Within, and You Are More Than Magic. Her impact spans boardrooms and conference stages worldwide, with companies like Nike, Google, Best Buy, and JPMorgan Chase calling on her to redefine leadership and workplace culture. LinkedIn has recognized her as the #1 Top Voice in the Workplace and by Business Insider as one of the top 100 People Transforming Business.

Minda’s next book, Talk to Me Nice: The Seven Trust Languages for a Better Workplace (July 22, 2025), is set to revolutionize how leaders and teams harness trust as their most valuable asset.

In addition to her work as a speaker and consultant, Minda is an assistant professor at NYU and the founder of The Memo LLC, where she is shaping the next generation of leaders.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Keisha Nicole is a nationally recognized radio personality, cultural impacter, and host whose voice moves markets and her energy moves people. She currently hosts The Keisha Nicole Show, which airs in major cities like Houston and Indianapolis, and she's also the imaging voice for top radio stations in Atlanta, Cleveland, and more. 

Her journey began in Los Angeles as an intern and receptionist at KDAY and evolved into one of the most respected careers in urban radio. From 2010 to 2017, Keisha dominated the airwaves in Louisville and Indianapolis, leading multiple #1 shows in primetime. After making the leap to Houston, she became the lead host of Good Morning H-Town on 97.9 The Box - earning the show the title of Best Morning Show. Today, her midday show The Keisha Nicole Show is a staple across multiple markets, known for its real conversations, cultural commentary, and unmatched connection with listeners. 

Beyond radio, Keisha has hosted for the NFL team Houston Texans for the past two seasons, and frequently serves as an emcee and on-air personality for local TV and major national brands. Her voice has been heard in campaigns for Legacy Community Health, Mint Dentistry, and numerous commercial brands across the country, making her one of the most in-demand voiceover artists in Houston. 

In 2023, Keisha launched her personal brand Say It With Your Heart - a product line featuring affirmation journals and tools for mental and emotional wellness. She's also deeply involved in the community through mentoring, nonprofit partnerships, and school outreach, always committed to empowering the next generation. Keisha Nicole is more than just a radio host - she's a trusted voice, a cultural connector, and a woman on a mission to uplift, inspire, and leave a legacy that goes far beyond the mic.

Celebrate the amazing author (and literary agent) Patrice Caldwell's newest release, Where Shadows Meet! 

EVENT DEETS

When: Saturday, April 19 @ 3PM 

Where: Kindred Stories (2304 Stuart Street, HTX, 77004) 

How: RSVP ONLY to let us know you're coming and RSVP WITH BOOK to secure your seat and copy of Where Shadows Meet.

Note: There are limited free RSVP ONLY tickets available so please be thoughtful about purchasing a ticket. Additionally, copies of Where Shadows Meet from other retailers will not be allowed on the premise. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

The dark and thrillingly romantic debut vampire fantasy that questions what it truly means to sacrifice for love.

You have no idea what I’ve done for love. Just as you have no idea what you may one day do.

Once long ago, a girl named Favre sacrificed her wings for love. Thana, the young goddess she so willingly gave them up for, sacrificed that same love for power. But everything has a cost.

Favre never got over the loss of her wings. And Thana’s choices led to a life of eternal night, and later, their destruction. Favre has bided her time ever since, waiting for the chance to resurrect the girl she loves who turned her into the creature she hates.

Now, a thousand years later, Leyla, the crown princess of the malichora—an ancient race that survives on human blood—must travel to the Island of the Dead when her best friend is captured during an attack on her nation’s capital. Along with Najja, a fierce, beautiful seer, and the last person she expected to help her, Leyla forges down a dangerous path, intent on saving her friend. But nothing is as it seems. The closer she gets to her goal, the more she risks awakening an ancient evil and destroying everything she holds dear.

Set in the aftermath of a war between vampires, humans, and the gods that created them, Patrice Caldwell’s devastatingly romantic fantasy debut, Where Shadows Meet, centers the heart-wrenching pain of loss and the struggle of self-discovery to ask: do we choose our fates, or do our fates choose us?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

PATRICE CALDWELL is a former children’s book editor turned literary agent and author. She has been named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30”, a Publishers Weekly Star Watch honoree, and featured on Bustle’s inaugural “Lit List” as one of ten women changing the book world. Patrice is also the editor of A Phoenix First Must Burn, 16 stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope and Eternally Yours. After years living in New York City, she moved to Dallas, Texas (with her two adorable cats). Visit Patrice at patricecaldwell.com and @pncaldwell.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Celebrate the release of Janae Sanders’ Second Time Around with LaQuette!

EVENT DEETS

When: Wednesday, January 14 @ 6:30 PM

Where: Virtual! Sign up and we'll send you the link to the Zoom. 

How: RSVP ONLY to get the link to the Zoom! RSVP WITH BOOK to get a copy of each of the authors' book and support the bookstore!

ABOUT THE BOOK

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER

Nikki Payne is a Civic anthropologist From Houston, Texas building accessible government services for vulnerable populations, by night she dreams of ways to subvert Canon literature. Hailed as "incandescent" by the Washington Post, Nikki Payne's debut novel Pride and Protest was a Phenomenal Book Club pick And was selected by the Library of Congress to represent the District of Columbia for the National Book Festival. featured in the New York Times, NPR, Elle, Oprah Daily and BuzzFeed, Nikki Payne is writing black women into their happily ever after.

Celebrate Marcus Bridgewater aka Garden Marcus' debut picture book, See Marcus Grow! 

EVENT DEETS

When: Saturday, May 10 @ 1 PM

Where: Kindred Stories (2304 Stuart Street, HTX, 77004) 

How: RSVP ONLY to let us know you're coming or RSVP WITH BOOK to secure your copy of See Marcus Grow. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marcus Bridgewater, known on social media as Garden Marcus, is also the author of How to Grow: Nurture Your Garden, Nurture Yourself. Media outlets that have featured his work include Vogue, Dwell, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, and The Drew Barrymore Show. A creator, educator, motivational speaker, and plant enthusiast, he is also the founder and CEO of Choice Forward, a company that offers life coaching, seminars, and workshops. He lives in Texas with his wife, son, and a thousand plants.

Celebrate the release of Did Everyone Have an Imaginary Friend (or Just Me)?  with Jay Ellis!

EVENT DEETS

When: Tuesday, August 6, 2024 @ 7PM (Doors Open at 6PM)

Where: STAGES (800 Rosine St, HTX, 77019)

How: Grab your ticket today! Each ticket come with a signed copy of Did Everyone Have an Imaginary Friend (Or Just Me)?: Adventures of Boyhood.  Books will be available for pick up at the event.

*NO REFUNDS*

ABOUT THE BOOK

What to do when you're the perpetual new kid, only child, military brat hustling school-to-school each year and everyone's looking to you for answers? Make some shit up, of course! And a young Jay Ellis does just that, with help from every child's favorite co-conspirator—their imaginary best friend. Born in the perfect storm of especially ferocious rain and a sugar-fueled imagination, Mikey, his imaginary best friend, steps in to figuratively hold Jay's hand through various youthful shenanigans. 

A testament to the importance of imagination, trusting oneself, and making space for your creativity, Did Everyone Have an Imaginary Friend or Just Me? is a story of a 90s kid who confided in his imaginary sidekick to navigate everything from parallel pop culture universes, like watching Fresh Prince alongside John Hughes movies or listening to Ja Rule and Dave Matthews, to a lifetime of birthday disappointment (being a Christmas season Capricorn will do that to you) and hoop dreams gone bad. Mikey also guides him through greater tragedies, like losing his teenage cousin in a mistaken-target driveby and the shame and fear of being pulled over by cops almost a dozen times the year he got his driver's license. 

As imaginary friend morphs into adult consciousness, Ellis charts an unforgettable story of looking within yourself for guidance to some of life’s biggest (and smallest) challenges, told in the roast-you-with-love voice of your closest homie.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in Sumter, South Carolina, to a military family, Jay Ellis spent his childhood inventing new personas for every town he landed in. Too many to count. After college, he realized the NBA wasn’t good enough for him and he didn’t want to crush other players’ dreams as he dominated the league so he decided to take his one-man show to Hollywood, where he got his start on BET’s The Game. Now an accomplished actor, philanthropist, and entrepreneur, Ellis is best known for his role as Lawrence on HBO’s Insecure, for which he won an NAACP Image Award. He appeared alongside Tom Cruise, flying jets through the skies, in the Oscar-nominated film in Top Gun: Maverick. When he’s not on set filming he spends the majority of his days cleaning up the messes that his daughter’s imaginary friend “Jack” made. Karma.

ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER

Kendrick Sampson is an actor, producer and activist who leverages his platform and storytelling to shift culture for good. 

Growing up in Houston and Missouri aka “Mo City”, Texas, Kendrick Sampson was dropped into a unique and deeply rooted culture of music and art.

His most acclaimed and notable characters from "Nathan" on HBO's Emmy-nominated comedy series, Insecure, to "Ethan" in Prime’s popular romantic comedy Something from Tiffany’s and his personal favorite, the surrealist satire I am a Virgo from Boots Riley - Kendrick has been achieving his lifelong goal of shifting culture through storytelling and uplifting nuanced, diverse, and authentic portrayals of Black men.

He uses his platform to amplify transformational grassroots work in intersectional mental health justice, sexual health and liberation and fighting state violence. Kendrick co-founded BLD PWR which includes a production company and social impact (501c3) arm whose mission is to “Reimagine and Realize the liberated future we know our people deserve” by organizing Hollywood and shifting the culture toward nourishing and protecting nuanced Black, Indigenous, and marginalized leaders and everyday people, especially our storytellers and their stories.

Registration is closed via our website, but please register directly via Crowdcast

ORDER South to America here for an exclusive signed copy!

We all think we know the South. Even those who have never lived there can rattle off a list of signifiers: the Civil War, Gone with the Wind, the Ku Klux Klan, plantations, football, Jim Crow, slavery. But the idiosyncrasies, dispositions, and habits of the region are stranger and more complex than much of the country tends to acknowledge. In SOUTH TO AMERICA: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation, one of our most important thinkers and critics, acclaimed author Imani Perry tackles her most ambitious project yet, moving across the color line to grapple with the mix of intimacy and racial violence in Southern and American history, showing that what it means to be American is inextricably linked with the South.  

Imani Perry will be in conversation with Dr. Melanye Price of Prairie View University

Event Details

When: Tuesday, February 1 @ 6:30 PM CST

Where: Virtual via Crowdcast

How:  Register here or on Crowdcast.  Although the event is free, we encourage you to support our store and future programming by purchasing the book here.

About the Author: 

Imani Perry is the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University where she also teaches in Gender and Sexuality Studies, Law and Public Affairs and Jazz Studies. She has a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Ph.D in the history of American civilization from Harvard University. Perry is the author of Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry, winner of the Bograd-Weld Biography Prize of 2019 from the Pen America Foundation. She is also the author of Breathe: A Letter to My Sons, Vexy Thing: On Gender and Liberation, and May We Forever Stand: A History of the Black National Anthem, which was a finalist for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Nonfiction. Perry, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, who grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Chicago, lives outside of Philadelphia with her two sons.

About the Moderator:

Dr. Melanye Price is Endowed Professor of Political Science at Prairie View A&M University and principle investigator for their African American Studies Initiative, which is funded by grants and gifts from the Mellon Foundation. Her research/teaching interests include black politics, public opinion, political rhetoric, and social movements. Her most recent book, The Race Whisperer: Barack Obama and the Political Uses of Race (NYU, 2016) examines the multiple and strategic ways that President Obama uses race to deflect negative racial attitudes and engage with a large cross-section of voters. Her first book, Dreaming Blackness: Black Nationalism and African American Public Opinion (NYU, 2009) examined contemporary support for Black Nationalism. Her new project is called “Mountaintop Removal: Martin Luther King, Trump and the Racial Mountain,” which uses MLK’s “Mountaintop Speech” as a lens for understanding the rise of Trump and the 2016 election.

Learn about the art of coming home to your body with Lyvonne Briggs!

EVENT DEETS

When: April 5 @ 7PM CST

Where: 3719 Navigation Blvd, HTX 77003 (Holy Family HTX)

How: RSVP ONLY to grab your free ticket or support our programming, author, and store by RSVP WITH BOOK. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lyvonne Briggs, MDiv, ThM, an Emmy Award winner, is a body- and sex-positive womanist preacher, speaker, coach, and creator. Briggs is the host of the Sensual Faith podcast and the founder of beautiful scars, a healing- centered storytelling
agency focused on fostering pleasure and resiliency; visionary of The Proverbial Experience; and now curator of Sensual Faith Sunday, a series of virtual spiritual gatherings to nourish your soul. She has been featured in Essence, Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone, and The Washington Post, and Sojourners named her one of “11 Women Shaping the Church.” Briggs, a New York City native and proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, is currently based in New Orleans, Louisiana.

ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER

Wale (@theehotgirlbooks)is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor working with folks in New York and Texas. She has a double masters degree in mental health counseling from Teachers College Columbia University. After practicing in New York for a few years, Wale moved back to her hometown Houston and started her own therapy practice in 2020. Wale currently works with individuals and couples on a weekly basis.

Event DEETS: 

When:  Tuesday, July 26, 2022 @ 7:00 PM CST

Where: Assembly HTX (2015 Berry Street, HTX 77004)

How: Limited in person seating available. You can grab a ticket only or get a book with your ticket. Only books purchased from Kindred Stories will be eligible for the signing line. 

About the Book

Koffi has saved her city and the boy she loves, but at a terrible price. Now a servant to the cunning god of death, she must  use her newfound power to further his continental conquest, or risk the safety of her home and loved ones. As she  reluctantly learns to survive amidst unexpected friends and foes, she will also have to choose between the life—and love— she once had, or the one she could have, if she truly embraces her dangerous gifts. 

Cast out from the only home he’s ever known, Ekon is forced to strike new and unconventional alliances to find and rescue  Koffi before it’s too late. But as he gets closer to the realm of death each day, so too does he draw nearer to a terrible  truth—one that could cost everything. 

Koffi and Ekon—separated by land, sea, and gods—will have to risk everything to reunite again. But the longer they’re  kept apart, the more each of their loyalties are tested. Soon, both may have to reckon with changing hearts—and maybe,  changing destinies.

About the Author

Ayana Gray is a New York Times bestselling young adult fantasy author and a lover of all things monsters, mythos, and magic. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, she now lives in Little  Rock, Arkansas, where she reads avidly, follows Formula One racing, and worries over the varying moods of her adopted baby black rhino, Apollo, and her mini goldendoodle, Dolly.  Her debut novel, Beasts of Prey, is being adapted for feature film.  

About the Moderator

J. Elle is the author of the instant New York Times and Indie bestseller Wings of Ebony, a YA novel about a Black teen who must lean into her ancestor’s magic to protect her inner-city community from drugs, violence, and crime. Ms. magazine calls it “the debut fantasy we need right now.” She also wrote its sequel, Ashes of Gold. Elle is a former educator and first-generation college student with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s in educational administration and human development. When she’s not writing, Elle can be found mentoring aspiring writers, binging reality TV, loving on her three littles, or cooking up something true to her Louisiana roots.