Celebrate the release BLK MKT Vintage with Jannah Handy & Kiyanna Stewart!

EVENT DEETS

When: Thursday, October 24 @ 7 PM 

Where: Eldorado Ballroom (2310 Elgin Street, HTX, 77004)

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

This event is in partnership with Project Row Houses!

ABOUT THE BOOK

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. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jannah Handy and Kiyanna Stewart are the co-founders of BLK MKT Vintage, an online vintage/antique concept shop that specializes in collectibles and curiosities, representing the richness of black history and lived experience. Their passion for material culture and found objects has led them to interior design projects, personal sourcing, set design, prop rental, museum loans and other curatorial projects in media/entertainment, education, the arts & philanthropy. Jannah has a background in business and education, with a B.A. in Economics from Smith College, and a M.Ed. in Higher Education from UMASS, Amherst. Kiyanna has a background in fashion & education, with a B.A. in Journalism & Africana Studies and a M.A. in Women's Studies, all from Rutgers University

ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER

Amarie Gipson is a Houston-born writer, cultural worker and founder of The Reading Room HTX. She has held curatorial positions at various art institutions, including The Studio Museum in Harlem, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Independently, her writing has been published in ARTS.BLACK, Artforum, ArtNews, ESSENCE, Oxford American and many others. As a DJ, Gipson has made a significant impact on her hometown through PHYSICAL THERAPY, a dance party and 7,000+ person community founded to foreground safety and togetherness in Houston's underground music/nightlife scene. She is the former Arts & Culture editor of Houstonia Magazine and currently the Houston Editor-At-Large for Burnaway, an Atlanta-based arts criticism publication focusing on the American South and the Caribbean. Advancing a new model for librarianship and public institution building, The Reading Room is increasing access to cultural history through literature and programming. It is a community-centered tribute to Black genius in the South and beyond.

DELUXE LIMITED EDITION first printing featuring stenciled edges

The LONG AWAITED adult debut novel by beloved NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING Dhonielle Clayton: a romantic contemporary fantasy novel set in New Orleans, about a woman pulled back into a forbidden love, kicking off a brand new series

Collette Marchand never wanted to return home to the immortal wards of New Orleans, let alone inherit her mother’s blood-soaked business. Collette left magic and a great love behind a decade ago, tucking herself away in Boston. But now, her mother, Lady Red, the living Conjure Saint and matriarch of the most notorious Conjure House, has died for the final time.

Back in New Orleans, Téo Baptiste is stuck. He’s working at the same hospital where, ten years ago, he lost everything – his sobriety and the love of his life, Collette. Nights at the busiest ER in the city help him bury his feelings and ignore his magical destiny to take over the undead immortal ward. But Lady Red’s death might be his chance to make things right with Collette again, and build a new future for himself.

When Collette is summoned back home to bury her mother, she uncovers Lady Red’s greatest secret: the true source of her power is a stolen card from the Deck of Life. A card that, along with the family business, passes to Collette. Determined to rewrite the past, Collette needs help from the last person she wants to see ever again: her former flame and the man who shattered her heart, Téo. Now, Collette must confront whether she’s destined to become the next Lady Red and rule over the immortal wards of New Orleans and beyond … or take a second chance at love.

Weaving ancestral wisdom with contemporary insight, Black Women Rising speaks directly to Black women’s lived realities of racial trauma, chronic stress, care fatigue, and resilience through a wholistic lens.

Filling a long-standing gap in the self-help and wellness market, Black Women Rising is a culturally grounded, deeply resonant guide created specifically for Black women seeking balance, purpose, and grounding in perilous times. This bold, African-centered book arrives at a moment of profound urgency. Informed by the authors’ expertise in African-centered social work and trauma-informed psychotherapy, each chapter brings to life one of the 18 Principles—rooted in Ma’at and the Nguzo Saba (Kwanzaa)—and closes with an action-oriented exercise readers can immediately apply.

Moving beyond reflection to action, this book offers clear pathways to healing and sustained liberation. Positioned at the intersection of race, gender, and mental health, the book meets a growing demand for self-care that is culturally intentional and affirming. With far-reaching impact in wellness, mental health, and social justice spaces, giving Black women a self-help book that sees and supports their capacity to rise and thrive individually and in community.

Black Women Rising positions healing as sacred and care as a powerful force for renewal and transformation, making it a timely, standout title in wellness, mental health, and cultural nonfiction.

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.

From the critically acclaimed and award-winning creators of Crown and I Am Every Good Thing, Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James, comes an illustrated nonfiction young adult homage to Black athlete activists throughout history.

This is not your typical book about sports. This one begins…
“AN ATHLETE PROTESTING THE MISTREATMENT OF AMERICAN CITIZENS DOES NOT MAKE THEM ANTI-AMERICAN.”
And through a series of powerful poems, freedom-oriented prose, and dynamic illustration, Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James introduce young readers and change-makers to athletes such as Muhammad Ali, Curt Flood, and Elgin Baylor who used their voices and influence to shake up the landscape of American sports and justice.

* TIMELY AND TOPICAL: Teaches readers about a continued cultural discussion from a resonant and impactful perspective.
* MADE TO CAPTURE THE ATTENTION OF YOUNG READERS: With a mix of prose, poetry, quotes, and illustrations, readers can dive into important history that might otherwise go untold.
* FROM AN AWARD-WINNING TEAM: Caldecott Honoree Gordon C. James and Kirkus Prize, Coretta Scott King Honor, and Newbery Honor recipient Derrick Barnes have teamed up again to create a memorable, impactful, and important book---this time for young adults.

Enter St. Paradise, a city pulsing with blood magic, where clan secrets and shifting allegiances rule the land. For the first time, bestselling novelist Akwaeke Emezi brings their powerful talents to epic fantasy!

Ten years ago, Eclipse Orinabe and her aunt, Silver, were the sole survivors of a massacre that nearly wiped out their clan.

Then the Orinabe unleash their revenge: the annihilation of the clans who betrayed them, and the release of rapture, a drug so potent that the clan—once peaceful pharmaceutical makers—soon have St. Paradise in a chokehold.

Disturbed by the Orinabe’s bloody rise, the surviving clan leaders nonetheless make nice with Silver, known as the Butcher, and accept Eclipse—a weapon disguised as a glamorous clan princess—into society.

With the foundations of St. Paradise trembling, one spark will set the city aflame. And embers are everywhere: Wolf, Heir to the Goldshot clan, is on the run from his own people, armed with holy golden bullets. He claims sanctuary with Clan Heron, spies so secretive that no one knows their true Heir.

Noah, Heir to the psychic Solarin clan, is pushed into a consuming relationship with Eclipse by his clan leaders. But neither Heir is what the other thinks—and the secret Noah is keeping is powerful enough to blink out St. Paradise’s entire existence in an instant.

An ancient magic ties these clans together and a brutal reckoning will come as the Heirs collide and claim their fraught inheritance.

Emotionally rich, explosively thrilling, and finely wrought as all of Emezi’s work, their new standalone novel is perfect for fans of the author or Fonda Lee, R.F. Kuang, and V.E. Schwab.

Together for the first time in this beautiful boxed set, the landmark Love Song to the Nation trilogy by the feminist icon bell hooks, includes the New York Times bestsellers All About Love, Communion, and Salvation.

All About Love: New Visions reveals how lovelessness results in a polarized society, and how we can do the work to heal these divisions. This book is a roadmap to understanding how we can build caring, compassionate, and loving spaces into our homes, schools, and workplaces.

Communion: The Female Search for Lovechallenges every woman to courageously claim the search for love as a heroic journey we must all choose to be truly free. It reveals how women of all ages can bring love into every aspect of their lives.

Salvation: Black People and Love Written from both historical and cultural perspectives, Salvation takes an incisive look at the transformative power of love in the lives of African Americans.

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.

In a piercing blend of biography, criticism, and memoir, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Salamishah Tillet explores Nina Simone’s life and the impact of her legacy.

In Nina Simone and the World She Made, Salamishah Tillet traces Nina Simone’s transformation from child prodigy to musical icon and fearless civil rights activist. When racism thwarted her dreams of becoming a classical pianist, Simone reinvented herself and created a sound wholly her own—one that would catapult her into stardom and the heart of the Black Power movement.

Decades later, Simone’s music inspired the hip-hop generation and Tillet’s own profound political awakening. From buying her first Nina Simone album to becoming a creative and activist, Tillet’s private encounters with Simone’s work grew into a broader exploration of her legacy. Exploring Simone’s unique impact on the American cultural landscape through the women who shaped her and those whom she shaped, Tillet reveals how art can be a powerful driver of social activism, and the struggles and sacrifices it involves.

With honest, lyrical prose, Tillet’s intimate portrait brings us close to Simone, while showing us how the singer’s voice captured the pain and promise of America and resonates in the fight for equality today. Nina Simone and the World She Made urges us to listen to Simone’s music—not just as a reflection of the past, but as a guide for the future.

We Made the World: Five Centuries of Queens, Warriors, and Other Foremothers traces five centuries of history through twelve extraordinary women of African descent—from queens and warriors to artists and activists—weaving together collective memory, oral tradition, and personal grief into a landmark work that places Black women at the center of world history.

In 1949, a seamstress from a small coastal town in the Gold Coast colony stood up in a room full of men and voted to split from the most powerful political party in the country. Her name was Hannah Kudjoe. She spent the next decade organizing the women who would win Ghana's first democratic election and help make it the first sub-Saharan African nation to gain independence from European colonial rule. When Nkrumah published his autobiography, she wasn't in it.

We Made the World does for twelve women what it does for Hannah Kudjoe. It finds the woman who was in the room, who was essential to the room, and whose name was removed from the record the moment her usefulness to powerful men was exhausted.

We're talking about Queen Njinga of Angola, who fought the Portuguese to a standstill for forty years and died at eighty still a sovereign. Wangarĩ Maathai, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who saved a Nairobi forest by walking upstream through a river at dawn to plant trees while the police watched. Brenda Fassie, the queer Black pop icon who sang South Africa through the end of apartheid and whose music still stops a room on any continent.

The author traveled to eleven countries to write this book. She gathered oral histories from descendants and community keepers across four continents. And she wrote it while experiencing great loss and grief which means this book knows in its bones what it costs to carry someone's memory, and what it costs not to.

We Made the World is five hundred years of history rewritten from the inside. It is the book that asks what we have lost by not knowing these women's names, and begins the important work of giving that back to us all.

Celebrate the beautiful brown and black girls in your life with this magical and empowering ABC board book.

Tell your little one that they are magic with ABCs of Black Girl Magic. Featuring enchanting illustrations showcasing the power, beauty, and magic of black and brown girls alongside positive affirmations, this board book is a wonderful way to show your child they are loved and important.

From read alouds to bonding moments, this beautiful board book is the perfect baby shower gift, birthday present, and gift for your daughter, sister, mother, or any strong woman in your life that needs to know they are magic.

You are…

Amazing

Beautiful

Courageous

…and so much more!

Somewhere along the way, many of us learned how to survive, but forgot how to truly live. What if the version of you that helped you survive is now keeping you from being fully known and loved Sarah Jakes Roberts reveals how perfectionism, performance, and self-protection become armor and shows you how to lay it down, embrace who God created you to be, and experience genuine connection.

We became the dependable one. The achiever. The perfectionist. The people-pleaser. The strong one who never asks for help. We built lives that look orderly and pristine on the outside while quietly carrying the exhausting weight of proving ourselves, protecting ourselves, and performing for acceptance. But the armor that once helped us survive may now be keeping us from the very connection we long for.

In Get Over Yourself, New York Times bestselling author Sarah Jakes Roberts invites readers on a compassionate journey beneath the versions of themselves they've learned to become. Blending profound biblical insight, developmental research, and her own deeply personal story, including a life-altering accident that forced her to confront the identity she'd built around survival, Sarah reveals how God gently leads us beyond perfectionism, performance, and fear into lives marked by authenticity, freedom, and genuine connection.

Through vulnerable storytelling, practical wisdom, and fresh biblical perspective, readers will discover how to:

* Recognize the survival patterns shaping their relationships and identity.
* Release the pressure to constantly prove, protect, or perfect themselves.
* Heal from shame, fear, and the hidden lies that keep them emotionally guarded.
* Experience deeper intimacy with God, healthier relationships, and lasting inner freedom.
* Become the person love, not survival, requires.

Honest, hopeful, and transformative, Get Over Yourself is for anyone who's tired of carrying the weight of who they've had to become and ready to discover the freedom of becoming who God created them to be.