An eloquent and original exploration of the Atlantic slave trade―now featuring the essay “Venus in Two Acts” and a new introduction by Dionne Brand.

A monumental work of first-person history, Lose Your Mother traces the legacy of the Atlantic slave trade by recounting a journey Saidiya Hartman took along a slave route in Ghana. Following the trail of captives from the hinterland to the Atlantic coast, she reckons with the blank slate of her own genealogy and the rippling effects of slavery on three centuries of African and African-American history.

The slave, Hartman observes, is a stranger―torn from family, home, and country. To lose your mother is to be severed from your kin, to be uprooted from your past, and to inhabit the world as an outsider. There are no known survivors of Hartman’s lineage, no relatives in Ghana whom she came hoping to find. Instead, she is a stranger in search of strangers, forging connections with others living in the wake of atrocity.

A rigorous and intimate reflection on the afterlife of slavery, Lose Your Mother is both a book of history and a book of grief. This 20th anniversary edition now includes Hartman’s landmark essay “Venus in Two Acts” and a new introduction by Dionne Brand―perfect for introducing new readers to Hartman’s lived-in way of contending with the past.

Capone promised he’d keep his family safe, but Erin’s afraid he’ll die trying, in the third book of #BookTok favorite Jahquel J.’s Delgato Family saga.

Everything’s looking up for Erin. She married her best friend in a picturesque sunset ceremony on the beaches of Barbados, they’re expecting a baby girl, and the pair are surrounded by their loved ones. Erin’s even made nice with Capone’s ex.

But danger’s never far away, and that scares Erin. Every day, Capone risks his life handling business in the streets. Then, a serious health scare forces him to slow down, and Erin and her brother, Jaiden―now entrenched in Capone’s world himself―purchase firearms to protect themselves.

Having dealt with arrests, shoot-outs, high-speed chases, and Molotov cocktails, Erin just wants to live with her husband and daughter in peace. Now that Capone has decided to take a step back from the grind, will she finally get the happily-ever-after she longs for?

The third book in the Delgato Family universe, Capone took BookTok by storm.

Capone III is an urban romance featuring depictions of murder, domestic violence, and substance abuse as well as explicit scenes. It is intended for mature readers.

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.

We're meeting to discuss The Gift of Us by Lula White! For this special bookclub the author Lula White will be joining us for the discussion. 

BOOK CLUB MEETING DEETS

When: Tuesday, December 8 @ 7PM CST

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

How: RSVP ONLY to let us know you plan to attend! Support the Romance Book Club by purchasing a copy of the book from Kindred Stories here!

ABOUT THE GIFT OF US

Welcome to so-tiny-you'll-blink-and-miss-it town of Elaine for Christmas.

SUNDAY

Just days before Christmas, Sunday Conklin is on the brink of losing everything-her family's scenic farm-in the heart of her small Arkansas town. It's the legacy she's given up her life to protect. With the bank out of mercy and her options gone, her family's oldest enemy, the Adlers, will finally take the Conklin Fields for themselves. But a miracle arrives-one that could save Sunday, her neighbors, and the historic town of Elaine itself. There's just one problem: that miracle comes tangled up with the most infuriating man she's ever met... who belongs right back in Texas where he came from.

SEVEN

Seven Hardcastle can't believe his luck this Christmas, when he's assigned to a middle-of-nowhere Arkansas town. He's ready to return to his perfectly manicured life in Dallas with his wife and kids. All he needs is one signature-Sunday Conklin's. But when the town of Elaine strikes it big, Seven's fate is tied up with that of its most stubborn, maddening, and undeniably magnetic farm-owner. As the town's secrets unravel, and Sunday's fight becomes his own, Seven is handed a Christmas gift he never expected... one that forces him to question his past, his future, and where home truly is.

Note: This novel has been released in both a steamy edition that includes graphic intimacy and a clean edition that fades to black and is appropriate for ages 16+. This book is the CLEAN edition.

For the first time in print! A definitive compilation of Nikki Giovanni’s best and most beloved poems from her extraordinary 60-year career.

Nikki Giovanni’s poems are some of the most quoted, most memorable, and most talked about gems in American literature, with a huge pop culture following that continues even after her death in 2024. But there has never been a single “best of” volume of her work—until now.

The Essential Poems compiles Nikki’s most beloved and thought-provoking work, drawn from her extraordinary 60+ year career. Included here are classics like “Nikki-Rosa,” “Ego Trippin’,” “Housecleaning,” “Cotton Candy for a Rainy Day,” “Bicycles,” and “The Sterling Silver Mirror.” Edited by Dr. Virginia Fowler, Nikki’s widow, it also includes an Introduction and an Afterword by literary superstars Kwame Alexander and Renée Watson.

It is a book to be savored, and shared.

Weaving back and forth between China in the 1990s and America in 2010s, three people’s lives are changed by a murder one of them may have committed in this magnificent novel from Yiyun Li, newly reissued.

When Moran, Ruyu, and Boyang were young, they were involved in a mysterious incident in which a friend of theirs was poisoned. Grown up, the three friends are separated by distance and personal estrangement. Moran and Ruyu live in the United States, Boyang in China; all of them are haunted by what happened in their youth and by doubt about themselves.

In Wisconsin, Moran visits her ex-husband, whose kindness once overcame her flight into solitude. In California, Ruyu helps a local woman care for her family and home, avoiding entanglements, as she has done all her life. In Beijing, Boyang struggles to deal with an inability to love―and with the outcome of what happened among the friends twenty years before.

Brilliantly written and a breathtaking page-turner, Kinder Than Solitude resonates with provocative observations about human nature and life. In mesmerizing prose, and with profound insight, Yiyun Li weaves a remarkable story that explores the impact of personality and the past on the shape of a person’s present and future.

Between ancient prophecies and breaking headlines, the end times can feel like a giant puzzle with missing pieces. In this book, the hosts of the Faith & Friction podcast dig into Scripture with curiosity, humor, and a healthy dose of real talk, unpacking what's unfolding now and what could be coming next.

When the Faith and Friction crew were invited to witness the red heifer selection process (animals tied to an ancient prophecy that could ignite world-changing events), little did they know they stepped straight into a mystery thousands of years in the making. What could this sacrifice mean for believers now? And how close are we to seeing it unfold?

This book invites you into a story where the lines between ancient prophecy and modern life blur. With clear, modern language and gripping questions, it's designed to spark curiosity for anyone hungry for answers about the unseen forces shaping our time. The deeper you go, the harder it is to look away.

As the authors pull back the curtain on ancient prophecy and today's headlines, you'll:

* uncover the ancient rituals that could unlock the mysteries of the End Times;
* connect Christian and Jewish perspectives to see prophecy come alive both in history and modern day;
* dive into scripture and controversy surrounding the Third Temple, the Antichrist, the Rapture, and Tribulation;
* get sharp, modern answers to the questions that many are too afraid, or too confused, to ask;
* and step into the investigation yourself: dig deeper, challenge what you thought you knew, and gain confidence in the end times conversation.

Jesus is coming back. Do you know what to expect? Are you ready to dig into the truth and find out what's next in the cosmic story? The countdown has already started.

Jahquel J. returns to the Rich family in the sequel to her traditional debut, the USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller Rich and Rotten.

Grittier, steamier, and more dangerous than the first book, this dynasty saga goes deeper into the streets beneath Greenwich Pointe’s wealth, where loyalty is tested at every turn and fighting for family may cost blood. Commercial urban crime fiction at its pinnacle.

Tatiana Rich is left with nothing.

With nowhere else to turn, she must depend on the one man who has let her down before. His help may be her only way forward, but she isn't sure it's worth the risk of being disappointed again.

Jonah has always put protecting Tatiana and his goddaughter first. Now, with a new romance building with Yaya, he must find a way to make room for her in his plans without stepping back from the people he has always considered family.

Nazir is working to blend his family, introducing his daughters to each other and the love of his past to his best friend, all while protecting the woman he loves from her own father.

Malcolm Rich kept Nazir from Tatiana once before. Nazir refuses to let him stand in the way of getting his family back, or let him take what isn't his.

This time, he will do whatever it takes, even if it leaves blood on his hands.

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.

From everyday apps to complex algorithms, Ruha Benjamin cuts through tech-industry hype to understand how emerging technologies can reinforce White supremacy and deepen social inequity.

Benjamin argues that automation, far from being a sinister story of racist programmers scheming on the dark web, has the potential to hide, speed up, and deepen discrimination while appearing neutral and even benevolent when compared to the racism of a previous era. Presenting the concept of the “New Jim Code,” she shows how a range of discriminatory designs encode inequity by explicitly amplifying racial hierarchies; by ignoring but thereby replicating social divisions; or by aiming to fix racial bias but ultimately doing quite the opposite. Moreover, she makes a compelling case for race itself as a kind of technology, designed to stratify and sanctify social injustice in the architecture of everyday life.

This illuminating guide provides conceptual tools for decoding tech promises with sociologically informed skepticism. In doing so, it challenges us to question not only the technologies we are sold but also the ones we ourselves manufacture.

From computer scientist, astrophysicist, and dreamer, Terysa Ridgeway, comes a story of two starry-eyed sisters who shine in STEM together!

Eight-year-old Terysa is a born problem-solver with a galaxy of ideas―and she's determined to win the school science fair. There's just one tiny problem… she has too many brilliant ideas to choose from!

Luckily, her big sister, Shana, is an astronomy whiz. When Shana shares the inspiring story of Dorothy Vaughan―NASA's first Black supervisor and a trailblazing computer programming pioneer―Terysa is inspired. Together, the sisters dive into coding, teamwork, and a little trial-and-error to design a project that moves all on its own. It's creative. It's unique. It's out of this world. But will it be enough to win first place?

Perfect for readers who love:

* STEM-inspired stories for kids.
* Strong, curious girls in science.
* Coding and beginner programming concepts.
* Inspiring real-life role models like Dorothy Vaughan.
* Sister relationships and teamwork.