Celebrate Nia Davenport's young adult debut, Out of Body! 

EVENT DEETS

When: Saturday, February 10 @ 2 PM CST

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

How: Only book purchased from Kindred Stories will be eligible for signing line.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A high-stakes, propulsive young adult thriller with a body-swap twist thoughtfully explores themes of friendship and identity, perfect for fans of Tiffany D. Jackson.

Seventeen-year-old Megan Allen has been jumping from friend group to friend group in her high school, trying on identities like outfits. Nothing ever seems to fit—until she meets LC, the adventurous, charismatic girl who appears at her favorite coffee shop one day like magic. Finally, Megan feels like she’s becoming the person she’s meant to be: someone like LC.

On the night of their friendiversary, what was supposed to be a bonding experience ends in a waking nightmare. Suddenly, Megan is no longer herself. Too late, she realizes that LC has secrets—dangerous ones. Betrayed by her best friend, thrust into another girl’s life, and targeted by LC’s enemies, she must claim what makes Megan Megan to get her life back . . . or die trying.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

NIA DAVENPORT is the author of the sci-fi fantasy Blood Gift duology. A lover of both science and literature, Nia has taught English and biology to a diverse public school population in Texas. She grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and now lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and kids. Find out more at nedavenport.com

The Living Room Experience is how BLD PWR gathers people: an intimate, unscripted conversation that feels less like an event and more like the realest talk in your favorite living room. Join us as Rashad Robinson, author of From Presence to Power, sits down for an honest conversation about power, healing, and what it takes to build the future we deserve. This isn't a panel, and you're not an audience. The mic moves through the room, and you're part of it. Come ready to listen, connect, and be moved.

EVENT DEETS

When: Friday, September 11 @ 7PM CST

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

How: 

• RSVP ONLY – Reserve your spot at the event.
• RSVP WITH BOOK – Reserve your spot and a copy From Presence To Power

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 purchased your book from Kindred Stories, you may select the RSVP Only ticket option and bring your Kindred Stories copy to the event.

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

Why do some fights for justice hit a wall while others succeed? What does it take to win social change, especially now? It comes down to understanding one thing: the difference between presence and power.

Failing to do so is one way we got into this mess, but understanding how power really works is a big part of how we get out of it. 

Rashad Robinson would know. A social change strategist, he’s spent more than twenty years at the highest levels of leadership in two of the most significant social movements of our time: the fight for LGBTQ rights and the fight for racial justice. He’s taken on tech giants and the criminal justice system, politicians in Washington and corporate executives in Hollywood. He’s been on the front lines of protest and in the back rooms of negotiation. 

Robinson argues that achieving presence—the visibility of marches, media fads, and making issues popular—is not the same as gaining the leverage required to change the rules for how society works or change the decisions that politicians, corporate executives, and other people in authority make. 

This book offers a set of essential lessons about power for anyone who wants to understand it, gain it, and use it to win the progress we all deserve—and to defeat the forces trying to take our freedoms away. Robinson provides the tools needed to help everyday people build real leverage in systems designed to prevent them from doing so.

As someone who helped shape the resistance after the 2016 election, and continues to help leaders at every level find innovative ways to fight back and win progress today, Robinson offers a hopeful, practical guide to achieving positive impact in the most challenging times.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rashad Robinson is a social justice leader, strategist and organization builder. He has designed campaigns to change public policies, corporate practices, electoral outcomes, and media representations. He speaks widely on corporate accountability, narrative change, infrastructure for organizing, and strategies for creating a more equitable world. Through Rashad Robinson Advisors (RRA), he advises and collaborates on developing high-impact strategies to bring about progress with foundations, nonprofits and leaders across media, politics, government and business. He previously led Color Of Change for nearly fourteen years, transforming it from a start-up into a national force for racial justice, and also led programs at GLAAD, reshaping media representations of LGBTQ people during the fights to win marriage equality and end discrimination. More information about Rashad, including his weekly How We Win newsletter, can be found at www.rashadrobinson.com.

ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER

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

Growing up in Houston and Missouri City (Mo City), Texas, Kendrick was immersed in a unique and deeply rooted culture of music and art that continues to shape his work today.

His most acclaimed and notable roles include "Nathan" on HBO's Emmy-nominated comedy series Insecure, "Ethan" in Prime Video's Something from Tiffany's, and his personal favorite, the surrealist satire I Am a Virgo from Boots Riley. Next month, Kendrick takes on his most iconic role yet: Quincy Jones in the highly anticipated Michael biopic, releasing April 24th. It is the first portrayal of the legendary music producer since his passing, bringing to life Quincy's transformative partnership with Michael Jackson.

Beyond acting, Kendrick uses his platform to amplify transformational grassroots work in healing justice, including mental health, sexual health, liberation, and abolition. He co-founded BLD PWR, which encompasses a production company and a 501(c)(3) social impact arm dedicated to reimagining and realizing the liberated future we know our people deserve. Through BLD PWR, he works to organize Hollywood and shift culture, ensuring that nuanced Black, Indigenous, and marginalized voices, especially storytellers and their stories, are nourished, protected, and empowered.

Award-winning author Mark Oshiro (Anger is a Gift) returns with a new contemporary coming-of-age novel laced with a twisty, dark mystery you’ll have to read to believe.

KEEP YOUR SECRETS CLOSE TO HOME
It’s been one year since Manny was cast out of his family and driven into the wilderness of the American Southwest. Since then, Manny lives by self-taught rules that keep him moving—and keep him alive. Now, he’s taking a chance on a traveling situation with the Varela family, whose attractive but surly son, Carlos, seems to promise a new future.

Eli abides by the rules of his family, living in a secluded community that raised him to believe his obedience will be rewarded. But an unsettling question slowly eats away at Eli’s once unwavering faith in Reconciliation: Why can’t he remember his past?

But the reported discovery of an unidentified body found in the hills of Idyllwild, California, will draw both of these young men into facing their biggest fears and confronting their own identity—and who they are allowed to be.

For fans of Courtney Summers and Tiffany D. Jackson, Into the Light is a ripped-from-the-headlines story with Oshiro's signature mix of raw emotions and visceral prose—but with a startling twist you’ll have to read to believe.

N. E. Davenport is the Science Fiction/Fantasy author of the Blood Gift duology. She attended the University of Southern California and studied Biological Sciences and Theatre Arts. She also has an M.A. in Secondary Education. She teaches English and Biology to amazing students. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys vacationing with her family, skiing, and being a huge foodie. She’s an advocate for diverse perspectives and protagonists in literature. You can find her on Twitter @nia_davenport, or on Instagram @nia.davenport, where she talks about binge-worthy TV, killer movies, and great books. She lives in Texas with her husband and kids

Let's celebrate a few of the new-ish Black women mystery writers! 

EVENT DEETS

When: Monday, August 11, 2025 @ 6:30 PM CT

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 BUNDLE to get a copy of each of the authors' book and support the bookstore!

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Zoe B. Wallbrook is a recently tenured professor whose academic research has appeared in outlets such as the New York Times and The New Yorker. She was selected for mentorship by LA Times bestseller Elizabeth Little, and History Lessons, her first novel, was a runner-up for the Eleanor Taylor Bland Award. Zoe’s hobbies include beginning all emails with, “My sincerest apologies for my slow reply,” pretending to understand how astrological signs work, and crying at the end of every Call the Midwife episode. She and her husband live with their stalker, a black lab/pittie mix named Sophie.

SANDRA JACKSON-OPOKU is the author of Hot Johnny and the Women Who Loved Him and the award-winning novel The River Where Blood is Born. She also coedited the anthology Revise the Psalm: Work Celebrating the Writing of Gwendolyn Brooks. Her fiction, nonfiction, and dramatic works have been published and produced in Adi Magazine, Midnight & Indigo, Aunt Chloe, Africa Risen: A New Era of Speculative Fiction, New Daughters of Africa, Obsidian, storySouth, the Chicago Humanities Festival, and others.

Elise Bryant is the NAACP Image Award-nominated author of Happily Ever Afters, One True Loves, Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling, and It’s Elementary. For many years, Elise had the joy of working as a special education teacher, and now she spends her days reading, writing, and eating dessert. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Long Beach, California. You can visit her online at www.elisebryant.com.