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.

A little Black boy finds the courage to go after his dreams in this empowering and inspirational picture book by actress Kirby Howell-Baptiste (The Sandman) with actor Larry Fields.

With vivid, dimensional illustrations by Paul Davey, this encouraging and hopeful picture book celebrates the joy of being a little Black boy and their bright futures.

Fascinated by marine wildlife, a little Black boy dreams of one day swimming in the ocean alongside all the creatures that make it their home. It will take courage to move from the safety of the swimming pool to the vastness of the ocean, but as he begins his journey of discovery, he soon finds there’s nothing he can’t do. He realizes if he cares about the animals in the ocean, he must also care about their home and sets out to preserve the beaches he loves by picking up trash. This little boy is determined not only to reach his dream of becoming a marine biologist, but to make a difference in the world and to share his passion of environmental conservation with everyone.

Little Black Boy, Oh the things you will do.
Has anyone mentioned the world’s open to you?

"Come join me as I take you back to Charleston, South Carolina, to my father's forge in the early 1800's. Sit with me on the woodpile as he tells a tale of faith, hope, or love."
In this extraordinary collection, Charlotte Jefferies and her father Price, a former slave, introduce us to twelve best loved Bible tales, from Genesis to Daniel, and reveal their significance in the lives of African Americans--and indeed of all oppressed peoples.
When Charlotte wants to understand the cruel injustices of her time, she turns to her father. Does the powerful slaveholder, Mr. Sam Riley, who seems to own all that surrounds them, also own the sun and moon? she wonders. Price's answer is to tell the story of Creation. How can God allow an evil like slavery to exist? she asks. Price responds by telling the story of the Hebrews' Exodus -- and shows Charlotte that someday their people, too, will be free.
With exquisite clarity, Patricia and Fredrick McKissack and James Ransome -- a Newbery Honor winner and all Coretta Scott King Award winners -- brilliantly illuminate the parallels between the stories of the Jews and African-American history. Let My People Go is a triumphant celebration of both the human spirit and the enduring power of story as a source of strength.
Our hope is that this book will be like a lighthouse that can guide young readers through good times and bad....The ideas that these ancient stories hold are not for one people, at one time, in one place. They are for all of us, for all times, everywhere.
--from the Authors' Note to Let My People Go

In this “masterful, inspiring evocation of an era” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), ALSC Children’s Literature Legacy Award–winning author Carole Boston Weatherford “wields the power of poetry to tell [the] gripping historical story” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) of the Tuskegee Airmen.

I WANT YOU! says the poster of Uncle Sam. But if you’re a young black man in 1940, he doesn’t want you in the cockpit of a war plane. Yet you are determined not to let that stop your dream of flying.

So when you hear of a civilian pilot training program at Tuskegee Institute, you leap at the chance. Soon you are learning engineering and mechanics, how to communicate in code, how to read a map. At last the day you’ve longed for is here: you are flying!

From training days in Alabama to combat on the front lines in Europe, this is the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the groundbreaking African-American pilots of World War II. In vibrant second-person poems, Carole Boston Weatherford teams up for the first time with her son, artist Jeffery Weatherford, in a powerful and inspiring book that allows readers to fly, too.

Mama’s getting married, and Jackson has an important job to do! A story about love, weddings, and the special joy that is a blended family.

Jackson’s mama is getting married, and he gets to be the ring bearer. But Jackson is worried . . . What if he trips? Or walks too slowly? Or drops the rings? And what about his new stepsister, Sophie? She’s supposed to be the flower girl, but Jackson’s not sure she’s taking her job as seriously as she should.
 
In a celebration of blended families, this heartwarming story, stunningly illustrated by the award-winning Floyd Cooper, is a perfect gift for any child who's nervous to walk down the aisle at a wedding, and shows kids that they can handle life’s big changes.

Praise for The Ring Bearer:

"Throughout, Cooper's softly textured mixed-media illustrations offer a warm, affirming depiction of this black family's life and love together . . . Readers will be joining the congregation in cheering for Jackson."--Kirkus Reviews

"Written with simplicity, immediacy, and warmth....Cooper creates beautiful effects with subtle colors, textures, and suffused light in the soft-focus paintings. A heartening, reassuring picture book."--Booklist

"Children will identify readily with Jackson’s fears and enjoy the way he overcomes them. A solid purchase for any picture book collection."--School Library Journal

"Many children experience parental weddings, and these times are filledwith joy and nervousness. Cooper captures each moment."--Horn Book

When Precious is left home alone with a stomachache, she's got nothing but a warning from Mama -- "Don't let nothing or nobody into this house" -- to keep her company. You see, "nothing or nobody" could turn out to be something awful: the Boo Hag! The Boo Hag's got a voice that rumbles like thunder and hair that shoots out like lightning. And she can disguise herself to look like anything. So when the Boo Hag comes calling, will Precious be clever enough to outwit even the trickiest trickster?
Here's an oh-so-funny -- and not-too-scary -- story from Newbery Honor-winning author Patricia C. McKissack and Onawumi Jean Moss that's paired with spirited, folksy illustrations by Kyrsten Brooker.

An electrifying novel about the meteoric rise of an iconic interracial rock duo in the 1970s, their sensational breakup, and the dark secrets unearthed when they try to reunite decades later for one last tour.

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BUZZ PICK
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2021 BY BARACK OBAMA * THE WASHINGTON POST *NPR* ESQUIRE * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY * GOODREADS * THE MILLIONS * READER’S DIGEST * PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER * EERIE READER * PUBLIC RADIO TULSA * CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY * KIRKUS REVIEWS

“Feels truer and more mesmerizing than some true stories. It’s a packed time capsule that doubles as a stick of dynamite.” —THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

Opal is a fiercely independent young woman pushing against the grain in her style and attitude, Afro-punk before that term existed. Coming of age in Detroit, she can’t imagine settling for a 9-to-5 job—despite her unusual looks, Opal believes she can be a star. So when the aspiring British singer/songwriter Neville Charles discovers her at a bar’s amateur night, she takes him up on his offer to make rock music together for the fledgling Rivington Records.

In early seventies New York City, just as she’s finding her niche as part of a flamboyant and funky creative scene, a rival band signed to her label brandishes a Confederate flag at a promotional concert. Opal’s bold protest and the violence that ensues set off a chain of events that will not only change the lives of those she loves, but also be a deadly reminder that repercussions are always harsher for women, especially black women, who dare to speak their truth.

Decades later, as Opal considers a 2016 reunion with Nev, music journalist S. Sunny Shelton seizes the chance to curate an oral history about her idols. Sunny thought she knew most of the stories leading up to the cult duo’s most politicized chapter. But as her interviews dig deeper, a nasty new allegation from an unexpected source threatens to blow up everything.

Provocative and chilling, The Final Revival of Opal & Nev features a backup chorus of unforgettable voices, a heroine the likes of which we’ve not seen in storytelling, and a daring structure, and introduces a bold new voice in contemporary fiction.

A celebration of childhood from an award-winning author, this upbeat day-in-the-life of a bunch of friends was inspired by the #BlackBoyJoy meme that spurred a movement.

From sunrise to sunset, a group of young Black boys joyously spend the day together as they live their best lives freely in their community. ­With confidence and a touch of swag, these friends do everything with one another: build a time machine, tend to the community garden, roleplay in the park, read, take a group selfie, and play basketball. With simple, spare text from celebrated author Carole Boston Weatherford and colorful, playful art from Reggie Brown capturing the pleasures of boyhood and friendship, Bros affirms the truth that Black boys deserve and are worthy of a childhood full of joy and free of risk, just as much as anyone. Timely and buoyant, it’s a story sure to be enjoyed by anyone who knows what it is to be surrounded by friends with a day of adventure ahead of you.

Celebrate the bond between parent and child in this touching picture book.

This touching story from bestselling author Doloris Jordan celebrates the blessings new parents wish for their babies all through their lives. With a strong emphasis on the bonds families share, the inspirational text is accompanied by exquisite art from renowned illustrator James E. Ransome. From infancy to adulthood, there is always a place for Baby Blessings.

“Provocative and engaging ... indispensable for those seeking to understand the malignancy and toxicity of US imperialism” Gerald Horne, author of The Counter-Revolution of 1776

“Skillfully details how radicalism and Black freedom struggles have been betrayed and diminished. This insightful book offers a clarity that is desperately needed in these times” Joy James, editor of Confronting Counterinsurgency

“Tells the story of a Black radical archive as it dismantles the perpetual counterinsurgency of US nation-building” Dylan Rodríguez, author of Counterinsurgency Machine

Since the founding of the United States, the white power structure has engaged in an unceasing effort to disorganize and sedate its Black population through incremental concessions and symbolic gestures.

Joshua Briond shows how these “colonial lullabies” have shaped the course of American history. Recontextualizing major historical events—from the Civil War through to the civil rights movement, the expansion of the carceral state and even the Obama presidency—he argues that each period produced distinct types of reform, all deployed to neutralize Black struggles and sustain white hegemony.

Taming the Revolution builds a schematic genealogy of the white power structures and their shapeshifting capacities. By addressing the political and cultural technologies of present-day neoliberal reformism—an ever-evolving toolkit of pacification, domestication and cooptation—Briond demystifies different forms of state and extra-state adaptation to the insurgencies of oppressed peoples.

Joshua Briond is a writer, and the co-founder and co-host of the podcast Millennials Are Killing Capitalism. He is a PhD student based between New York, Charlotte, and Chicago.

A heartwarming Thanksgiving children's book celebrating gratitude, family, and the magic of coming together.

'Twas More Than Just A Little Thanksgiving is a joyful and beautifully illustrated holiday story that follows children as they prepare for a special Thanksgiving celebration filled with love, laughter, tradition, and delicious food. Perfect for storytime, classroom read-alouds, and cozy bedtime moments, this festive tale reminds young readers what the holiday truly means.

More than a feast, this Thanksgiving children's book teaches gratitude, kindness, and the importance of family and community.

With warm storytelling and vibrant images, kids will discover how small acts of love and appreciation can create big holiday magic.

Parents, teachers, and caregivers will love how this book:

- Encourages thankfulness and family bonding

- Spotlights diverse children's holiday experiences

- Makes a wonderful Thanksgiving bedtime story

- Supports early readers with engaging, rhythmic text

- Celebrates culture, community, and togetherness

Whether you're building your child's holiday library or looking for a memorable read-aloud, this book pairs perfectly with your Thanksgiving traditions, fall classroom lessons, or family gatherings.

If you enjoy diverse children's books, Thanksgiving picture books, and stories that uplift gratitude and family, this is the perfect addition to your holiday collection.