Come here. For the first time ever, social media’s “man in the mirror” Jordan Howlett invites you beyond the screen and into a life shaped by food.

Even before he achieved social media stardom as president of the Fast Food Secrets Club, food played an important role in Jordan’s life. As a child, he spent days experimenting in the kitchen with his grandmother, poring over cookbooks and trying to get her recipe for pineapple upside-down cake just right. As a college student striving to be a professional baseball player, food was fuel for building the strength he needed to excel at a time when he wasn’t even sure where his next meal would come from. As a young adult with multiple restaurant jobs, preparing food for others was a way to make ends meet.

When his TikTok videos about working in the fast-food industry began to go viral, food became a catalyst for launching Jordan’s successful media career. Whether he’s recreating a dish he loves, revealing a secret fast-food recipe, or traveling across the world to try something delicious, Jordan’s videos reflect what he has learned throughout his life: food has the power to build community and connect people.

Featuring 40 stories and 40 recipes, this cookbook-memoir shares the side of Jordan that only those closest to him know and love. He reflects on his childhood, his successes and failures, what it’s really like having a career in social media, and how sometimes Plan B can turn out better than Plan A. With family favorites like Quick Sweet Grits with Salted Butter and Cinnamon Sugar, Jordan’s go-to comfort foods like Bacon & Clam Chowder with Old Bay Saltines, and fast-food recreations like the Crunchwrap Supreme, Come Here and Cook is a delicious peek into Jordan’s famous notebook of secret recipes as well as the food that has shaped his life.

Register at https://www.crowdcast.io/e/an-evening-with-zora

We're celebrating the release of the boxed set of Zora Neale Hurston's collection of works, all with reimagined covers illustrated by incredible Black artists, and her newest release of essays, You Don't Know Us Negroes and Other Essays.

NYT bestselling author, Morgan Jerkins, will moderate a conversation with Lucy Ann Hurston (scholar and niece of Zora Neale Hurston), Patrick Dougher (cover artist for Their Eyes Were Watching God), and Genevieve West (co-editor of You Don't Know Us Negroes and Other Essays).

About the Boxed Set:

Available for the first time, this amazing boxed set includes 10 repackaged Zora Neale Hurston classics--each with a newly imagined cover by a popular contemporary Black artist. It's a beautifully-imaged package at a very affordable price point.

Cover artists are: Charly Palmer, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Jerome Lagarrigue, Patrick Dougher, Diana Ejaita, Jeff Manning, Samira Addo, Terry Lynn, Jamilla Okubo, and Tizta Berhanu.

Books included in the set:

• Dust Tracks on a Road
• Jonah's Gourd Vine
• Mules and Men
• Tell My Horse
• The Complete Stories
• Every Tongue Got to Confess
• Moses, Man of the Mountain
• Seraph on the Suwanee
• Mule Bone
• Their Eyes Were Watching God

About You Don't Know Us Negroes and Other Essays:

Spanning more than 35 years of work, the first comprehensive collection of essays, criticism, and articles by the legendary author of the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston, showcasing the evolution of her distinctive style as an archivist and author.

“One of the greatest writers of our time.”—Toni Morrison

One of the most acclaimed artists of the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston was a gifted novelist, playwright, and essayist. Drawn from three decades of her work, this anthology showcases her development as a writer, from her early pieces expounding on the beauty and precision of African American art to some of her final published works, covering the sensational trial of Ruby McCollum, a wealthy Black woman convicted in 1952 for killing a white doctor. Among the selections are Hurston’s well-known works such as “How It Feels to be Colored Me” and “My Most Humiliating Jim Crow Experience.” 

The essays in this essential collection are grouped thematically and cover a panoply of topics, including politics, race and gender, and folkloric study from the height of the Harlem Renaissance to the early years of the Civil Rights movement. Demonstrating the breadth of this revered and influential writer’s work, You Don't Know Us Negroes and Other Essays is an invaluable chronicle of a writer’s development and a window into her world and time.

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.

“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.

From Vice President Kamala Harris comes a picture book with an empowering message: Superheroes are all around us--and if we try, we can all be heroes too. A #1 New York Times bestseller!

Before Kamala Harris was elected to the vice presidency and named the Democratic presidential nominee, she was a little girl who loved superheroes. And when she looked around, she was amazed to find them everywhere! In her family, among her friends, even down the street--there were superheroes wherever she looked. And those superheroes showed her that all you need to do to be a superhero is to be the best that you can be.

In this empowering and joyful picture book that speaks directly to kids, Kamala Harris takes readers through her life and shows them that the power to make the world a better place is inside all of us. And with fun and engaging art by Mechal Renee Roe, as well as a guide to being a superhero at the end, this book is sure to have kids taking up the superhero mantle (cape and mask optional).

Praise for Superheroes Are Everywhere:

"This [book] offers a solid message: a superhero could be anyone, including you." --Booklist

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 beauty of Black hair creations through the rhyming text and vibrant collage art of lauded Coretta Scott King Award winners Carole Boston Weatherford and Ekua Holmes.

Our hair is a lioness, born to be wild.
We pride ourselves on flair and style.

Cornrows forming complex patterns. Shells and beads on boxy braids. A flowery ’fro that’s wash and go. A regal pouf that scrapes the sky. Black hair styles embody beauty and loving ritual, culture and community, expression and strength, patience and boundless creativity. Carole Boston Weatherford and Ekua Holmes bring this array of gorgeous hair designs—and the individuals who wear them—to bold and powerful life. Readers curious to know more can find an author’s note about the five Black women who made history in 2019 as title holders of five major beauty pageants, as well as a glossary describing some twenty hair styles (from Afro to updo) and other terms related to the glory of Black hair.

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?

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

13 SCARY STORIES. 13 AUTHORS OF COLOR. 13 TIMES WE SURVIVED... THE FIRST KILL.

The White Guy Dies First includes thirteen scary stories by all-star contributors and this time, the white guy dies first.

Killer clowns, a hungry hedge maze, and rich kids who got bored. Friendly cannibals, impossible slashers, and the dead who don’t stay dead....

A museum curator who despises “diasporic inaccuracies.” A sweet girl and her diary of happy thoughts. An old house that just wants friends forever....

These stories are filled with ancient terrors and modern villains, but go ahead, go into the basement, step onto the old plantation, and open the magician’s mystery box because this time, the white guy dies first.

Edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker, including stories from bestselling, award-winning, and up-and-coming contributors: Adiba Jaigirdar, Alexis Henderson, Chloe Gong, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, H. E. Edgmon, Kalynn Bayron, Karen Strong, Kendare Blake, Lamar Giles, Mark Oshiro, Naseem Jamnia, Tiffany D. Jackson, and Terry J. Benton-Walker.

A collection you’ll be dying to talk about… if you survive it.