Amy Sherald’s work, life, and significance for American art, as revealed in her powerful figurative paintings of Black subjects
 
Bringing together nearly all of her artwork to date, this lavishly illustrated volume situates the work of Amy Sherald (b. 1973) within the context of American realist and figurative painting. Encompassing the full arc of her career, from her poetic early works to the distinctive figure paintings and portraits that have become her hallmark, Amy Sherald: American Sublime unfolds her method of selecting individuals she meets on the street and using facial expression, body language, and clothing choices to create paintings that transcend portraiture and expand the canon of American art. Essays by curators Sarah Roberts and Rhea Combs; poet and writer Elizabeth Alexander; artist Dario Calmese; and renowned scholar Deborah Willis contextualize and illuminate Sherald’s creation of a new form of imaginative portraiture. Often depicting her subjects’ skin in gray monochrome, surrounded by few markers of place, time, or context beyond the clothes they wear, Sherald challenges the assumption that Black life is inextricably bound with struggle, creating images that engage in more expansive thinking about race and representation and the wide-open possibilities and complexities of every individual. Whether a passerby or the former first lady Michelle Obama, Sherald’s subjects are at ease with themselves, the world, and one another.
 
Published in association with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
 
Exhibition Schedule:
 
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
(November 16, 2024–March 9, 2025)
 
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
(April 9–August 3, 2025)
 
National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC
(September 2025–January 2026)

*Paperback Release Date - 6/23/26*

Brace for the storm of the earth-shaking finale to Tomi Adeyemi’s #1 New York Times-bestselling Legacy of Orïsha series.

New allies rise.
The Blood Moon nears.
Zélie faces her final enemy.
The king who hunts her heart.

When Zelie seized the royal palace that fateful night, she thought her battles had come to an end. The monarchy had finally fallen. The maji had risen again. Zélie never expected to find herself locked in a cage and trapped on a foreign ship. Now warriors with iron skulls traffic her and her people across the seas, far from their homeland.

Then everything changes when Zélie meets King Baldyr, her true captor, the ruler of the Skulls, and the man who has ravaged entire civilizations to find her. Baldyr’s quest to harness Zélie’s strength sends Zélie, Amari, and Tzain searching for allies in unknown lands.

But as Baldyr closes in, catastrophe charges Orïsha’s shores. It will take everything Zélie has to face her final enemy and save her people before the Skulls annihilate them for good.

*Paperback Release Date - 4/28/26*

A glorious chronicle of a life like none other—enlightening, entertaining, surprising, empowering—and a testament to the world-changing power of Black motherhood

“You are Celestine,” she said. She squatted to push the hair off my face and pull leaves off my pajama legs. “Like my sister and my grandmother.” And there under the pecan tree, as she did countless times, that day my mother told me stories of the mothers and daughters that went before me.

Tina Knowles, the mother of iconic singer-songwriters Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Solange Knowles, and bonus daughter Kelly Rowland, is known the world over as a Matriarch with a capital M: a determined, self-possessed, self-aware, and wise woman who raised and inspired some of the great artists of our time. But this story is about so much more than that.

Matriarch begins with a precocious, if unruly, little girl growing up in 1950s Galveston, the youngest of seven. She is in love with her world, with extended family on every other porch and the sounds of Motown and the lapping beach always within earshot. But as the realities of race and the limitations of girlhood set in, she begins to dream of the world beyond. Her instincts and impulsive nature drive her far beyond the shores of Texas to discover the life awaiting her on the other side of childhood.

That life’s journey—through grief and tragedy, creative and romantic risks and turmoil, the nurturing of superstar offspring and of her own special gifts—is the remarkable story she shares with readers here. This is a page-turning chronicle of family love and heartbreak, of loss and perseverance, and of the kind of creativity, audacity, and will it takes for a girl from Galveston to change the world. It’s one brilliant woman’s intimate and revealing story, and a multigenerational family saga that carries within it the story of America—and the wisdom that women pass on to each other, mothers to daughters, across generations.

Some families gather for big dinners, but in my house we feast at breakfast! As Grandma and I cook our favorite Jamaican dishes, I learn why that is.

The girl in this story and her grandmother are making breakfast for the whole family! Jamaican favorites like ackee and saltfish, fried dumplings and delicious cho cho are on the menu today. As they chop and stir, and the food simmers and sizzles, the girl has one big question for Grandma ― why does their family eat such BIG breakfasts?

Through the process of cooking traditional foods, and through Grandma’s stories of life in Jamaica before their family emigrated to Canada, the girl learns more about the historical, economic and social reasons for their big breakfasts ― and she explores her culture as someone not born in Jamaica, but still connected to the island.

Grandma, Cho Cho and Me is inspired by the author’s childhood experiences born to Jamaican migrant parents, and beautifully illustrated by Paulica Santos. Memories of tropical landscapes, garden-fresh greens and mouthwatering meals overflow in Paulica Santos’s lush, mixed-media illustrations.

Key Text Features

illustrations

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1

With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3

With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.4

Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.6

With prompting and support, name the author and illustrator of a story and define the role of each in telling the story.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7

With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3

Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4

Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7

Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.

Paperback Release: April 21, 2026

We endure so much over the course of our lives. Some of it is beautiful; some of it traumatic and sometimes, that trauma can keep us from realizing and embracing all the good we cultivate; our successes and achievements and positive relationships. 

This book is for those who feel like something in life is missing, like they want to change some aspect of their lives or themselves, but are being held back as they are denying the true origin of these feelings...so they are stuck. They may be high-achievers and externally, their life looks perfect, yet they are struggling to accept themselves, or even like themselves. They lack the tools, self-trust and personal power to make their ideal life real. In this space, Devi Brown offers help for those struggling to recognize the barriers that keep them from experiencing joy, vulnerability, and self-knowledge. Sharing the wisdom she has gathered as a healer and master well-being educator, Brown guides readers along the path to self-mastery through a combination of spirituality, psychology, ancient wisdom traditions, edgy holistic self-care, and her own inspiring and surprising life experiences. Readers will: 

• Learn aligned decision-making
• Gain practices to alleviate internal suffering
• Expand awareness of their unhelpful patterns 
• Discover an integrated approach to self-love and self-acceptance 
• Live in embodied wellness 

For all those seeking self-improvement, this is an essential manual for getting out of your head and into your life. It is a full-bodied approach to total transformation of mind, body, and spirit.  You can heal your life while fully living it. You can learn from life while enjoying it. You can cultivate a stable inner peace even amidst chaos, and release control to find the flow for your life's unique path. 

*Paperback Release Date - 7/21/26*

“A game-changer for workplace dynamics” ―Eve Rodsky, New York Times bestselling author of Fair Play

The author of The Memo helps you discover what you need to navigate every workplace communication challenge with confidence.

We are living in a world of broken trust, especially in the workplace. Employees have heard too many empty promises and are unmotivated. Managers are scrambling to keep eyes on direct reports in demanding environments. Nobody knows how to talk to one another. Trust is the central pillar of any functioning workplace. But without it too many of us are unhappy, fed up, and ready to walk out the door.

Minda Harts knows from years of experience as a highly sought-after workplace consultant how a lack of trust between colleagues, managers, and executive leaders is bad for business and our own professional well-being. That’s where the seven workplace trust languages come into play. Earning trust is different for every one of us. Some respond well to verbal affirmations of their contributions, while others need visibility to see how business decisions are made. By understanding the seven languages of trust―transparency, security, demonstration, feedback, acknowledgment, sensitivity, and follow-through―we can all learn to navigate conflict, be more productive, and communicate more effectively.

In Talk to Me Nice, you’ll learn what workplace trust languages work for you and how to show colleagues, managers, and direct reports that they are valued. When we’re talking one another’s languages, we can rebuild a more equitable, sustainable, and profitable workplace that works for us all.

*Paperback Release Date - 6/23/2026*

Euphoria meets Girl in Pieces in this coming-of-age story of a girl trying to put a grief-stricken past behind her, only to be startled by the discovery of a long-lost sister who puts into question everything she thought she knew.

Amélie Cœur has never known what it truly means to be happy.

She thought she’d found happiness once, in a love that ended in tragedy and nearly sent her over the edge. Now, at seventeen, Mel is beginning to piece her life back together. Under the supervision of Laurelle Child Services, the exclusive foster care agency that raised her, Mel is sober and living with a new family among Manhattan’s elite. It’s her last chance at adoption before she ages out of the system, and she promised, this time, she’ll try.

But a casual relationship with a boy is turning into something she never intended for it to be, causing small cracks in her carefully constructed walls. Then the sister she has no memory of contacts Mel, unearthing complicated feelings about the past and what could have been.

As the anniversary of the worst day of her life approaches, Mel must weather the rising tides of grief and depression before she loses herself, and those close to her, all over again.

This lyrical celebration of Juneteenth, deeply rooted in Black American history, spans centuries and reverberates loudly and proudly today.

After 300 years of forced bondage;
hands bound, descendants of Africa
picked up their souls—all that they owned—
leaving shackles where they fell on the ground,
headed for the nearest resting place to be found.

Deeply emotional, evocative free verse by poet and activist Sojourner Kincaid Rolle traces the solemnity and celebration of Juneteenth from its 1865 origins in Galveston, Texas to contemporary observances all over the United States. This is an ode to the strength of Black Americans and a call to remember and honor a holiday whose importance reverberates far beyond the borders of Texas.

Leading Binnizá and Maya Ch'orti' scientist Jessica Hernandez, PhD, weaves together Indigenous knowledge, environmental science, and personal family stories in her highly anticipated follow-up to the LA Times best-seller Fresh Banana Leaves.

Not every environmental problem is a result of climate change, but every environmental and climate change problem is a result of colonialism.

Dr. Jessica Hernandez offers readers an Indigenous, Global-South lens on the climate crisis, delivering a compelling and urgent exploration of its causes—and its costs. She shares how the impacts of colonial climate catastrophe—from warming oceans to forced displacement of settler ontologies—can only be addressed at the root if we reorient toward Indigenous science and follow the lead of Indigenous peoples and communities.

Growing Papaya Trees explores:

* Energy as a sociopolitical issue
* The interconnectedness of natural disasters, sociopolitical turmoil, and forced migration
* Our oceans, our forests, and our Indigenous futures
* Moving Indigenous science from mere acknowledgement into real action
* How to nourish Indigenous roots when displaced beyond borders

Dr. Hernandez asks: what does it mean to be Indigenous when we’re separated from our lands? How do we nurture future generations knowing they, too, will have to live away from their ancestral places? She illuminates that cultures are not lost, even amid genocide, turmoil, war, and climate displacement—and shows us how to be better kin to each other against the ecological violence, colonial oppression, and distorted status quo of the Global North.

Amazon Editors' Pick - August 2024
Gizmodo's New Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Books Releasing in August
Screenrant #1 Most Anticipated Book in Sci-fi Coming Out in August

⭐ "Readers will devour this." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
⭐ "While this book may be short, its impact is anything but small." —Kirkus (starred review)

Part science fiction, part fantasy, and entirely infused with West African culture and spirituality, this novella offers an intimate glimpse into the life of a teenager whose coming of age will herald a new age for her world. Set in the universe Africanfuturist luminary Nnedi Okorafor first introduced in the World Fantasy Award-winning Who Fears Death, this is the first in the She Who Knows trilogy

When there is a call, there is often a response.

Najeeba knows.

She has had The Call. But how can a 13-year-old girl have the Call? Only men and boys experience the annual call to the Salt Roads. What’s just happened to Najeeba has never happened in the history of her village. But it’s not a terrible thing, just strange. So when she leaves with her father and brothers to mine salt at the Dead Lake, there’s neither fanfare nor protest. For Najeeba, it’s a dream come true: travel by camel, open skies, and a chance to see a spectacular place she’s only heard about. However, there must have been something to the rule, because Najeeba’s presence on the road changes everything and her family will never be the same.

Small, intimate, up close, and deceptively quiet, this is the beginning of the Kponyungo Sorceress.

We're meeting to discuss Homemade Love by J. California Cooper!

BOOK CLUB MEETING DEETS

When: Thursday, March 26 @ 7PM CST

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

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

ABOUT HOMEMADE LOVE

In one of the best-loved volumes of her work, J. California Cooper tells exuberant tales full of wonder at the mystery of life and the hardness of fate. Awed, bedeviled, bemused, all of Cooper's characters are borne up by the sheer power of life itself.

We're meeting to discuss 107 Days by Kamala Harris!

BOOK CLUB MEETING DEETS

When: Tuesday, March 17 @ 7PM CST

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

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

ABOUT 107 Days