Reared in Houston (Freedmen’s Town), Texas, Emmett J. Scott was a journalist, newspaper editor, government official, author, and chief of staff, adviser, and ghostwriter to Booker T. Washington. Called “the power broker of the Tuskegee Machine,” Scott was a Renaissance man, scholar, and political fixer. However, his life has not received a full examination until now.

Built upon fifty years of research, Maceo C. Dailey’s Emmett J. Scott offers fascinating detail by describing Scott’s role in promoting the Tuskegee Institute. Before his 2015 death, Dailey had nearly singular access to the Scott papers at Morgan State University, which have been officially closed for decades. Readers will finally be exposed to Scott’s behind-the-scenes contributions to racial uplift and will see his influential role in advancing not only the Tuskegee Institute but also the Booker T. Washington agenda.

Editors Will Guzmán and David H. Jackson Jr. lend their own expertise in bringing Dailey’s lifetime project to fruition. Two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning historian David Levering Lewis, a close friend of Dailey’s, provides a timely foreword. Former Black Panther Party chairwoman Elaine Brown, Scott’s granddaughter, reflects on his impact and her relationship with the Scott family in the afterword.

Taken together, this work of biography is an impressive reference and an essential endeavor of recovery, one that restores to prominence the life and legacy of Emmett J. Scott.

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.

From the critically acclaimed and award-winning creators of Crown and I Am Every Good Thing, Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James, comes an illustrated nonfiction young adult homage to Black athlete activists throughout history.

This is not your typical book about sports. This one begins…
“AN ATHLETE PROTESTING THE MISTREATMENT OF AMERICAN CITIZENS DOES NOT MAKE THEM ANTI-AMERICAN.”
And through a series of powerful poems, freedom-oriented prose, and dynamic illustration, Derrick Barnes and Gordon C. James introduce young readers and change-makers to athletes such as Muhammad Ali, Curt Flood, and Elgin Baylor who used their voices and influence to shake up the landscape of American sports and justice.

* TIMELY AND TOPICAL: Teaches readers about a continued cultural discussion from a resonant and impactful perspective.
* MADE TO CAPTURE THE ATTENTION OF YOUNG READERS: With a mix of prose, poetry, quotes, and illustrations, readers can dive into important history that might otherwise go untold.
* FROM AN AWARD-WINNING TEAM: Caldecott Honoree Gordon C. James and Kirkus Prize, Coretta Scott King Honor, and Newbery Honor recipient Derrick Barnes have teamed up again to create a memorable, impactful, and important book---this time for young adults.

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.

Through his work across many media, Houston and Los Angeles-based artist Vincent Valdez bears witness to the world around him, chronicling an America at the margins. Vincent Valdez: Just a Dream… features work from over twenty years and writings addressing Valdez's work through the lens of politics, history and humanity. Valdez's approach to imaging his country, its people, politics, pride, and foibles includes boxing, lynchings of Mexican Americans, border walls, politics, greed, the Ku Klux Klan, and the failings and triumphs of American society. Vincent Valdez: Just a Dream… accompanies survey exhibitions of his work by the same name at the Contemporary Art Museum of Houston (CAMH) in 2024-5 and MASS MoCA in 2025-6. The bilingual (English/Spanish) publication features both full-color works and a gatefold for The Strangest Fruit as well as a sewn-in booklet of behind-the-scenes studio images. Texts include a reprint of Joyce Carol Oates' On Boxing, essays by exhibition co-curators Denise Markonish and Patricia Restrepo; and a text by Evan Garza on the artist's relationship to Texas.