African American English

In 1958 Georgia, the shade of a 13-year-old black girl's skin can make the difference in her fate. Tangy Mae is the smartest of her mother's 10 children, but she is also the darkest complected. The Quinns - all different skin shades, all with unknown fathers - live with their charismatic, beautiful, and tyrannical mother, Rozelle, in poverty on the fringes of a Georgia town where Jim Crow rules. Rozelle's children live in fear of her mood swings and her violence, but they are devoted to her. Rozelle pulls her children out of school when they are 12 years old so that they can help support her by going to work.

New York Times bestseller * Six starred reviews At once provocative, terrifying, and darkly subversive, Dread Nation is Justina Ireland's stunning vision of an America both foreign and familiar—a country on the brink, at the explosive crossroads where race, humanity, and survival meet. Jane...

Presenting the essential writings of black lesbian poet and feminist writer Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider celebrates an influential voice in 20th-century literature. In this charged collection of 15 essays and speeches, Lorde takes on sexism, racism, ageism, homophobia, and class and propounds social difference as a vehicle for action and change. Her prose is incisive, unflinching, and lyrical, reflecting struggle but ultimately offering messages of hope.

""Fast, hard, and effortlessly authentic—both lead character Eric Steele and author Sean Parnell are the real deal.""—Lee Child ""An exciting, action-packed debut! Bristling with intrigue, deceit, power, and treason—once you pick this book up, you will NOT be able to put it down. Sean...

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Proposal and a “rising star in the romance genre” (Entertainment Weekly) comes a dazzling novel about a spontaneous holiday vacation that turns into an unforgettable romance. Vivian Forest has been out of the country a grand total of one time...

*Selected as One of the Best Books of the 21st Century by The New York Times * WINNER of the NATIONAL BOOK AWARD and A NEW YORK TIMES TOP 10 BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A finalist for the Kirkus Prize, Andrew Carnegie Medal, Aspen Words Literary Prize, and a New York Times bestseller, this majestic...

A hauntingly powerful and emotionally charged novel about family secrets, love and loss, identity and belonging. Two children trapped in the same attic, almost a century apart, bound by a shared secret. Early 1900s London: Taken from his homeland, twelve-year-old Celestine spends most of the...

At once a powerful evocation of his early life in Harlem and a disturbing examination of the consequences of racial injustice to both the individual and the body politic, James Baldwin galvanized the nation in the early days of the civil rights movement with this eloquent manifesto. The Fire Next Time stands as one of the essential works of our literature.

A blueprint. A bible. What Sun Tzu’s Art of War was to ancient China, Pimp is to the streets. As real as you can get without jumping in, this is the story of Iceberg Slim’s life as he saw, felt, tasted, and smelled it. It is a trip through hell by the one man who lived to tell the tale—the dangers of jail, addiction, and death that are still all too familiar for today’s Black community. By telling the story of one man’s struggles and triumphs in an underground world, Pimp shows us the game doesn’t change; it just has a different swagger.

Nikki Maxwell is torn between two incredible parties in this second installment of the #1 New York Times bestselling Dork Diaries series! Recipe for disaster: 4 parties. Add 2 friends and 1 crush. Divide by 1 mean girl out to RUIN Nikki. Mix well, put fingers over eyes, and CRINGE! Settled in at...

A New York Times and Washington Post Notable Book A Best Book of 2021 by BuzzFeed and Real Simple An “unmissable” (Vogue), “exceptional” (The Washington Post), and “evocative” (Chicago Tribune) memoir about three Black girls from the storied Bronzeville section of Chicago that offers...

Read by the author. Become a better husband, father, and leader when you learn to express your emotions in a healthy way. In a culture that tells men to suppress instead of express, join bestselling author, speaker, and leader Jason Wilson (featured in the award-winning ESPN documentary The Cave...

A new rip-roaring essay collection from the smart, edgy, hilarious, unabashedly raunchy, and bestselling Samantha Irby. Irby is forty, and increasingly uncomfortable in her own skin despite what Inspirational Instagram Infographics have promised her. She has left her job as a receptionist at a...

Don't miss Daniel Black's next novel Isaac's Song coming January 2025 NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK IN ESSENCE MAGAZINE, THE MILLIONS AND BOOKISH "Don't Cry for Me is a perfect song."—Jesmyn Ward A Black father makes amends with his gay son through letters written on his deathbed in this wise...

“Sheer entertainment… Bennett infuses wit and an arch sensibility into her prose… This is not mere froth, it is pure confection.” — New York Times Book Review on The Windsor Knot Amateur detective Queen Elizabeth II is back in this hugely entertaining follow-up to the bestseller The...

One of Oprah Magazine's 21 Romance Novels That Are Set to Be the Best of 2020 USA Today bestselling author Talia Hibbert returns with another charming romantic comedy about a young woman who agrees to fake date her friend after a video of him “rescuing” her from their office building goes...

Shahar and the godling Sieh must face off against the terrible magic threatening to consume their world in the incredible conclusion to the Inheritance Trilogy, from Hugo award-winning and New York Times bestselling author N. K. Jemisin. For two thousand years the Arameri family has ruled the...

Now a CW Original Movie! “This feel-good, uplifting read is filled with positive messages about self-care and self-love. It is sure to please foodies, home-makeover buffs, and anyone looking for a light-hearted romantic read.” –USA Today A sexy romance about a plus-size sweetheart who gets...

The first book in Jahquel J.’s dramatic and juicy urban romance series To All the Thugs I Loved that Didn’t Love Me Back, this story weaves a tale of love, redemption, and ambition perfect for fans of Empire. Bless has always held his younger brothers down, even when one catches a drug...

The most intimate and elaborately enhanced addition to the Hemingway Library series: Hemingway’s memoir of his safari across the Serengeti—presented with archival material from the Hemingway Collection at the John F. Kennedy Library and with the never-before-published safari journal of...