Voices

Charlotte Pierce-Baker’s son was 25-years old the night his bipolar disorder truly began to manifest itself to his family. At the time, Mark was pursuing a postgraduate degree in film, living in California with his fiancée and, from the perspective of his attentive and supportive parents living across the country, he was leading a relatively […]

With love, sex and romance consistent hot topics debut author Sadeqa Johnson stuffs all three into a carry-on bag and takes readers on a trip into a long distance relationship that will leave minds open and hearts aching for a chance to experience such high-living.  LOVE IN A CARRY-ON BAG (12th Street Press; March 2012; $14.95), tells […]

Singer Ledisi has penned a new book, Better Than Alright: Finding Peace, Love & Power (Essence – June 2012; $16.95). Her new book is an innovative collaboration with Essence magazine. It is a collection of Ledisi’s personal photos, quotes, lyrics and richly detailed stories. Beginning with her performance at Essence’s first Black Women in Hollywood […]

The Classroom and The Cell: Conversations With Black America (Third World Press; December 2011; $14.95) is a collection of conversations between celebrity intellectual Marc Lamont Hill and famed political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal. It’s a shining example of African American men speaking for themselves about the many forces impacting their lives. Covering topics such as race, […]

New York Times and #1 Essence bestselling author, Mary Monroe, has been described by the Chicago Sun-Times as a “remarkable talent,” known for insightful, entertaining and poignant stories spun around the complicated dynamics between friends, lovers and family. The daughter of sharecroppers and the first in her family to graduate high school, Alabama-born Monroe has […]

From New York Times bestselling author Kimberla Lawson Roby comes the ninth installment in her award-winning Reverend Curtis Black series, The Reverend’s Wife (Grand Central Publishing; May 2012; $24.99) It’s been months since Reverend Curtis learned that his wife, Charlotte, had affairs with two different men, and for now, he continues to be cordial and […]

Two African American women offer the first ever handbook on navigating the exciting, tricky, and potentially dangerous terrain of interracial relationships with personal anecdotes, historical context, pop cultural references, and expert tips on how to make the bumpy ride a bit smoother. When it comes to black women, the statistics have been grim when it […]

Ruth Watson, a former writer for the Atlanta-Journal &Constitution and Upscale magazine, has penned an impossible to put down, page-turner. Set against the backdrop of post- World War I, BLACKBERRY DAYS OF SUMMER (Strebor Books; $15; June 2012) is a compelling look at the Jim Crow era in rural Virginia.   This suspenseful tale of deceit […]

Author, David J. Leonard’s newest book,  After Artest: The NBA and the Assault on Blackness (SUNY Press; May 2012; $29.95) explores how the NBA moved to govern black players and the expression of blackness after the “Palace Brawl” of 2004. On November 19, 2004, a fight between NBA players Ron Artest and Ben Wallace escalated […]

“Payback Ain’t Enough” (Cash Money Content; April 2012; $14.99) is the follow up to Wahida Clark’s bestselling title “Payback With Ya Life” (2008).  Payback With Ya Life was one of the few urban fiction releases to appear on the New York Times Extended Bestseller list. “Payback Is A Mutha,” the first release from the trilogy, […]

Readers have come to love Sarah Pekkanen’s novels in large part because she writes stories about women whose lives often reflect that of the women who eagerly turn the pages of her books. Reading Sarah Pekkanen’s novel is a literary experience.  Her extraordinary talent for creating compelling characters is what has earned her a permanent […]

Victoria Christopher Murray brings us her latest novel, DESTINY’S DIVAS (Touchstone Books / A Simon & Schuster Trade Paperback; June 2012; $15) where secrets, scandal, and sin abound in the private lives of a popular evangelic gospel group. Sierra, Raine, and Liza, are Destiny’s Divas, and their hit tracks are just starting to gain them […]