Black History, Heart Health, Love, Grief, Legacies

It's a super hectic time for me so this month's posts will feature lists of outstanding recent and past reads that examine and celebrate the complexity of humanity as experienced embodied in Blackness.

Fiction

Someday Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli

Graydon House, November 2022

[note: themes of grief and loss of a loved one as a result of death by suicide]

"Women Who Dare" series by (Ms.) Beverly Jenkins

historical fiction, romance

Rebel

Avon, May 2019

Wild Rain

Avon, February 2021

To Catch a Raven

Avon, August 2022

"Higher Education" series by Jayce Ellis

contemporary romance

Learned Behavior

Carina Press, November 2020

Learned Reactions

Carina Press, March, 2021

Non-Fiction - recent & older releases

Buy Black: How Black Women Transformed U.S. Pop Culture by Aria S. Halliday

University of Illinois Press, April 2022

From Chapter One:

In the United States, the ideological power of images has been used by colonial settlers turned enslavers turned U.S. politicians and businessmen to construct Black people as continually outside the American politic as well as unworthy of the rights, liberties, and cultural representation secured for others in closer proximity to whiteness or wealth.

Africans in the Americas: A History of the Black Diaspora by Michael L. Conniff & Thomas J. Davis

The Blackburn Press, 2002

I've Known Rivers, Lives of Loss and Liberation by Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot

Perseus Books, 1994

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The Best Man: Unfinished Business by Malcolm D. Lee with Jayne Allen Delivers All the Feels

Black love. Black joy. Black drama. Humanity in its vast melanin array. [front cover of a paperback ARC for The Best Man: Unfinished Business; silhouette of three adults] The Best Man: Unfinished Business by Malcolm D. Lee with Jayne Allen adult contemporary fiction with romantic elements Storehouse Voices, July 2025 First, dedicated fans of The Best Man franchise and its beloved characters need not fear how they’re treated in this first of three novels. In fact. One thread of Harper’s storyline seems to reflect the real-life author/screenwriter/director’s battle to protect and maintain the integrity of The Best Man universe. Mission accomplished. Second, once readers - fans or not - start this novel they won’t want to stop. The compulsion to re/watch The Best Man movies and limited series and maybe even to reread this book while anticipating the release of book two in 2026 will prove difficult to resist. Who are you? Who are your people?...

Our Poet Laureate's Memoir + More TWWBF2025 Prep

Educator, poet, short story author, mindfulness guide and now the moniker of memoirist has been added to the long list of creative accomplishments earned by Poet Laureate of The Write Women Book Fest Aressa V. Williams. She was born and raised in the vibrant community of Washington, D.C.'s Northeast neighborhood of Deanwood. Her Memoir evokes the nostalgia, challenges, victories, heartaches and joys of her life that connect with readers across generations and locations. [photo credit: H.L. Brooks; image: two paperback ARCs of In Deanwood, A Memoir by Aressa Verdell Williams arranged on a tabletop; cover art of a sepia toned two-story colonial house with four columns - two on each side of the front door] The ebook is currently available with print copies coming soon! https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-deanwood-aressa-verdell-williams/1147594007 Just under 3 weeks before day one of The Write Women Book Fest and we've finished decorating t-shirts for our aw...

DIY Marketing TWWBF2025 + the Usual BAC Issues

Six(!) days until day one of the 6th and grand finale year of The Write Women Book Fest!!! Last week was another hard one for federal workers in the DMV area along with other ongoing challenges, making it tough for a lot of people to prioritize joy. This coming weekend TWWBF2025 intends to celebrate and support talented authors, poets, creatives, and publishing industry professionals and their work, readers and literacy advocates while we also celebrate everything positive that this event has contributed to our community since 2019. [a two-image collage: right side - two posters atop the closed lid of a baby grand piano; both with "The Write Women Book Fest, 100+ authors Golden Angel, Eden Appiah-Kubi, Courtney Duke Foster, Jeaniene Frost, Maria Vale, Erin Wright, EC Poetry & Prose, July 19th QR Code thewritewomenbookfest.org, Use code FESTNEWS25 for 30% off!"; left side - an incomplete poster with "The Write Women Book Fest" and a blank sheet of paper with a g...

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