The Jubilee Reader Issue 13 - September/October 2024
The Jubilee Reader
Recent books by African American writers, writers from the African diaspora, and on related topics.
Issue 13 • September/October 2024
Fiction
The 7-10 Split by
Karmen Lee
Former best friends Ava and Grace find themselves drawn together romantically when they are forced to coach their school’s bowling team.
Bitter and Sweet
by Rhonda McKnight
Allow Me to Introduce Myself
by Onyi Nwabineli
A woman whose childhood was chronicled online and monetized by her entrepreneurial step-mother finds a purpose in life when she decides to save her younger sister from the same fate.
Asked by their grandmother to save their ailing grandfather’s restaurant, two estranged sisters at crossroads in their lives discover fresh opportunities when they revisit old hurts.
Blessings
by Chukwuebuka Ibeh
Banished to a boarding school after his father observes him in an intimate moment with another boy, a Nigerian teenager grapples with the potential repercussions of proposed legislation to outlaw samesex relationships.
Control by
Omar Tyree
An Atlanta therapist finds her life descending into madness when she uncovers a common denominator linking six of her entertainment-industry clients.
Ella by Diane Richards
A fictionalized recounting of the life of legendary singer Ella Fitzgerald, tracing her escape from an infamous training school that forced her to dance on the street for money to her amateur debut at the Apollo Theatre in 1934.
The House of Broken Bricks
by Fiona Williams
After moving to the English countryside, a London woman of Jamaican descent and her white husband are beset by complicated feelings and questions of belonging when their fraternal twins — one who presents as Black, the other as white — are born.
A Little Kissing Between Friends
by Chencia C. Higgins
A free-spirited DJ with commitment issues who falls for her good friend — an in-demand dancer at the hottest strip club in Houston — must navigate the blurred lines between friendship, attraction, and desire.
Little Rot
by Akwaeke Emezi
Following a misunderstanding at a high-priced sex party, three friends are sucked into the corrupt Nigerian underworld and must discover the lengths they will go to in order to save each other.
Long After We Are Gone
by Terah Shelton Harris
After their father dies, four North Carolina siblings burdened by a lifetime of secrets must return home to save their ancestral land from a development company that wants to turn it into a luxury resort.
Lost Ark Dreaming
by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
In a class-stratified future, the survivors of the flooded Earth must reckon with the past when the kilometershigh towers they call home are threatened by an underwater horror.
A Love Like the Sun
by Riss M. Neilson
A privacy-loving homebody hoping to boost her family’s small-town business pretends to date her internet-famous friend and discovers real romance.
Missing White Woman
by Kellye Garrett
Invited on a dream vacation by her new boyfriend, a woman wakes up to a real-life nightmare: Her boyfriend has disappeared and the foyer of their luxury Airbnb rental now contains the bloodied body of another woman.
The Road to the Country
by Chigozie Obioma
In 1960s Nigeria, a shy, bookish student sets out on an impossible rescue mission when his younger brother disappears into the chaos of the country’s civil war.
A Run at Love
by Toni Shiloh
A woman determined to become the first Black female owner of a champion racehorse must contend with scandal — and romance — on her way to the winner’s circle.
Skin & Bones
by Renée Watson
The Secret Keeper of Main Street
by Trisha R. Thomas
In 1954 Oklahoma, a Black dressmaker with the gift of second sight finds herself thrust into the center of a murder investigation when a vision convinces her to help one of her clients.
A single mother questions everything she’s learned about dating, friendship, and motherhood when a wedding-day confession rocks her world.
Summer on Highland Beach
by Sunny Hostin
A woman enduring intense family drama must decide if she wants to return to the beautiful life she’s created in Sag Harbor, New York, or finally achieve her dream of having a home and family of her own, in the oldest Black resort community in America.
Swift River
by Essie Chambers
A biracial teenager in a dying New England mill town receives a letter from a relative she’s never met that introduces her to two generations of Black relatives, providing her with a new sense of her place in the world.
Taming a Heartbreaker
by Brenda Jackson
A notorious heartbreaker reunited at a family wedding with a sweet and hopeless romantic finds their intimate conversation turning into a night they’ll never forget — one that could have consequences in nine short months.
Waiting for Friday Night
by Synithia Williams
A high school principal who conceived her daughter using IVF discovers that the biological father is a coach and teacher at her school.
Non-Fiction
Business
The Beauty of Success by
Kendra Bracken-Ferguson
The founder and CEO of BrainTrust presents a blueprint for starting, growing, and accelerating one’s career while sowing the seeds of self-awareness and self-reflection.
Cooking
Food Gifts: 150+
Irresistible Recipes for Crafting Personalized Presents by Elle
Simone Scott
From food stylist and America’s Test Kitchen cast member Scott, a guide to 150 homemade food gifts, including Fruits of the Forest Liqueur, Banana Caramel Pie in a Jar, and Chocolate Ginger Truffles.
Health
Facing the Unseen: The Struggle to Center Mental Health in Medicine
by Damon Tweedy
The best-selling author of Black Man in a White Coat advocates for a more holistic and integrated approach towards mental illness through a healthcare system that prioritizes the overall well-being of individuals.
Motherland Herbal: The Story of African Holistic Health
by Stephanie Rose Bird
Herbalist Bird presents an encyclopedic work of African healing and herbal medicine that showcases an array of recipes and rituals.
House & Home
Throwbacks Home Interiors
by Bo Shepherd
A guide to incorporating found and reclaimed materials into one’s home decor, from the founders of Woodward Throwbacks, which uses reclaimed materials to create original furniture and home goods.
Memoir
Coming Home
by Brittney Griner
Women’s basketball icon and two-time Olympic gold medalist Griner recounts her imprisonment in Russia and her journey home.
The Dead Don’t Need Reminding: In Search of Fugitives,
Mississippi, and Black TV Nerd Sh*t
by Julian Randall
Author and poet Randall recounts his battles with depression and his determination to uncover the story of his white-passing grandfather, who was driven from his Mississippi home by threats of violence.
Late
Admissions: Confessions of a Black Conservative
by Glenn C. Loury
A memoir from a public intellectual and prizewinning economist that covers his personal odyssey and his changing positions on identity, race, and belief.
Life’s Too Short
by
Darius Rucker
The Grammy-winning lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish tells his story through the music that made him and shares tales of his road-hardened life.
Pretty
by
KB Brookins
A young trans writer shines a light on the beauty and toxicity of Black masculinity from a transgender perspective, in a memoir about queerness, race, and coming to terms with always being perceived as “other.”
Seen Yet Unseen: A Black Woman Crashes the Tech Fraternity by Bärí
A. Williams
A behind-the-scenes look at how the tech industry’s exclusion of and hostility towards Black women has had lasting impacts on everyday technology.
Wild Life: Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World
by Rae Wynn-Grant
A wildlife ecologist explores the relationship between humans, animals, and the earth, and argues for a more connected and more socially and ecologically conscious world.
The Jazzmen: How Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie Transformed America
by Larry Tye
A history of Black America in the early-to-mid 1900s, told through the lives of jazz legends Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie.
Jelly Roll Blues: Censored Songs &
Hidden Histories
by Elijah Wald
Music historian Wald follows Jelly Roll Morton on a journey through the hidden worlds and forbidden songs of early blues and jazz.
The Notebooks of Sonny Rollins
by Sonny Rollins
A selection of writings on technique, music theory, daily routine, spirituality, and more, from the personal journals of legendary saxophonist Sonny Rollins.
Personal Finance
F.I.R.E. for Dummies
by Jackie Cummings Koski
A guide to the F.I.R.E (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement that provides tips on now to decrease debts, taxes, and expenses, while increasing earnings, savings, and investing.
Self-Help
Get Honest or Die Lying: Why Small Talk Sucks by Charlamagne Tha God
The cohost of the nationally syndicated morning radio show The Breakfast Club shares his thoughts on growth, empowerment, and evolution in our fastchanging world.
Undiplomatic:
How My Attitude Created the Best Kind of Trouble by
Deesha Dyer
A community organizer and executive operations expert reveals how she overcame imposter syndrome, unearthed true love for herself, and learned her unique worth is inherently deserved.
What It Takes to Heal: How Transforming Ourselves Can Change the World
by Prentis Hemphill
A therapist and activist weaves together experiences as a trauma survivor with clinical accounts and lessons learned from their time as a social movement architect.
When
We Are Seen by Denise Young
Apple’s former HR chief and first VP of inclusion and diversity recounts growing up Black and female in a world with little regard for either and shares insights on how to unlock one’s own potential.
Sociology
Black Meme: A History of the Images That Make Us
by Legacy Russell
The author of Glitch Feminism explores the concept of the “meme” as mapped to Black visual culture from 1900 to the present.
This Thread of Gold: A Celebration of Black Womanhood
by Catherine Joy White
Blending history, reporting, and personal stories, the gender advisor to the UN celebrates Black women who have challenged stereotypes through film, politics, and activism.
White Poverty: How Exposing Myths About Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy
by William J. Barber II
An advocate for the rights of the poor addresses white poverty as a neglected subject and potential key to uniting tens of millions of working-class and impoverished whites with low-income Blacks.
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