WOC Book Club

This Wednesday, we honor the legendary science fiction writer and ancestor, Octavia E. Butler! Despite facing many challenges in school, including dyslexia, Butler had a strong passion for her education and developed a love for writing and reading science fiction. Butler’s work and dedication led her to not only publish more than fifteen books, but she went on to receive a number of prestigious awards. ✨

Butler’s feats and success are especially noteworthy considering that science fiction had been—and continues to be— dominated by white male authors: “When I began writing science fiction, when I began reading, heck, I wasn’t in any of this stuff I read. The only black people you found were occasional characters or characters who were so feeble-witted that they couldn’t manage anything, anyway. I wrote myself in since I’m me and I’m here and I’m writing.” (from a New York Times interview, 2000)

Octavia Butler opened the doors for herself and wrote Black women into science fiction, leaving those doors open for the many aspiring Black science fiction writers to come after her. A true visionary, Butler’s novels predicted the current dangers afflicting us now from climate change to American political issues, warning us about where the US and humanity in general might be heading. Through her writing, Octavia created science fiction with very material and dystopian stakes utilizing speculation and afrofuturism as means of imagining alternative futures and redefining the ‘human.’ We are endlessly grateful for the ways in which Octavia Butler has guided our paths! 💙

Naima Coster’s newest novel, 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨, will publish next week on Tuesday, March 2nd! 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨 weaves together multiple times and spaces in a non-linear telling of the various families in Piedmont, North Carolina. The narrative shifts between the members of each family and how they traverse the different, intimate periods of their own lives. Two mothers, Jade and Lacey May, face their own troubling pasts and must navigate the parenting of their children among times of unpredictability and loss.

Later in the novel, a disconcerting event magnifies all of these tensions. When a county initiative designates the transfer of students from the primarily Black part of town to the predominantly white schools on the east side, Jade and Lacey May’s children, Gee and Noelle respectively, must adapt to new environments while their mothers struggle with their own choices as parents and as members of the community. Overall, Coster’s novel contains a myriad of themes, including intergenerational relationships, race and poverty, mental health, and motherhood.

Author of 𝘿𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙖, Angie Cruz writes: "𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨 is a book about parents who try and fail and then try again. An extraordinary cast of characters, nuanced and full of insight. It's about children who hold their loved ones accountable. It reveals in absolutely engrossing and tension-filled prose how a tragedy haunts a family. Coster is a master storyteller through and through. Read this book."

Happy Morrison-Lorde day!!! Toni Morrison, born Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison, would have been 90 years old today and Audre Lorde would have been 87 years old.

Morrison was a prolific & award-winning novelist, essayist, & educator who reshaped the landscape of American literature by pushing critical depictions of Black life and experiences into the mainstream. After working for years as an editor and publishing a substantial amount of Black literature, Morrison published her first novel, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙀𝙮𝙚, at 39 years old & went on to pen approximately 37 books in her lifetime. Throughout her literary career, Morrison artfully portrayed the struggles and resilience of Black Americans, particularly Black women, living in an antiblack society.

Self-described "Black, le***an, mother, warrior, poet” Audre Lorde is best known for her technical mastery and emotional expressions of anger and outrage at civil and social injustices she observed throughout her life. Her work concerned issues related to feminism, le***anism, illness and disability, and the exploration of Black WOC identity. Believing that her words and poetry had power, Lorde revolutionized feminist criticism by calling out racism and homophobia and centering the multiplicitous experiences of q***r women of color.

we are endlessly grateful for their contributions! 🤍

Join us & share quotes or books by these literary foremothers & birthday twins in our story!

In one week, Louisa Onomé’s debut novel, 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙢𝙚, will publish on Tuesday, February 23rd!

𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙢𝙚 follows protagonist Chinelo, or Nelo, and her life in the neighborhood of Ginger East. After a deadly incident at a neighborhood arcade and the subsequent moving away of many of her best friends, Chinelo and her best friend Kate find themselves mostly on their own. But when the corner store owned by Kate’s family is vandalized, Chinelo has to navigate a new world– one filled with national news coverage, increased police presence, and most worrying, one where her and Kate’s once unwavering friendship is tested by change.

Onomé’s YA (young-adult) novel discusses the impact of gentrification, socioeconomic inequities, and what ‘community’ can mean after these unpredictable and disquieting events; it illustrates how change transforms friendships, neighborhoods, and larger perspectives. Finally, she writes about a young girl who grows up during this period of tumult and uncertainty, and how she must reconcile her emerging worldviews and her insistence that “Ginger East isn’t this kind of place anymore.”

Cherie Jones debut novel, 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙊𝙣𝙚-𝘼𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙎𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙨 𝙃𝙚𝙧 𝙃𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚, was published last week, and has gained tons of praise since! The story takes place at a fictional resort in Barbados where working-class Barbadians serve wealthy white tourists and follows Lala, a pregnant newly wed, whose abusive husband gets caught up in a robbery turned murder. The story begins with Lala’s grandmother, Wilma, telling a cautionary tale about what happens when girls disobey their mothers and flock towards trouble: they lose an arm. This analogy parallels the chaos, trauma, and troubles that emerge from both the catastrophic plot events (murder, infantcide, etc.) and the legacy of race, class, gender structures, and violence in a rapidly changing resort town in Barbados.

As a survivor of domestic abuse and as a woman who suffered the loss of her own pregnancy, Cherie Jones’ lived experiences inform the novel. When telling these stories, Jones emphasizes the role of intergenerational trauma and acknowledges the legacies of violence and abuse we are born into. However, she also tells a story of unwavering strength and resiliency.

Cherie Jones speaks to this intergenerational trauma in a LA Times article: “Wilma is tough, she expects her daughter and granddaughter to endure unimaginable abuse and suffering, partly because that is what she herself has done, partly because that is the expectation of the entire community.” Speaking to the abuse Lala suffers from at the hands of her husband, the narrator remarks: "[Lala] did not understand that for women of her lineage, a marriage meant a murder in one form or another."

TW: in**st, r**e, physical abuse, infanticide, murder

For , we will be sharing quotes from both contemporary and 20th century Black women authors on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. We will highlight one new book release each Tuesday, and on Wednesdays, we will share quotes from 20th century Black women authors who were/are trailblazers in African American literature and Black feminist thought.

This Tuesday, we are kicking off our series with Dantiel W. Moniz’s collection of stories 𝙈𝙞𝙡𝙠 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙩 which came out today, February 2, 2021. Set in the cities and suburbs of Florida, 𝙈𝙞𝙡𝙠 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙩 gives an intimate look into the lives of girls, women, and men in intergenerational tales that meditate on race, coming of age, inheritance, trauma & grief.

“The stories in Moniz’s debut collection—many of which shine a multi hued light on Black girlhood in Florida—are to not only be read but 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑡...Moniz is unafraid to expose the darkened corners of the Sunshine State, and of female desire.”—𝙊, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙊𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙝 𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙚

In an interview published on , Dantiel speaks of writing the corporeal in her fiction: “The collection is talking about connection and nourishment, what consumes you, what you consume in the body. What I wanted from these stories most of all was for them to be felt in the body.”

A huge congrats to Dantiel’s debut!

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“Before thirteen, she hadn’t realized empty was a thing you could carry. But who put it there? Sometimes she wonders if she will ever be rid of it, and other times she never wants to give it back. It is a thing she owns.”

Amanda Gorman () moved us all at today’s 2021 Inauguration with the reading of her poem “The Hill We Climb.” It was the first time many have had the privilege of hearing Amanda’s words and we wanted to make sure it wasn’t the last!

For our Wednesday quote series, we wanted to highlight a love letter she wrote called, “At The Age Of 18: An Ode to Girls of Color.” In this poem, Amanda navigates the complexities and trauma of being a woman of color, while also holding space for the joy and beauty that comes with it. ✨

Amanda is not only the youngest inaugural poet, but she is also a former National Youth Poet Laureate, recent Harvard graduate and a long-time advocate of uplifting Black girlhood through her writing. She told Mashable in 2017, “Poetry exists as a unique tool that can interrogate and communicate issues of inequality and injustice in a manner that is inherently rebellious... There's a reason tyrants fear the poet."

In addition to founding a non-profit () that nurtures youth writing, Amanda has two upcoming books — a poetry collection 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙒𝙚 𝘾𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙗 and a children’s book 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙎𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 — that will be released in September 2021! Read her full “Ode To Girls Of Color” poem here: https://www.elle.com/culture/books/a39046/amanda-gorman-poem-for-black-girls/. 💞

y’all asked....& y’all will receive: we are officially re-opening our merch campaign! Thank you so much to everyone who supported us the first round — we’ve loved seeing all of your beautiful faces in our merch 💕 Here are a few snapshots that were sent in!

If you missed it the first time around, you’ll now have 2 WEEKS before the campaign closes again on January 26 at midnight — link in bio ✨

How have you taken care of yourself today? Have you had a chance to check in with your body + mind + friends + community?

Once you’ve held space for yourself, head to the comments to read and/or spread some love & care 🪴💕



[ALT TEXT: A tweet from professor and authoress Brittney Cooper on a background of a misty window with raindrops. “My rage ain’t eloquent tonight. My wells of despair are deep. My exasperation knows no bounds as I watch treasonous mobs escape accountability and politicians not be held to account for how they incited these mobs today. Tonight my rage feels like kryptonite.”]

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝘽𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙢 is a tender, sensual love letter from Junauda Petrus-Nasah () to q***r Black women & WOC everywhere. 🌊💕

Junauda’s Afro-futuristic novel takes readers to the depths of her characters’ love, sexuality, spirituality and divinity while showing us that there is beauty in coming to terms with our own mortality.

Get your own copy of 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝘽𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙢 via the Bookshop link in our bio and be sure to follow this Minnesotan legend to keep up with more of her iconic pieces (like “The Erotics of Abolition”)! 💙

✨For LGTBQIA+ folks, Junauda has an event TONIGHT at 6pm PST/8pm CST/ 9pm EST called “Embodying, Sensing and Healing through Erotic Fiction” — link in her bio✨

[Alt text in comments!]

🤩TOTES ARE IN🤩

as everyone’s merch orders trickle in over these next few days, we wanted to take a moment to share our gratitude for the support we received during our first merch fundraiser. We had over 60 items purchased!! 🥳❤️ thank you to every single person who supported us—whether you purchased merch from Bonfire, shared our posts, bought books from our online Bookshop, or started following us— it all means the world. We are so glad to have all of you resonate with our story and mission, and can’t wait for what’s to come. 🥰 pls tag or send us your pics with our merch, we’d love to see them 😍 link to buy your own 🤍 https://www.bonfire.com/wocbookclub/