RIP Jesse Jackson
Civil Rights leader, presidential candidate, and human rights advocate Jesse Jackson died yesterday. He was part of so much modern Black History.
Language as Liberation: Reflections on the American Canon by Toni Morrison
Language as Liberation: Reflections on the American Canon by Toni Morrison is a masterclass lecture collection from her tenure as a professor at Princeton University. She interrogates America’s most famous works and authors, and the way their black characters shaped the nation’s collective unconscious, and helped manufacturer American racial identity. A timely read for Black History …
PNW Authors receive 2026 Walter Dean Myers Honors
Congratulations to PNW authors Renée Watson and Idris Goodwin on their Walter Dean Meyers Honors from We Need Diverse Books! Announcing the 2026 Walter Dean Myers Awards and Honor Books The We Need Diverse Books Walter Awards Judging Committee has selected the Winners and Honorees for the eleventh annual Walter Dean Myers Awards for Outstanding …
Palaver by Bryan Washington
Palaver centers on the relationship between a queer Black man living in Japan and his mother, who unexpectedly visits from the US. The book explores the hurt we accumulate and carry with us as adults. It looks at the difficulties of tending to that hurt while living our day-to-day lives and the hard work of …
Ring Shout by P Djeli Clark and Tender Is the Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica
Two Face Outs/ “walk me to the shelf” recs for Brian Juenemann, the Executive Director of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, from India at Spoke & Word Books in Milwaukie, OR: Klan members are turning into nasty little monsters (their outsides matching their insides) called ku kluxes. Our trio of badasses is unaliving them in …
The History of We by Nikkolas Smith
A history of humanity in picture book form. This book is poetry and art – it is stunning and incredibly moving. More than all that, it’s also a book that seeks to remind us that we are a “we” – that we have more in common than we often think. It’s a celebration of humanity. …
Celebrating Third Eye Books and Black History Month
Hooray for Portland’s Third Eye Books, a Black-owned bookstore! They were featured on KATU news. Watch the story here! Read more about Third Eye Books in our archive. Let’s make sure to celebrate Black bookstores and Black stories every month.
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty follows Feyi’s journey to find love years after a traumatizing accident upends her life. Decadent food descriptions and a lavish background make this book […] so hard to put down. –Alex, Browsers Books, Olympia, WA Treat yourself to books you can’t put down from Browsers Books …
Black-owned Bookstore Feature: Grand Gesture Books, Portland, OR
Grand Gesture Books, a Black-owned romance bookstore that debuted as an online store in 2023, opened its brick-and-mortar storefront in Portland, OR in the fall of 2024. The 1,200-square-foot store focuses on romance. Store owner Katherine Morgan is a former Powell’s bookseller; she was responsible for their romance section. She writes, “I strive to make …
A Love Like the Sun by Riss M. Neilson
Laniah and Issac have been best friends since childhood, and it seems like everyone knows they’re meant for each other– except themselves. Issac, now a famous model, needs to pump up his reputation, and Laniah needs a boost in sales for her family-run hair care business. As one does, the two decide to forge a …
