#Books by BIPOC Authors

[featherstone000]

The Black Tides of Heaven - by Neon Yang

The Tensorate has so many themes that are dear to me – gender identity, power dynamics, and a fantasy setting that is not based on medieval Europe – so, why haven’t I read it earlier? No idea. Anyway, as they say, better late than never. Title: The Black Tides of Heaven Author: Neon Yang Publication Date: 26 September 2017 Genre: Fantasy – Silkpunk Pages: 236 Standalone or Series: Tensorate…

[gennsoup]

"You know what I think? I think this whole concept of women being docile and obedient is nothing but wishful thinking. Or why would you put so much effort into lying to us? Into crippling our bodies? Into coercing us with made-up morals you claim are sacred? You insecure men, you're afraid. You can force us into compliance, but, deep down, you know you can't force us to truly love and respect you. And without love and respect, there will always be a seed of hatred and resistance. Growing. Festering. Waiting."

Xiran Jay Zhao, Iron Widow

[writingwithcolor]

Stuff your kindle day is September 20, 2023

Hey, everyone! Sept 20 -22 is Stuff Your E-Reader/Kindle Day, where you can download tons of FREE eBooks to own.

Amazon.com: stuff your kindle day

Let us know what you get and/or would recommend!

Romance bookworms: free books for a limited time

For romance readers, check out Romance Bookworms for links to free romance books.

They have sections for:

Black romance books

Books written by BIPOC Authors

Books with LGBTQ+ Protagonists

Books written by authors with disabilities

Colette's recommendation

A book series I personally recommend is the Isaac Taylor Mystery Series by Lashell Collins. It's a psychic mystery thriller series with a sweet, lightly spiced BWWM romance throughout. Their meetcute is *chef's kiss* it has an interesting cast of diverse characters and the writing is superb!

Book 1 of the series, Voices & Visions, is free to download and own today!

Happy reading!

~Mod Colette and WWC

Edit: $0 Sale continues into Friday, Sept 22! Also, you do not need Kindle Unlimited to get the eBooks. this sale applies to Nook Books and can be found in other ebook formats as well.

[black-is-beautiful18]

If your fav white character can have godhood status without anyone objecting and having to prove themself then so can characters of color.

If your fav white character can one shot somebody then so can characters of color.

If your fav white character can be angry then so can characters of color.

If your fav white character can be the savior then so can characters of color.

If your fav white character can be loved unconditionally THEN SO CAN CHARACTERS OF COLOR.

Y’all constantly want characters of color to struggle and that’s a problem. They can never just exist. They can never be powerful just because. They can’t be anything without y’all questioning why they have the right to be that way. It’s racism. Point blank period. Constantly questioning why marginalized characters aren’t struggling, why they get to show off their powers and just be is racist. The fact y’all don’t hesitate to do it either makes it even more obvious. Like what do you mean Storm not struggling does a disservice to marginalized characters??? Or that Hazel despite being super powerful doesn’t deserve to be in the seven??? Or that Bree is annoying when she is a grieving 16 year old???? What do you mean by that??????

[duckprintspress]

Happy Black History Month! Check Out 15 of Our Favorite Queer Reads by Black Authors

February is Black History Month in the United States, and Duck Prints Press is joining in the celebration by sharing 15 of our favorite queer reads by Black authors! The contributors to this list are Shadaras, boneturtle, Tris Lawrence, Sebastian Marie, Shea Sullivan, Terra P. Waters, and an anonymous author.

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth Trilogy) by N.K. Jemisin

A Necessary Chaos by Brent Lambert

The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden

So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix (Remixed Classics Series) by Bethany C. Morrow

Nothing Burns As Bright As You by Ashley Woodfolk

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

Rise to the Sun by Leah Johnson

This Poison Heart (This Poison Heart Series) by Kalynn Bayron

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson

How to Find a Princess (Runaway Royals Series) by Alyssa Cole

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers

My Dear Henry: A Jekyll & Hyde Remix (Remixed Classics Series) by Kalynn Bayron

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

What are YOUR favorite reads by Black authors? We’d love to find more to add to our to-be-read piles!

Want to chat your favorite reads with us? Join our Book Lover’s Discord server!

You can view this list as a bookshelf on Goodreads!

Love reading queer books? Our Queer Book Challenge is running on Storygraph through the end of 2024. Come join us!

[nerdby]

"Some people can't see softness without wanting to hurt it." -The Death Of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

[greykinpress]

IN THE NECK OF THE WOODS

A HORROR ANTHOLOGY BY LGBTQ AND POC WRITERS, LIVE ON KICKSTARTER!

Take a look at the Kickstarter page!

We're already 67% funded - thank you so much!

What's the scariest thing about camping?

Maybe everything? 

Find all new ways to be horrified of the dark with the aid of this spectacular anthology, featuring sixteen terrifying tales centred around one of the creepiest activities out there, camping! Better yet, this collection of unique horror stories has been written exclusively by BIPOC and LGBTQ+ writers.

Although the theme is camping, this anthology features a wide range of horror sub-genres. Each story is vastly different from the next! 'In the Neck of the Woods: A Horror Anthology' has a little bit something for everyone, including but not limited to: monsters, thrillers, psychological horror, historical horror, clowns, ghosts, and cults.  This book will also feature an additional table of contents with trigger warnings for those who are sensitive to certain topics (hate spiders? same here!)

Greykin Press is solely focused on sharing the voices of marginalised communities, and we couldn't have found a better group of writers to feature in the very first book in our horror anthology collection! We know you'll love it as much as we do.

Check out the Kickstarter page to see what you can get by pledging and helping us bring this project to life!

[bookaddict24-7]

AUTHOR FEATURE:

﹒Sarah Kuhn﹒

Three Books Written By this Author:

I Love You So Mochi

Heroine Complex

From Little Tokyo, with Love

___

Happy reading!

[inkcurlsandknives]

Happy to be invited to contribute to this article (even if I think the interviewer minced my words a bit 😆 I said that the right is utilizing similar accusations of groomer/ pedophilia /general endangerment to the sexual purity of white women/children against queer and BIPOC writers as the clan used to weaponize southern communities against black men during the era of lynchings and jim crow)

However the point does stand that the demonization of an entire group of people is dangerous and rhetoric that we need desperately to push back on

If you'd like to do something to support queer and BIPOC authors and push back against book banning

Share a Call to Action against Banned Books!

Did you know that according to PEN America’s Banned Book Index, 41%of banned books include LGBTQ+ themes. 40% feature characters of color and 21% address issues of race or racism.

Sign Now:

Share this post!

Head to my page to find more fun pride events coming on the #SaintsOfStormAndSorrowPrideAdventCalendar to celebrate the Launch of her debut novel Saints of Storm and Sorrow coming out June 25th with @titanbooks

[curlyhairedbibliophile]

Cover Art | The Eternal Ones by Namina Forna

The dazzling finale to the groundbreaking, New York Times bestselling Gilded Ones series. One girl holds the power to defeat the gods—but can she become one?

Mere weeks after confronting the Gilded Ones—the false beings she once believed to be her family—Deka is on the hunt. In order to kill the gods, whose ravenous competition for power is bleeding Otera dry, she must uncover the source of her divinity. But with her mortal body on the verge of ruin, Deka is running out of time—to save herself and an empire that’s tearing itself apart at its seams.

When Deka’s search leads her and her friends to the edge of the world as they know it, they discover an astonishing new realm, one which holds the key to Deka’s past. Yet it also illuminates a devastating decision she must soon make…

Choose to be reborn as a god, losing everyone she loves in the process. Or bring about the end of the world.

Artwork by Johnny Tarajosu

Release date | Feb 13, 2024 Storygraph

[featherstone000]

The Mimicking of Known Successes - by Malka Older

Looking for something quick, enjoyable, and possibly science-fictiony? Here’s what I’ve found: a mystery on a space outpost, sapphic main characters, a good blend of cosiness and old-timey noir vibes. Title: The Mimicking of Known Successes Author: Malka Older Publication Date: 7 March 2023 Genre: Science Fiction – Mystery Pages: 169 Standalone or Series: Mossa & Pleiti Representation:…

[gennsoup]

Sun makes the day new. Tiny green plants emerge from earth. Birds are singing the sky into place. There is nowhere else I want to be but here. I lean into the rhythm of your heart to see where it will take us.

Joy Harjo, For Keeps

[queer-book-society]

do you know any lgbtq+ children books?

Absolutely :) 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Title: All Bodies Are Cool

Author(s): Tyler Feder

Description: This picture book is a pure celebration of all the different human bodies that exist in the world. Highlighting the various skin tones, body shapes, and hair types is just the beginning in this truly inclusive book. With its joyful illustrations and encouraging refrain, it will instill body acceptance and confidence in the youngest of readers. “My body, your body, every different kind of body! All of them are good bodies! BODIES ARE COOL!”

Title: A Family Is a Family Is a Family

Author(s): Sara O'Leary, Qin Leng (Artist)

Description: When a teacher asks the children in her class to think about what makes their families special, the answers are all different in many ways — but the same in the one way that matters most of all. One child is worried that her family is just too different to explain, but listens as her classmates talk about what makes their families special. One is raised by a grandmother, and another has two dads. One is full of stepsiblings, and another has a new baby. As one by one, her classmates describe who they live with and who loves them — family of every shape, size and every kind of relation — the child realizes that as long as her family is full of caring people, her family is special.

Title: When Aidan Became A Brother

Author(s): Kyle Lukoff, Kaylani Juanita (Artist)

Description: When Aidan was born, everyone thought he was a girl. His parents gave him a pretty name, his room looked like a girl's room, and he wore clothes that other girls liked wearing. After he realized he was a trans boy, Aidan and his parents fixed the parts of life that didn't fit anymore, and he settled happily into his new life. Then Mom and Dad announce that they're going to have another baby, and Aidan wants to do everything he can to make things right for his new sibling from the beginning--from choosing the perfect name to creating a beautiful room to picking out the cutest onesie. But what does "making things right" actually mean? And what happens if he messes up? With a little help, Aidan comes to understand that mistakes can be fixed with honesty and communication, and that he already knows the most important thing about being a big brother: how to love with his whole self.

Title: My Maddy

Author(s): Gayle E. Pitman, Violet Tobacco (Artist)

Description: A child celebrates her Maddy, who is neither mommy nor daddy but a little bit of both, like so many things in nature. Includes note to parents.

Title: This Is Our Rainbow: 16 Stories of Her, Him, Them, and Us

Author(s): Eric Bell, Ashley Herring Blake, Lisa Jenn Bigelow, Lisa Bunker, Alex Gino, Justina Ireland, Shing Yin Khor, Mariama J. Lockington, Marieke Nijkamp, Claribel A. Ortega, Mark Oshiro, Molly Knox Ostertag, Aida Salazar, A.J. Sass, Katherine Locke (Editor), Nicole Melleby (Editor)

Description: A boyband fandom becomes a conduit to coming out. A former bully becomes a first-kiss prospect. One nonbinary kid searches for an inclusive athletic community after quitting gymnastics. Another nonbinary kid, who happens to be a pirate, makes a wish that comes true--but not how they thought it would. A tween girl navigates a crush on her friend's mom. A young witch turns herself into a puppy to win over a new neighbor. A trans girl empowers her online bestie to come out.

Title: Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag

Author(s): Rob Sanders, Steven Salerno (Artist)

Description: In this deeply moving and empowering true story, young readers will trace the life of the Gay Pride Flag, from its beginnings in 1978 with social activist Harvey Milk and designer Gilbert Baker to its spanning of the globe and its role in today’s world. Award-winning author Rob Sanders’s stirring text, and acclaimed illustrator Steven Salerno’s evocative images, combine to tell this remarkable—and undertold—story. A story of love, hope, equality, and pride.

Title: Jack (Not Jackie)

Author(s): Erica Silverman, Holly Hatam (Artist)

Description: Susan thinks her little sister Jackie has the best giggle! She can't wait for Jackie to get older so they can do all sorts of things like play forest fairies and be explorers together. But as Jackie grows, she doesn't want to play those games. She wants to play with mud and be a super bug! Jackie also doesn't like dresses or her long hair, and she would rather be called Jack.

Title: I Am Jazz

Author(s): Jessica Herthel, Jazz Jennings, Shelagh McNicholas (Artist)

Description: From the time she was two years old, Jazz knew that she had a girl's brain in a boy's body. She loved pink and dressing up as a mermaid and didn't feel like herself in boys' clothing. This confused her family, until they took her to a doctor who said that Jazz was transgender and that she was born that way.

Title: Rebel Girls Celebrate Pride: 25 Tales of Self-Love and Community

Author(s): Rebel Girls, Elena Favilli (Forward)

Description: This collection features 25 inspiring tales of proud members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Read about how these women, girls, and nonbinary people broke down barriers, honored their identities, and lived authentically no matter what anyone else said.

Title: The Mother of a Movement: Jeanne Manford -- Ally, Activist, and Co-Founder of PFLAG

Author(s): Rob Sanders, Sam Kalda (Artist)

Description: The Mother of a Movement tells the story of Jeanne Manford, the founder of PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). When her son Morty was beaten by New York City officials for handing out pro-gay leaflets, Manford wrote a powerful letter to the New York Post to complain about how Morty was treated. In the letter she came out as the mother of a gay son. The letter was published. Morty invited his mother to march with him in the June 1972 Christopher Street Parade. While marching, she had the idea to form a group to help parents and families of LGBTQ+ people. That was the beginning of PFLAG.

[black-is-beautiful18]

The West, and we all know exactly who I’m talking about, will never understand the plights of the global majority. Sure we have popular book series like The Hunger Games but we saw just how “colorblind” they were when a semi-accurate Rue made her first appearance on their screens. Ppl were literally saying that they lost empathy for her cuz she was Black when she was quite literally Black in the freaking book. The same thing happened with Babel by R. F. Kuang. White bookstagramer showed her whole behind cuz apparently the book discussing oppression made her “feel bad for being white” cuz the white girl in the story literally was apart of the problem. Even had the audacity to label it as racist. This all goes hand-in-hand with my other post where I said they need to start making stories from the eye of the oppressor and not the oppressed. They don’t get it. They want to “save” us but really just want to be heroes. That is not the same thing as fighting against an oppressive ppl and system. It is a god complex. Let the MC learn how corrupt their country and system is. Let them realize that they most likely are part of the problem! This is also how we wind up with them using our experiences and placing them on elves and orcs even after we’ve said that it’s not doing what they think it is. If they don’t understand Star Wars and can’t see that it’s always been political then they do not need to be writing these stories.

[kwshahrazad]

Living in North America, even when you aren’t celebrating Christmas, it feels like you're celebrating Christmas.

Promptly on November 1st, the red, white and green festivities begin and their brilliant hues are inescapable. There are elves on shelves and an inflatable Frosty on roofs. And Santa! He really is always watching you as he’s plastered on every surface. He sees you when you’re sleeping because he’s on the half-eaten chocolate wrapper on your dresser. He knows when you’re awake because he’s also on your cereal box, milk carton, and morning coffee sleeve.

Around this time of year, there is a spike in cases of FOMO within first and second-generation immigrants whose holiday rosters do not include Christmas. For over fifty days, they are stuck between a rock and a jolly place because Christmas can be… tempting. The twinkling lights are alluring, the merry melodies are mesmerizing, the promise of gifts is promising, and so the fear of missing out can be all-consuming. It all starts on an ordinary November morning when suddenly, "the holiday spirit" infuses everything the light touches. Every mode and medium has a Yuletide tinge, and every sector of life has a little trimming. For two months, these FOMO-ridden individuals trapeze through jagged tinsel and paper-cut sharp wrapping paper, trying to maneuver in the aftermath of Big Hallmark’s joyous rampage.

In schools, children sing carols in winter pageants, some only mouthing the words to Silent Night or hesitantly rockin’ around a Christmas tree.

There's no argument that these activities can spark joy, and that's precisely the problem. Celebrating, the very act of it, is fun. Whether it’s Halloween, a wedding, an achievement, however minimal, or even a dog’s birthday, people find reasons to come together and celebrate. But in this case, Christmas is not theirs to celebrate. Some people have a little voice in their heads that nettles them each time they put on reindeer ears or take part in Secret Santa. Depending on the individual, it could be their conscience screaming, “What would my parents say?”

In the winter whirlwind of hope, excitement, and merriment, it’s almost impossible to not want to be a part of it all, even subconsciously. It’s difficult to deny that Christmas is fun.

Especially since celebrating non-Christian holidays in the West can be challenging.

There are no signature drinks or holiday hours. There are no lights and most definitely no statutory days off. Christmas is fun because of the sheer scale. The stakes are high with countdowns, giveaways, and so many parties.

Christmas isn’t just a day you celebrate, it’s a season. It’s a pallette and a theme. It’s a genre of music and film. It’s a category of dessert, dinner, and beverage.

That said, it’s difficult to compete with all the fanfare that happens each year in December. Parents are often compelled to go above and beyond to get their kids excited about their own celebrations. Usually with the help of old reliable Mr. Chuck E. Cheese and even older — and therefore more reliable — Mr. Wad of Cash. Worse yet, when one has to justify their need for a day off to a manager who is apparently fascinated by their religion, people can’t help but pray for patience, or better yet, a miracle.

A miracle in which there is no rock by the jolly place. What if a certain non-Christian American demographic could celebrate their holiday at the same time as everyone else? What if they could ride on the Christmas coattails of vacation days, holiday parties, and sales? What if a certain non-Christian religious holiday coincided with Christmas and millions more could wholeheartedly celebrate together with the masses? What if, for example, Eid al-Adha fell on December 24th?

Wouldn’t that be a miracle?

***

You've just read the introduction to my new book, Christmas Eid, available now on Kindle (E-Book) (Print coming soon).

It's Booksmart meets the holidays wrapped up in a warm, festive coming-of-age story.

Christmas Eid introduces a unique format. It's a novelplay. A book that reads like a movie!

Christmas Eid: A Novelplay (Available Now)

If you'd be interested in receiving a copy in return for a review, please message me! Also, please share this with anyone you think might be interested in reading!

K.W. Shahrazad

[wrihi]

inspecting the contents of her coffee table, he asked, with his gaze intentionally noncommittal, "you don't want to be the centre of attention?"

"i don't want to be the centre of anything."

actually, she wanted to fall backwards onto one of her exotic rugs and disperse like a shadow.