Book publishing was put under a microscope last year when people started buying up anti-racist titles by the thousands in response to that summer’s Black Lives Matter protests. The result of this scrutiny? A public awareness of just how glaringly white the industry is. Former editorial assistant Zakiya Dalila Harris plunges readers directly into the publishing world with The Other Black Girl, a slow-burning thriller centered on microaggressions and gaslighting with a seriously unsettling twist. Book loving, 26-year-old editorial assistant Nella Rogers is determined to...

May is International Masturbation Month! The month is coming (ha) to a close, but there’s still a few more days to celebrate May’s lesser known designation. There’s still quite a bit of stigma surrounding masturbation, and while some people are experts on their own pleasure, not everyone is comfortable exploring or even knows how to start. Regardless of your level of expertise, here are six books to facilitate your exploration of masturbation, sexuality, and reaching better orgasms overall. 1. Getting Off by Jamye WaxmanImage via Seal...

Writer, editor, educator, and social commentator Roxane Gay is really shaking things up in the world of publishing. With notable works such as Bad Feminist, Hunger: A Memoir Of (My) Body, and An Untamed State, Gay has become widely acknowledged as one of the most remarkable thought leaders and changemakers of our time. Her recent big announcement that she’ll be heading her very own publishing imprint is a very powerful indication that Roxane Gay is here to stay, and more importantly, that she’s highly invested in...

The Horton family packs into their aging minivan for an annual summer tour of revival meetings at the beginning of this swift, gripping debut novel. A year and 304 pages later, nothing is the same, including the memorable young woman at the heart of this story of magical realism. Miriam is 15 years old, daughter of a famous faith healer and a grieving mother, sibling to a preacher-in-training brother and a special-needs sister. The women of Baptist churches, tent revivals, and soul salvation are often...

Entrepreneur, CEO of famous cat cafe Crumbs & Whiskers, and poet Kanchan Singh is a natural-born healer. Starting her own company after deciding to leave a career that was no longer fulfilling her, Singh’s story of how her immediate success led to her newest release—Dear Me, I Love You, a book that explores the harsh realities of healing from trauma—showcases her immense resilience. I had the pleasure of getting to know Singh and learn about her journey through therapy, how a trip to Thailand inspired her...

Julia Cameron is known for helping readers tap into their creativity to improve every aspect of their lives. She is the best-selling author of more than 40 books, most notably The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity (which has sold over four million copies since 1992) and her newest title, The Listening Path: The Creative Art of Attention. Here, she shares the routine that keeps her career going strong year after year.  In The Artist’s Way, you recommend starting every day by writing three...

BookTube is a growing community within the greater YouTube world that's home to a number of people who produce incredible content all about books. BookTubers usually create videos reviewing and discussing books from a variety of genres, including adult fiction, YA, fantasy, sci-fi, and more. If you're looking for a fun, diverse community of book lovers, then check out the following 10 BookTubers and their creative content below!1. Adri from @perpetualpages Adri is a queer, trans, and nonbinary "chronic bibliophile" who reads diversely and has great...

Olaronke Akinmowo, an interdisciplinary artist based in N.Y.C., started The Free Black Women’s Library in 2015 to foster community by encouraging readers to take from and add to her growing collection of books by Black women writers. TFBWL has grown since then into a social art project that includes over 3,000 titles, traveling interactive installations, and free monthly gatherings. Here, Akinmowo shares five reading recommendations for books that celebrate the broad spectrum of Black womanhood. Olaronke Akinmowo [far left] with visitors to an outdoor TFBWL tent. Black Futures edited...

If, like me, you've spent the past 14 months finding comfort in feel-good YA, you have a lot to be excited about this spring. Some of your soon-to-be favorite additions to your bookshelf are out now — or out very, very soon. And the best part is, we're seeing all kinds of diverse, all-too-relatable heroes, heroines, and love stories, often paired with fresh takes on the genre's best tropes. (Fake dating fans, you'll definitely want to head to your local bookstore ASAP.) Read on for eight of...

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! But since there’s really no reason to restrict it to just one month, here is a list of new and upcoming works by AAPI authors to read all year round (or at least into late August):   Yolk by Mary H.K. ChoiOut now.In this YA novel by the author of Emergency Contact and Permanent Record, comes the story of two very different sisters who, once close but now estranged, are forced back into each other's lives when it...