Essays

Fifty new books at e1 each, celebrating the pioneering spirit of the Penguin Modern Classics series, from inspiring essays to groundbreaking fiction and poetryI am Black and lesbian, and what...

The Unpublished Works I am gonna write poems til I die and when I have gotten outta this body I am gonna hang round in the wind and knock over...

First published in 1963, James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time stabbed at the heart of America's so-called "Negro problem." As remarkable for its masterful prose as for its frank and personal...

A collection of essays on archiving the history of hip-hop, featuring a range of official, unofficial, DIY, and community archives. Despite the vast popularity and cultural influence of hip-hop, efforts...

The wise words of science fiction icon Octavia E. Butler live on in this beautiful and giftable little volume. “There’s no single answer that will solve all our future problems....

In the summer of 2020, Cole Arthur Riley was desperate for a spirituality she could trust. Amidst ongoing national racial violence, the isolation of the pandemic, and a surge of...

A vital anthology exploring the intersections between caregiving and abolition Abolition has never been a proposal to simply tear things down. As Alexis Pauline Gumbs asks, “What if abolition is...

From New York Times bestselling author, feminist pioneer, and cultural icon bell hooks, a timelessly necessary treatise on how patriarchy and toxic masculinity hurts us all, with a new introduction...

A soulful, generation-defining collection of thought-provoking, agitating, and liberating works from Dick Gregory, the activist and author of sixteen books, including the classic bestseller Nigger: An Autobiography and the 2017...

A major hardcover compendium of nonfiction by one of America's most brilliant essayists, timed to the celebration of his centenaryNovelist, essayist, and public intellectual - James Baldwin is widely regarded...

Tenth anniversary edition In this updated edition of the bestseller published ten years ago, Oprah shares what she has come to know for sure in the last decade. After film...

Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer edits a collection of Alain Locke's influential essays on the importance of the Black artist and the Black imagination For months, the philosopher Alain Locke wrestled with...

With her characteristic brilliance, grace and radical audacity, Angela Y. Davis has put the case for the latest abolition movement in American life: the abolition of the prison. As she quite...

From bestselling author of The Book of Delights and award-winning poet Ross Gay, a fresh new volume of lyrical mini-essays celebrating the everyday that will inspire readers to rediscover the joys in...

Essays "Very good writers have an ability to make you understand what they're feeling. But the very best writers have an ability to make you understand what you're feeling. And...

Land, Development, Democracy A rigorously reported anthology on how local politics have fueled a generation-defining national emergency. An Atlantic Edition, featuring long-form journalism by Atlantic writers, drawn from contemporary articles...

The Queer Harlem Renaissance I Wish I'd Known From the New York Times–bestselling author of All Boys Aren’t Blue comes an empowering set of essays about Black and Queer icons from...

Terror, Slavery and Self-Making in Nineteenth Century America In this radical re-evaluation of American history, Saidiya Hartman uses her singular talents to create a striking portrait of nineteenth century slavery...

My Dungeon Shook; Down at the Cross 'It demands great spiritual resilience not to hate the hater whose foot is on your neck, and an even greater miracle of perception...

From the writer crowned one of the smartest, funniest voices in modern America, this hotly anticipated debut collection of essays offers “a precious glimpse into how Ziwe’s uniquely fearless mind...

With his bestseller, Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates established himself as a unique voice in his generation of American authors; a brilliant writer and thinker in the tradition...

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Begin Again, a politically astute, lyrical meditation on how ordinary people can shake off their reliance on a small group of...

A comprehensive and inspiring collection of essays by Larry Neal, a founder of the seminal Black Arts Movement “The Black Arts Movement is radically opposed to any concept of the...

From trailblazing political activist Angela Y. Davis, a major new collection of essays and interviews that argue for a radical rethinking of our prison systemsAn icon of revolutionary politics, Angela...

A fierce and galvanizing reminder that resistance is everywhere in the fight for abortion and reproductive justice in the United States. Fighting Mad is a book about what "reproductive justice" means...

Essays on Mothers and Daughters and the Things They Leave Behind Reminiscent of The Year of Magical Thinking and Somebody’s Daughter, a deeply empathetic and often humorous collection of essays that...

Phenomenal Black Women and Femmes in Food: Interviews, Inspiration, and Recipes A must-have anthology of the leading Black women and femmes shaping today’s food and hospitality landscape—from farm to table...

'Far from being the pious injunction of a Utopian dreamer, the command to love one's enemy is an absolute necessity for our survival.' Advocating love as strength and non-violence as...

The Montgomery Story The inspiring account of the march towards American Civil Rights, as told by Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described Stride Toward Freedom as "the...

A book aimed at the millions of middle-aged white men who are suddenly awakening to race and racism. White men are finally realizing that simply not being racist isn’t enough...

Translated by Gila Walker One might say that the womb of death — the Middle Passage, slavery, and colonisation — gave birth to Black populations. Taking this observation as her...

Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience Tarana Burke and Dr. Brené Brown bring together a dynamic group of Black writers, organisers, artists, academics and cultural figures to discuss the...

Featuring contributions from Candice Carty-Williams, Jessica Horn, Ebele Okobi, Funmi Fetto and Freddie Harrel. In the vein of Roxane Gay’s Bad Feminist, but wholly its own, Girl is a provocative,...

Performing Blackness in America From the New York Times bestselling author of Tears We Cannot Stop For more than thirty years, Michael Eric Dyson has played a prominent role in...

An incisive, intersectional essay anthology that celebrates and examines romance and romantic media through the lens of Black readers, writers, and cultural commentators, edited by Book Riot columnist and librarian...

Spanning more than 35 years of work, the first comprehensive collection of essays, criticism, and articles by the legendary author of the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston, showcasing the evolution...

Claudia Rankine's 'skyscraper in the literature on racism' (Christian Science Monitor) At the theatre, around the dinner table, in the airport and in the voting booth, what fractures lie beneath...

*Named a Most Anticipated Title of 2022 by TIME magazine, New York Times, Bustle, and more* In the midst of civil unrest in the summer of 2020 and following the...

A Sermon to White AmericaAs America grapples with race with anguish and anger at a level not seen since the 60s, one of America's leading Black voices speaks out honestly...

Pop culture is the Pandora's Box of our lives. Racism, wealth, poverty, beauty, inclusion, exclusion, and hope — all of these intractable and unavoidable features course through the media we...

The creators of the popular website Black Nerd Problems bring their witty and unflinching insight to this engaging collection of pop culture essays — on everything from Mario Kart to...

What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD What would make a society drain its public swimming baths and fill them with...

Now in paperback, Claudia Rankine's 'skyscraper in the literature on racism' (Christian Science Monitor)At the theatre, around the dinner table, in the airport and in the voting booth, what fractures...

Essays on Race, Gender and the Body A powerful and provocative collection of essays that offers poignant reflections on living between society's most charged, politicized, and intractably polar spaces —...

'Pink is my favourite colour. I used to say my favourite colour was black to be cool, but it is pink — all shades of pink. If I have an...

A breakthrough work of social and cultural criticism from one of the foremost intellectuals of his era Written during the 1940s and early 1950s, when Baldwin was only in his...

Voices from Within the VeilLegendary black scholar W.E.B. Du Bois's most passionate and searing work denouncing the global color line."I have been in the world, but not of it," W.E.B....

Stories from My Grandmother's Time, My Mother's Time, and Mine Described by Anne Patchett as 'life-changing', with fans such as Elizabeth Gilbert and tipped by Oprah Magazine as 'formidable and...

The #1 New York Times bestseller that sparked international dialogue is now a book for young adults! Based on the adult bestseller by Ibram X. Kendi, and co-authored by bestselling...

Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves Remember that moment when you first encountered a character who seemed to be written just for you? That feeling of belonging remains with readers the...