"Bestselling author Walter Mosley has proven himself a master of narrative tension, both with his extraordinary fiction and gripping writing for television. The Awkward Black Man collects seventeen of Mosley's most accomplished short stories to display the full range of his remarkable talent. Mosley presents distinct characters as they struggle to move through the world in each of these stories--heroes who are awkward, nerdy, self-defeating, self-involved,...

A series of vignettes exploring African American life as it relates to social, political and family dynamics. For many, Cane is considered a literary masterpiece from visionary writer, Jean Toomer. He presents a diverse collection of tales with distinct and vibrant characters who populate a world that's all too familiar. HEADLINE: Jean Toomer delivers a vivid depiction of America in the early twentieth century that centers the Black experience,...

A never-before-published collection of stories from Kathleen Collins. These short stories, discovered only recently, highlight Collins's masterfully blend of the personal issues-- race, gender, family, and sexuality-- with the ordinary moments that shape our lives. Also known as an artist and filmmaker, her stories create full-bodied men, women, and children who justify their lives while integrating the African American experience without becoming...

The prequel to the New York Times bestselling author's provocative series featuring best friends getting a crash course in love, family, and betrayal.
They couldn't be less alike—except for their restless spirits. Lola came from a loving home, even though it included her father's live-in mistress. And Joan is a secret wild child chafing under her mother's watchful eye. So when Lola's quiet world shatters and her hopes seem...

Nine stories highlight the complexities of being Black in modern America, including a Black son who visits his white father during the 1992 Los Angeles riots and a Black Republican whose skin disease is turning him white.