African American Folklore

Named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker, People, Los Angeles Times, NPR, and more Winner of France’s Prix du Premier Roman Étranger “An inventive ode to self-determination and also a surrealistic vision of Black life as forged within the crucible of American history . . . [written...

Examines the Oldawan, the Ancient Soul of Africa, and its correlation with what modern psychologists have defined as the collective unconscious Draws on archaeology, DNA research, history, and depth psychology to reveal how the biological and spiritual roots of religion and science came...

You should see this book as a celebration of the resilience, creativity, and wisdom of Black people and their ancestors, and a reminder of the importance of preserving and sharing these stories for generations to come. Whether you're looking for tales of adventure, humor, or wisdom, this has something for everyone. This book is a timeless and inspiring tribute to the enduring power of Black storytelling.

"The well-known author retells 24 black American folk tales in sure storytelling voice: animal tales, supernatural tales, fanciful and cautionary tales, and slave tales of freedom. All are beautifully readable."--(starred) School Library Journal...

Rediscover the "most important book on black-white relationships" in America in this special 50th anniversary edition.

African American Magick infuses ancient techniques, rituals, and methods from around the world to use each season's inherent energies to supplement the health and well-being of body, mind, and soul.

In this book, Katrina Hazzard-Donald explores African Americans' experience and practice of the herbal, healing folk belief tradition known as Hoodoo. Working against conventional scholarship, Hazzard-Donald argues that Hoodoo emerged first in three distinct regions she calls "regional Hoodoo clusters" and that after the turn of the 19th century, Hoodoo took on a national rather than regional profile.

African-American folklore was Zora Neale Hurston's first love. Collected in the late 1920's Every Tongue Got to Confess, from the celebrated author of Their Eyes Were Watching God, is published here for the first time, beautifully performed by Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis. Hilarious, bittersweet...

From “one of the greatest writers of our time” (Toni Morrison)—the author of Barracoon and Their Eyes Were Watching God—a collection of remarkable stories, including eight “lost” Harlem Renaissance tales now available to a wide audience for the first time. New York Times’ Books to...

A northern white couple has relocated to the South to operate a vineyard on a North Carolina plantation. There, they pass their idle hours listening to the stories of one Uncle Julius, who has a deep knowledge of the land. These stories, however, are more than mere entertainments. They all have their time and place, and they offer not only a quiet commentary on the events of the day but also a deeper reckoning with the plantation’s disturbing past.

He is the ancient frost. She is the living fire. And this Christmas, the legend of Saint Nick gets a primal, deadly rewrite. Dr. Nia Abara has spent her career deconstructing the myths of the Winter Solstice. She knows the stories of the Wild Hunt and the Yule beasts are born from ancient fears. But when a mysterious research grant lands her on a private jet that crashes into the frozen Arctic wastes, Nia discovers that the monsters aren't metaphors. They are real, they are hungry, and she is on the menu. Her savior is a nightmare wrapped in muscle and fur. Niklas Vinter is no jolly old elf...

The Rain Princess (2026) is the sixth book in the ‘Sculpture Garden’ Series. Set in the eighteenth century, when fewer women held leadership roles, the protagonist in this story became a symbol of women’s emancipation for her generation. Deprived of her rightful place on a vacant royal throne, she faced a choice between pursuing legal action and harnessing her supernatural powers. By choosing the latter, she caused a prolonged drought that threatened the town’s livelihood. The Rain Princess is a captivating fictional story that explores the conflict between tradition and the modern ...

A refreshed edition of Jambalaya: The Natural Woman’s Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals—updated with a note from the author sharing the changes that have occurred in the 30 years since its original publication. ""A book of startling remembrances, revelations, directives, and...

Soon to be a streaming series! From #1 New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, a tale playful, profound, and rife with mayhem and mischief―one of ten classic Gaiman works repackaged with elegant original watercolor art by acclaimed artist Henry Sene Yee When Fat Charlie’s dad named...

""Simply the most exciting book on black folklore and culture I have ever read."" --Roger D. Abrahams Mules and Men is the first great collection of black America's folk world. In the 1930's, Zora Neale Hurston returned to her ""native village"" of Eatonville, Florida to record the oral...

THE HIGH HEIR IS FOUND... But is she fit to rule? Grief stricken, suffering from shock, her power at half-strength, the Heir must return home to all the political intrigue that awaits her which is as dangerous as the rigors of the wilds. THE ENEMIES ARE MIGHTY... Mightier than any had thought, creatures of legend that are said to rival the power of the Goddesses Themselves. HER HEART’S OTHER IS CAPTURED... And as much a source of strength, he is also a point of weakness, a way of access to the High Heir from the back end of her soul. And someone has him, and has the will and viciousness ...

The story tells of the making of the very first ball of fire. Trinidad wavers between the British and the French and SouCou is a slave, stolen from her beloved homeland. Born a Sharman in Africa she is a prized possession because of her talents, she finds love then heart break but through it all she wants her daughter to be free. She refuses to believe that her new owner Governor Yant will keep any of his promises and instead bargains with the God of Fire, Shango to grant her, her heart’s desire in exchange for her very soul ... but SouCou’s rage is so powerful that she does not die, ...

The Tortoise Colony (2026) is the seventh book in the ‘Sculpture Garden’ Series. In this book, the story of a tortoise comes to life, this time in its natural habitat at a local sculpture garden. The tortoise, once considered insignificant, becomes highly valued after a sudden discovery of a hidden power. Thanks to the curiosity of two children, who, along with their mother, uncover a mystery once shrouded in superstition. An encounter with a passionate nature lover at a local sculpture garden paves the way for a dream that once seemed distant. Together, they create a colony of ...

Introduction by New York Times bestselling author Henry Louis Gates Jr. 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 of her distinctive...

The modern history of Africa was, until very recently, written on behalf of the indigenous races by the white man, who had forcefully entered the continent during a particularly hubristic and dynamic phase of European history. The embrace of Christianity and Islam, even today, is not necessarily to the exclusion of ancestral spirits, nor the essentials of witchcraft and sorcery. The precarious security of albino people in east and central Africa, whose body parts are sought after in traditional “medicine,” is testimony to the fact that these superstitions are alive and well.