Prose to the People

A Celebration of Black Bookstores

Katie Mitchell, Nikki Giovanni

$49.99

Hardback

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English

Random House Inc
08 April 2025

Literature: history & criticism

A stunning visual homage to Black bookstores, featuring a selection of shops around the country alongside essays that celebrate the history, community, activism, and culture these spaces embody, with an original foreword by Nikki Giovanni.

A stunning visual homage to Black bookstores, featuring a selection of shops around the country alongside essays that celebrate the history, community, activism, and culture these spaces embody, with an original foreword by Nikki Giovanni.

Black literature is perhaps the most powerful, polarizing force in the modern American zeitgeist. Today-as Black novels draw authoritarian ire, as Black memoirs shape public debates, as Black polemics inspire protest petitions-it's more important than ever to highlight the places that center these stories- Black bookstores.

Traversing teeming metropolises and tiny towns, Prose to the People explores a these spaces, chronicling these Black bookstore's past and present lives. Combining narrative prose, eye-catching photography, one-on-one interviews, original essays, and specially curated poetry, Prose to the People is a reader's road trip companion to the world of Black books.

Thoughtfully curated by writer and Black bookstore owner Katie Mitchell, Prose to the People is a must-have addition to the shelves of anyone who loves book culture and Black history. Though not a definitive guide, this dynamic book centers profiles of over fifty Black bookstores from the Northeast to the mid-Atlantic, the South, and the West Coast, complete with stunning original and archival photography.

Interspersed throughout are essays, poems, and interviews by New York Times bestsellers Kiese Laymon, Rio Cortez, Pearl Cleage, and many more journalists, activists, authors, academics, and poets that offer deeper perspectives on these bookstores' role throughout the diaspora. Complete with a foreword by world-renowned poet and activist Nikki Giovanni, Prose to the People is a beautiful tribute to these vital pillars of the Black community.

By: Katie Mitchell, Nikki Giovanni
Imprint: Random House Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 232mm, Width: 187mm,
Weight: 567g
ISBN: 9780593581346
ISBN 10: 0593581342
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 08 April 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Katie Mitchell is a storyteller and bookseller. Katie lives, works, and writes in Atlanta, Georgia. Her online and pop-up Black bookstore,Good Books, has been featured in The New York Times, NBC, NPR, PBS, and many other outlets. Katie is a Dorothy Porter Wesley fellow.

Reviews for Prose to the People: A Celebration of Black Bookstores

“Through vivid photography, interviews, and essays, this work—part-travelogue and part-manifesto—helps us fall in love with the places that have centered Black literature as a form of resistance.”—Elle “At a time when our stories are being challenged, banned and erased, Prose to the People isn’t just a love letter to Black bookstores—it’s a reminder of why they matter now more than ever. These spaces aren’t just about books; they’re about resistance, remembrance and making sure our voices are heard, no matter who tries to silence them.”—Essence “Presented in a visually dynamic, scrapbook-style format, the coffee table book supplements Mitchell’s experiential narratives and Q&As with booksellers with new and vintage photos, old documents, advertisements and flyers, plus poems and essays from other contributors.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution