For the smart and free-thinking, Black Market Reads is a podcast featuring conversations with today's most exciting Black literary voices. We are a podcast for any one who loves to read, write, and engage. Black Market Reads is a project of The Givens Foundation for African American Literature.
"The letters became words, the words became thoughts, and those thoughts became my voice. I may not remember the name I was given when I was born, but I found my voice, one that no one could take away." - Phillis Wheatley To mark the 100th Anniversary of Carter G. Woodson's Black History Month (previously known …
Continue reading "Episode 109 – 100 Years of Black Freedom with performance by Phillis Wheatley"
"You can't wait for the well-intentioned people to make up their minds that your life has value or to figure out how to save you."- Justin Ellis Minnesota Nice? In this conversation about The Cruelty of Nice Folks (HarperCollins Publishers 2026), Justin observes "part of the way White Supremacy works is convincing you that your …
“To divorce the history of slavery from these narratives is a disservice to us, to our history, to our understanding of the world.”-Vanessa Riley Inspired by the true story of Jacquotte Delahaye—a 17th-century free woman of color who rose to become one of the most feared pirates in the Caribbean—FIRE SWORD AND SEA (HarperCollins 2026) follows …
Black Market Reads, the podcast produced by the Givens Foundation for African American Literature, proudly announces the release of its 100th episode, marking a decade of conversations with Black authors and artists whose work shapes the cultural landscape of Minnesota and beyond. Hosted by Lissa Jones, the 100th episode is an expansive, deeply moving celebration …
Continue reading "Episode 100: A Landmark Celebration of Black Stories, Voices, and Legacy"
There is nothing that is new in The house on Rondo because it's happening around us all the time. Black neighborhoods are being gentrified, they're being destroyed, in the name of progress again. And who loses out ...?Debra Stone When thirteen-year-old Zenobia has to leave her friends and spend the summer at Grandma’s while Mama …
"Reproductive justice is as much about our right to have children and to raise children with resources and support as it is about our right to not have children." - Leila Mottley, author “Raw, wild, and achingly beautiful, The Girls Who Grew Big is one of the most spiritually accurate and electric portrayals of motherhood …
"Every time I looked at the dress, a cold hand squeezed my heart and a tear dropped from my eye. Eventually, the flood of tears was too great to stop". Madison Montgomery(Valerie Burns, author) Valerie (V.M.) Burns is an acclaimed mystery writer. the author of the Baker Street Mystery, Mystery Bookshop, Dog Club, RJ Franklin, and Bailey the Bloodhound Mysteries. …
Continue reading "Valerie Burns’ Latest: A Cozy Mystery to Crave"
African American literature is more than stories, poems, and novels. It's a living testament of our ability to endure, to resist, and to thrive in environments that weren't designed for us. From the narratives of enslaved people to the bold voices of the Black Arts movement, our literature has been a mirror of pain, a map of how to navigate the challenges that we face. and a megaphone of our power."
”The devil said, I'm not evil. Not really. How could I be? Ain't nothing in me God ain't put there. Ain't a thing in my heart God didn't smile upon. All I want is to get back home.”Rickey Fayne -The Devil Three Times An audacious debut spanning eight generations of a Black family in West …
Continue reading "Rickey Fayne’s The Devil Three Times: A Tale of Redemption"
"People don't tend to just talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, with no one receiving it. I mean, sometimes they do, but you know, they're obnoxious. They don't get invited back to the party." - Pearl Cleage The Nacirema Society Requests the Honor of Your Presence at a Celebration of Their First One Hundred Years by …
Continue reading "Discovering Pearl Cleage Through The Nacirema Society"