We’re celebrating!
November was filled with so many activities. First, we took in a Broadway musical, the amazing Hell’s Kitchen from Alicia Keys. As we were walking around Times Square, Naomi wished out loud about seeing our work plastered on LED billboards high above the tourists and street performers. Rivers helped us dream. Big. Maybe one day our work will be in New York City or a Netflix series…maybe. Then, we were beyond excited to meet Dr. Carla Hayden, former Librarian of Congress, and Errin Haines, president of the National Association of Black Journalists and editor-at-large of The 19th at an Enoch Pratt Library event honoring DeWayne Wickham, journalist, columnist, educator, and trailblazer.
Book Launch Weekend
Book launch weekend was a whole vibe and we’re grateful for everyone that helped us celebrate the release of Why Not Us? From gathering at Zora’s Den on Friday, November 14th to the Maryland Writers Association Authors’ Showcase on November 16th. We hugged, we laughed, we had a great time! Folks were generous with their time to support our efforts at both events.
Three interviews and two podcasts later, Why Not Us? has received considerable coverage. The Baltimore Times, I Heart SapphFic, and The Writer’s Workout helped us to get Jasmine and T’s story out into the ether. Podcasts with Florenza Lee and Felice Cohen will be released later this month. If you’ve purchased the book, we’d appreciate if you would provide a rating on Amazon or Goodreads. The reviews don’t have to be lengthy; however, they are important for algorithm gods.
If you would like the opportunity to add more books to your “to be read” list, Jae is offering her 2025 Sapphic Book Advent Calendar. Each day offers a special gift. There are giveaways, free books, and discounted books for sale.
Finally…
In an effort to keep hard earned dollars in the community we continue to use our Bookshop affiliate status to support independent bookstores and promote authors. Take a look at our holiday favorites booklist. We also earn a small commission when a book is purchased through our affiliate link. If you decide to buy, you can identify the bookstore of your choice and it too will benefit from your purchase.
As 2025 comes to a close, we remain grateful to our community of readers, authors, library staff, and bookstores that keep us encouraged. We celebrate you all!
Wishing you all the joy you can handle,
Naomi + Rivers
