Showing results by author "Kwame Mbalia" in All Categories

Tristan Strong, just back from a victorious but exhausting adventure in Alke, the land of African American folk heroes and African gods, is suffering from PTSD. But there's no rest for the weary when his grandmother is abducted by a mysterious villain out for revenge. Tristan must return to Alke - and reunite with his loud-mouthed sidekick, Gum Baby - in order to rescue Nana and stop the culprit from creating further devastation.

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents Kwame Mbalia's epic fantasy, a middle grade American Gods set in a richly-imagined world populated with African American folk heroes and West African gods. Tristan is dreading the month he's going to spend on his grandparents' farm in Alabama, where he's being sent to heal from a tragedy. But on his first night there, he accidentally ripps open a chasm into the MidPass, a volatile place with a burning sea, haunted bone ships, and iron monsters that are hunting the inhabitants of this world.

Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents the finale of Kwame Mbalia's trilogy, in which Tristan Strong faces off with his archenemy, King Cotton, once and for all.

Yared Heywat lives an isolated life in Addis Prime - a hardscrabble city with rundown tech, lots of rules, and not much to do. His worrywart Uncle Moti and bionic lioness Besa are his only family...and his only friends. Often in trouble for his thrill-seeking antics and smart mouth, those same qualities make Yared a star player of the underground augmented-reality game The Hunt for Kaleb's Obelisk. But when a change in the game rules prompts Yared to log in with his real name, it triggers an attack that rocks the city. In the chaos, Uncle Moti disappears.

Yared has traveled a long way to find his place in the universe. Light years, even. Though the battle of Addis Prime is over, the spacefaring Axum Empire is still fractured. The kingdom once gave their technology away free of charge, to better humankind. Now, having been missing for over a decade, they’re returning to the planet where their galaxy-spanning civilization began—Earth. But they find the planet in disarray. Old Earth’s atmosphere is a mess of junked shuttles and satellites.

From 17 acclaimed Black male and nonbinary authors comes a vibrant collection of stories and poems about the power of joy and the wonders of Black boyhood.

When Pacy Mercado and Cecil Holloway spot each other during the first week of freshman year, it’s love at first sight. Well, more like love at first fleeting, injury-riddled glance, since the moment is ruined thanks to clumsiness and a criminal case of IBS. Despite their total lack of game, Pacy and Cecil are drawn to each other. Seven seconds of eye contact turns into days of yearning and stress as they make the mistake of following misguided advice from their friends, dysfunctional families, and strangers on the internet.

A girl who believes in UFOs; a boy who might have finally found his Prince Charming; a hopeful performer who dreams of being cast in her school’s production of The Sound of Music; a misunderstood magician of sorts with a power she doesn’t quite understand. These plotlines and many more compose the eclectic stories found within the pages of this dynamic, exciting, and expansive collection featuring exclusively Black characters.

Celebrate Black Joy, Black Resilience, and Black Storytelling and enjoy conversations steeped in laughter, advice, and encouragement. The Freedom Fire Podcast is hosted by best-selling author Kwame Mbalia, who leads joyful interviews with fellow authors, friends, and inspirational creatives as they explore their journeys, from their art to their process.

Wer es mit den Göttern aufnehmen will, braucht einen guten rechten Haken. Normal war Tristans Leben noch nie, aber seit er mit einer Puppe um das Tagebuch seines besten Freunds gekämpft hat, ist »normal« für ihn ein Fremdwort. Okay, dass bei dem Kampf aus Versehen ein Riss zwischen den Welten entstanden ist, war vielleicht ein kleines bisschen seine Schuld. Aber dass er jetzt von Eisenmonstern verfolgt und für das bevorstehende Ende der Welt verantwortlich gemacht wird ... das ist echt nicht cool.