...But Make It Books

Aug 4 · 1h 5m

Join Niccara as she welcomes Amy DuBois Barnett — former editor-in-chief of Honey and Teen People, and now the debut novelist developing If I Ruled the World into a Hulu series with Lee Daniels — to the pod!We talk about her late-90s New York media and music world, why she catapults readers straight into the mess of Nikki Rose's journey, and the reckoning threaded through it all — misogyny, sexual coercion, and the complicity of silence.We get into Nikki's hair as a whole race conversation, being "too much over here and not enough over here," the men who love an idea of you instead of the real you, and how forgiveness — of your friends, and of yourself — becomes the work. And yes, it's still a fun, sexy, glamorous page-turner and a love letter to the city, to hip hop, and to ambitious women.Perfect for readers who appreciate stories centered on Black women's ambition, self-reclamation, grief and healing around the choices of our twenties, institutional critique, and the courage it takes to take your power back.Make sure you pick up If I Ruled the World from where you get your books!Follow Us: @butmakeitbookspod | @thebookishhottie | bookishlyhealing.comFollow & Find Amy DuBois Barnett: @amyduboisbarnettShop With Us: Use our Mahogany Books link with code BMIBDon't forget to rate, subscribe and review!

Jul 23 · 46m

Join Niccara as she welcomes DJ (Dominique), founder of Black & Brown Book Designers, to the pod! We talk about what a book designer actually does — covers, jackets, interiors, and why illustration is a whole separate job most readers assume is the same person. She takes us back to being the only Black cover designer on her team, learning what a 401k even was at her first corporate publishing job, and how that isolation turned into a 501c3 in 2020 after a post she almost didn't make. We get into the difference between having a seat at the table and actually being valued once you're sitting in it, the "golden handcuffs" of publishing, and why she started saying no to a freelance queue that was 80–90% trauma and slavery titles when what she wanted was Black love, Black joy, and Black greatness on the shelf. Plus: the wins BNB has already put on the board — two volunteers placed full-time at a Big Five, a 22% placement rate from their 2024 portfolio review — and what's next as the org expands from Brooklyn to the DMV.Perfect for readers who appreciate conversations about creative labor behind the books we love, being the only one in the room, the difference between diversity and belonging, mentorship as a form of community care, and the everyday greatness that doesn't always get a byline.Curious about book design for yourself, your kid, or your second act? Follow Black & Brown Book Designers, check out the freelance directory, and come through to a Book Lovers Hike or community hour!Follow Us: @butmakeitbookspod | @thebookishhottie | bookishlyhealing.comFollow & Find Dominique: Black & Brown Book Designers: bnbbookdesigners.com | @bnbbookdesigners (IG, Threads, YouTube)Shop With Us: Use our Mahogany Books link with code BMIBDon't forget to rate, subscribe and review!Mentioned in this episode:African AncestryWe are the pioneers of genetic ancestry tracing for Black people globally, reconnecting you to your specific African roots–the country and the people. Our scientists compare your DNA markers to the largest African reference database in the world in order to find your African origin up to 2000 years ago.African AncestryThe Seven Daughters of Dupree Pre-Order Offer Nikisha Elise Williams, the host of the Black and Published podcast, is celebrating the release of her forthcoming novel, The Seven Daughters of Dupree. This historical fiction novel is about the secrets kept between mothers and daughters over the course of seven generations and is told backwards in time from 1995 to 1860. The Seven Daughters of Dupree will be released on January 27th, 2026, but is available for pre-order now at MahoganyBooks.com. Please consider pre-ordering The Seven Daughters of Dupree today.African AncestryWe are the pioneers of genetic ancestry tracing for Black people globally, reconnecting you to your specific African roots–the country and the people. Our scientists compare your DNA markers to the largest African reference database in the world in order to find your African origin up to 2000 years ago.African Ancestry

Jul 9 · 40m

Join Niccara as she welcomes Sedona Rose, indie romance author and booktuber celebrating Black love on every page, to the pod! We talk about her small-town rom-com Cute, Meet, Love, Kataleah asking her neighbor for a bag of sugar at midnight (and the sparks that followed), grief and legacy as she honors her grandmother's memory through Frosted Feelings, why some Black women brace for the other shoe to drop instead of letting love flow, writing Jayceon as a man who moves with patience and intention (medium pace, not slow burn!), relationships that end without going up in flames, getting your house in order before love finds you, and manifesting the love you want through the characters you write. Perfect for readers who appreciate Black romance, small-town meet cutes, soft life energy, boss women building their dreams, and intentional men who move at your pace. Make sure you pick up Cute, Meet, Love from where you get your books! Follow Us: @butmakeitbookspod | @thebookishhottie | bookishlyhealing.com Follow & Find Sedona Rose: thesedonarose.com | @sedonarosewrites (IG & Threads) | @authorsedonarose (TikTok) Don't forget to rate, subscribe and review! Mentioned in this episode:African AncestryWe are the pioneers of genetic ancestry tracing for Black people globally, reconnecting you to your specific African roots–the country and the people. Our scientists compare your DNA markers to the largest African reference database in the world in order to find your African origin up to 2000 years ago.African AncestryThe Seven Daughters of Dupree Pre-Order Offer Nikisha Elise Williams, the host of the Black and Published podcast, is celebrating the release of her forthcoming novel, The Seven Daughters of Dupree. This historical fiction novel is about the secrets kept between mothers and daughters over the course of seven generations and is told backwards in time from 1995 to 1860. The Seven Daughters of Dupree will be released on January 27th, 2026, but is available for pre-order now at MahoganyBooks.com. Please consider pre-ordering The Seven Daughters of Dupree today.African AncestryWe are the pioneers of genetic ancestry tracing for Black people globally, reconnecting you to your specific African roots–the country and the people. Our scientists compare your DNA markers to the largest African reference database in the world in order to find your African origin up to 2000 years ago.African Ancestry

Jun 25 · 49m

Join Niccara as she sits down with the Dr. Jen Jackson - award-winning political science professor at Syracuse University, Teen Vogue columnist, and author of Black Women Taught Us - for a conversation that is equal parts history lesson, love letter, and call to action. And y'all, this one was personal.We get into:How Dr. Jackson's Black feminism didn't start in a classroom: it started with Auntie Donna Faye teaching them how to move in their six-foot-four bodyWhy the everyday Black women in our lives deserve the same reverence we give to Audre Lorde and Angela Davis ,and what it means to pedestalize ancestors while treating the ones right in front of us as disposableWhat Fannie Lou Hamer actually teaches us about respectability politics, who has access to it, whose body never did, and why being "unrespectable" is sometimes the most radical and honest act of survivalHow Ida B. Wells inspired Dr. Jackson to tell the truth about their own identity, and what it costs when we betray ourselves to perform solidarityWhy this book couldn't fully live inside a college classroom, and what Toni Morrison, bell hooks, and Fannie Lou Hamer's stories hold that syllabi simply can'tWhere Dr. Jackson points readers who want to do something - not just feel something - and why they believes every one of us has power inside our own orbit to make real changePerfect for readers who love Black feminist history, are doing the work of unlearning respectability politics, want to understand liberation movements through intimate and personal storytelling, and believe that honoring our ancestors means telling the truth.. even when it's costly.Make sure you pick up Black Women Taught Us from where you get your books! And follow Dr. Jen Jackson everywhere as @JenJacksonPhD.Follow Us: @butmakeitbookspod | @thebookishhottie | bookishlyhealing.comShop With Us: Use our Mahogany Books link with code BMIBDon't forget to rate, subscribe and review!Mentioned in this episode:The Seven Daughters of Dupree Pre-Order Offer Nikisha Elise Williams, the host of the Black and Published podcast, is celebrating the release of her forthcoming novel, The Seven Daughters of Dupree. This historical fiction novel is about the secrets kept between mothers and daughters over the course of seven generations and is told backwards in time from 1995 to 1860. The Seven Daughters of Dupree will be released on January 27th, 2026, but is available for pre-order now at MahoganyBooks.com. Please consider pre-ordering The Seven Daughters of Dupree today.African AncestryWe are the pioneers of genetic ancestry tracing for Black people globally, reconnecting you to your specific African roots–the country and the people. Our scientists compare your DNA markers to the largest African reference database in the world in order to find your African origin up to 2000 years ago.African AncestryAfrican AncestryWe are the pioneers of genetic ancestry tracing for Black people globally, reconnecting you to your specific African roots–the country and the people. Our scientists compare your DNA markers to the largest African reference database in the world in order to find your African origin up to 2000 years ago.African Ancestry

Jun 3 · 13m

Join Niccara as she welcomes Unoma Nwankwor, author of faith-filled Black romance with African spice, to the pod! We talk about her Rental Bae series, writing love stories rooted in diaspora identity and African cultural depth, and why her books aren't about converting anyone — they're about giving hope back to readers who've been doing life on their own for a little too long. Plus, she gives us the first exclusive look at her upcoming series Saints of the Father. Perfect for readers who appreciate Black romance with cultural richness, faith and redemption arcs, diaspora identity and belonging, swoony tropes done with intention, and stories that remind you joy is part of the African experience too.Make sure you check out Unoma Nwankwor's work wherever you get your books!Follow Us: @butmakeitbookspod | @thebookishhottie | bookishlyhealing.com Follow & Find Unoma Nwankwor: unomanwankwor.com | @unomanwankworShop With Us: Use our Mahogany Books link with code BMIBDon't forget to rate, subscribe and review! Keeping it real...but make it books. Peace y'allMentioned in this episode:African AncestryWe are the pioneers of genetic ancestry tracing for Black people globally, reconnecting you to your specific African roots–the country and the people. Our scientists compare your DNA markers to the largest African reference database in the world in order to find your African origin up to 2000 years ago.African AncestryThe Seven Daughters of Dupree Pre-Order Offer Nikisha Elise Williams, the host of the Black and Published podcast, is celebrating the release of her forthcoming novel, The Seven Daughters of Dupree. This historical fiction novel is about the secrets kept between mothers and daughters over the course of seven generations and is told backwards in time from 1995 to 1860. The Seven Daughters of Dupree will be released on January 27th, 2026, but is available for pre-order now at MahoganyBooks.com. Please consider pre-ordering The Seven Daughters of Dupree today.African AncestryWe are the pioneers of genetic ancestry tracing for Black people globally, reconnecting you to your specific African roots–the country and the people. Our scientists compare your DNA markers to the largest African reference database in the world in order to find your African origin up to 2000 years ago.African Ancestry

Jun 2 · 46m

Join Niccara as she welcomes author, filmmaker, and storyteller Phill to the pod for a conversation that starts with a little boy in Newark who just wanted to jump Double Dutch, and ends up somewhere deeply, beautifully human. We talk about his debut memoir The Double Dutch Fuss, an unflinching exploration of Black masculinity, imagination, and survival, and what it costs when the world decides who you're supposed to be before you even get the chance to find out. We get into the surveillance state of Black boyhood, how men evade accountability while women carry everything, navigating love and intimacy when distrust is all you've ever been handed, the complicated road back to a father who wasn't there, and what forgiveness actually costs you — including in your other relationships. Plus: eating cereal at Stevie Wonder's kitchen table, listening to the Velvet Rope before the rest of the world, and still asking when is it my time.Perfect for readers drawn to honest, searching memoirs about Black identity, queer experience, masculinity, chosen imagination, and the slow, nonlinear work of learning to love yourself. Make sure you pick up The Double Dutch Fuss wherever you get your books — support indie if you can!Follow & Find Phil: @phillbranch | phillbranch.comFollow Us: @butmakeitbookspod | @thebookishhottie | bookishlyhealing.comShop With Us: Use our The Double Dutch Fuss with code BMIBDon't forget to rate, subscribe and review!Keeping it real...but make it books.Mentioned in this episode:African AncestryWe are the pioneers of genetic ancestry tracing for Black people globally, reconnecting you to your specific African roots–the country and the people. Our scientists compare your DNA markers to the largest African reference database in the world in order to find your African origin up to 2000 years ago.African AncestryThe Seven Daughters of Dupree Pre-Order Offer Nikisha Elise Williams, the host of the Black and Published podcast, is celebrating the release of her forthcoming novel, The Seven Daughters of Dupree. This historical fiction novel is about the secrets kept between mothers and daughters over the course of seven generations and is told backwards in time from 1995 to 1860. The Seven Daughters of Dupree will be released on January 27th, 2026, but is available for pre-order now at MahoganyBooks.com. Please consider pre-ordering The Seven Daughters of Dupree today.African AncestryWe are the pioneers of genetic ancestry tracing for Black people globally, reconnecting you to your specific African roots–the country and the people. Our scientists compare your DNA markers to the largest African reference database in the world in order to find your African origin up to 2000 years ago.African Ancestry

May 28 · 48m

Join Niccara as she welcomes Baltimore-born columnist, author, and truth teller Leslie Gray Streeter to the pod! We talk about her debut novel Family & Other Calamities — a sharp, funny, and deeply human story about a journalist who returns home to Baltimore to bury her late husband's ashes and discovers that the friend who stole her story 30 years ago is now making it into a movie, and she's the villain. We get into what it costs to leave and how your absence gives some license to tell your story, the danger charm and how that allows others to get away with too much, why being right doesn't mean your hands are clean, and how younger generations can hold us accountable. Plus: our shared Baltimore love, the Ivy Hotel, Marta brunch, and why you need to talk to your elders while you still can.Perfect for readers who love sharp, character-driven fiction about women reckoning with the truth: about the news, about their families, and about themselves. Make sure you pick up Family & Other Calamities wherever you get your books and then go read Black Widow because she's been doing this, and it shows.Follow & Find Leslie Gray Streeter: lesliegraystreeter.com | @lesliegraystreeter on Instagram, Threads & Blue Sky | Baltimore BannerFollow Us: @butmakeitbookspod | @thebookishhottie | bookishlyhealing.comShop With Us: Use our Mahogany Books link with code BMIBDon't forget to rate, subscribe and review!Keeping healing...but make it books. Peace y'all Mentioned in this episode:The Seven Daughters of Dupree Pre-Order Offer Nikisha Elise Williams, the host of the Black and Published podcast, is celebrating the release of her forthcoming novel, The Seven Daughters of Dupree. This historical fiction novel is about the secrets kept between mothers and daughters over the course of seven generations and is told backwards in time from 1995 to 1860. The Seven Daughters of Dupree will be released on January 27th, 2026, but is available for pre-order now at MahoganyBooks.com. Please consider pre-ordering The Seven Daughters of Dupree today.African AncestryWe are the pioneers of genetic ancestry tracing for Black people globally, reconnecting you to your specific African roots–the country and the people. Our scientists compare your DNA markers to the largest African reference database in the world in order to find your African origin up to 2000 years ago.African AncestryAfrican AncestryWe are the pioneers of genetic ancestry tracing for Black people globally, reconnecting you to your specific African roots–the country and the people. Our scientists compare your DNA markers to the largest African reference database in the world in order to find your African origin up to 2000 years ago.African Ancestry

May 14 · 54m

Join Niccara as she welcomes award-winning author, journalist, and two-time Emmy Award-winning television producer Nikesha Elise Williams to the pod! We talk about her sweeping debut with Simon & Schuster, Seven Daughters of Dupree: a multigenerational saga tracing seven generations of Black women from 1860 to the present day, bound together by legacy, love, loss, and a curse that only a daughter can break. We get into the enslaved ancestor whose story sets everything in motion, why hair is both inheritance and survival in this novel, what secrecy truly costs the women of this bloodline, the intimacy Black people have always had to carry about white folks just to stay safe, and the quiet call of the land pulling Black people back to the South. Plus Nikesha reads from the prologue and we spiral beautifully into hot combs, Saturday nights, and every Black girl's sensory memory.Perfect for readers who love multigenerational Black family sagas, stories rooted in the Black South, and honest reckoning with what we carry, what we keep secret, and what we dare to pass on differently. Make sure you pick up The Seven Daughters of Dupree wherever you get your books, and run it up!Follow & Find Nikesha Elise Williams: @nikesha_elise | newwrites.com | Black & Publish PodcastFollow Us: @butmakeitbookspod | @thebookishhottie | bookishlyhealing.comShop With Us: Use our Mahogany Books link with code BMIBThe Seven Daughters of DupreeDon't forget to rate, subscribe and review!Keeping it real...but make it books. Peace y'allMentioned in this episode:African AncestryWe are the pioneers of genetic ancestry tracing for Black people globally, reconnecting you to your specific African roots–the country and the people. Our scientists compare your DNA markers to the largest African reference database in the world in order to find your African origin up to 2000 years ago.African AncestryThe Seven Daughters of Dupree Pre-Order Offer Nikisha Elise Williams, the host of the Black and Published podcast, is celebrating the release of her forthcoming novel, The Seven Daughters of Dupree. This historical fiction novel is about the secrets kept between mothers and daughters over the course of seven generations and is told backwards in time from 1995 to 1860. The Seven Daughters of Dupree will be released on January 27th, 2026, but is available for pre-order now at MahoganyBooks.com. Please consider pre-ordering The Seven Daughters of Dupree today.African AncestryWe are the pioneers of genetic ancestry tracing for Black people globally, reconnecting you to your specific African roots–the country and the people. Our scientists compare your DNA markers to the largest African reference database in the world in order to find your African origin up to 2000 years ago.African Ancestry

Apr 30 · 57m

Join Niccara as she links up with Lana and Samra of She Well Read for a conversation that starts with a book and ends up saying everything. We dig into Amy DuBois Barnett's If I Ruled the World — a 90s New York story following a Black editor navigating ambition, power, and survival at the intersection of hip hop and high fashion — and we don't let it go without pulling the thread all the way through. We talk about what it costs Black women to be seen in industries that were never built for them, the misogyny baked into hip hop then and now, how we were raised on shame instead of power, and the quiet ways we make concessions just to stay in the room. Plus: natural hair, predators with platforms, men crashing out, and why Nikki at the end of the book is absolutely who you want to have brunch with.Perfect for readers who love stories about Black women's ambition and self-discovery, and for anyone reckoning with the 90s: nostalgia, rose-colored glasses and all. Make sure you pick up "If I Ruled the World" from where you get your books and stay tuned because it's becoming a TV show!Follow & Find She Well Read: @shewellread | TikTok, Instagram & ThreadsFollow Us: @butmakeitbookspod | @thebookishhottie | bookishlyhealing.comShop With Us: Use our Mahogany Books link with code BMIBIf I Ruled the World Don't forget to rate, subscribe and review!Keep healing...but make it books. Peace y'allMentioned in this episode:African AncestryWe are the pioneers of genetic ancestry tracing for Black people globally, reconnecting you to your specific African roots–the country and the people. Our scientists compare your DNA markers to the largest African reference database in the world in order to find your African origin up to 2000 years ago.African AncestryThe Seven Daughters of Dupree Pre-Order Offer Nikisha Elise Williams, the host of the Black and Published podcast, is celebrating the release of her forthcoming novel, The Seven Daughters of Dupree. This historical fiction novel is about the secrets kept between mothers and daughters over the course of seven generations and is told backwards in time from 1995 to 1860. The Seven Daughters of Dupree will be released on January 27th, 2026, but is available for pre-order now at MahoganyBooks.com. Please consider pre-ordering The Seven Daughters of Dupree today.African AncestryWe are the pioneers of genetic ancestry tracing for Black people globally, reconnecting you to your specific African roots–the country and the people. Our scientists compare your DNA markers to the largest African reference database in the world in order to find your African origin up to 2000 years ago.African Ancestry