African American Humor

A testament to the importance of imagination, trusting oneself, and making space for your creativity, Did Everyone Have an Imaginary Friend (or Just Me)? is a memoir of a '90s kid who confided in his imaginary sidekick to navigate everything from parallel pop culture universes, like watching Fresh Prince alongside John Hughes movies or listening to Ja Rule and Dave Matthews, to a lifetime of birthday disappointment (being a Christmas season Capricorn will do that to you) and hoop dreams gone bad.

Weighing in at 320 pounds, Winston "Tuffy" Foshay, is an East Harlem denizen who breaks jaws and shoots dogs and dreams of millions from his idea, Cap'n Crunch: The Movie, starring Danny DeVito. His best friend is a disabled Muslim who wants to rob banks, his guiding light is an ex-hippie Asian woman who worked for Malcolm X, and his wife, Yolanda, he married from jail over the phone. Shrewdly comical as this dazzling novel is, it turns acerbically sublime when the frustrated Tuffy agrees to run for City Council.

In South Africa, the future looks promising. Personal robots are making life easier for the working class. The government is harnessing renewable energy to provide infrastructure for the poor. And in the bustling coastal town of Port Elizabeth, the economy is booming thanks to the genetic engineering industry that has found a welcome home there. Yes, the days to come are looking very good for South Africans. That is, if they can survive the present challenges.

Barrington Jedidiah Walker is seventy-four and leads a double life. Born and bred in Antigua, he's lived in Hackney since the sixties. A flamboyant, wise-cracking local character, Barrington is a husband, father and grandfather - but he is also secretly lovers with his great childhood friend, Morris. When his marriage goes into meltdown, Barrington wants to divorce Carmel and live with Morris, but after a lifetime of fear and deception, will he manage to break away?

Madeline Harper, an 87-year-old career-focused woman who spent her life chasing ambition, has a sudden accident while preparing for Thanksgiving. When she wakes, she is thrust into a vivid, dreamlike experience where she is hosting the Thanksgiving of her dreams—filled with family, love, and bittersweet humor. But reality hits hard when she wakes up in a hospital to find she has no one to take her home. What follows is a heartfelt, funny, and emotional journey as Madeline reconnects with the only person who ever held her heart, finding hope and love when she thought all was lost.

Sahara is Not Okay. Entering her sophomore year, she already feels like a failure: her body is too much, her love life is nonexistent, she’s not Nigerian enough for her family, her grades are subpar, and, well, the few Black classmates she has are vanishing—or dying. Sahara herself is close to giving up: depression has been her longtime “Life Partner."" She believes that this narrative—taking the form of an irreverent, no-holds-barred “thesis” addressed to the powerful University Committee that will judge her.

The First Lady of Gospel Comedy, Pat G’Orge-Walker, pens faith-based fiction that deftly blends spirituality and hilarity. Prayer warrior Sister Betty knows that trouble is brewing for the Crossing Over Sanctuary Church. Millions of dollars in debt, the church has numerous saviors waiting in the wings, but each of these angels has a tarnished halo. It’s going to take all of Sister Betty’s faith, and maybe even a few Christmas miracles, to get the church back on its feet and open for worship.

Melanie and Xavier have been having the time of their lives. But Melanie swears there's something going on and she will get to the bottom of it. But Xavier is determined not to lose her. And he won't because he has a plan to make sure she stays around for a while. So does Melanie if she's proven wrong about her fears. Will she find the proof she needs to confirm her suspicions? Will Xavier be able to silence Melanie's insecurities? Find out what the future holds for these two in the third installment of Swagger So Right!

In the heart of Gary, Indiana, three adventurous siblings named Leah, Nasir, and Kingston roamed the bustling streets every summer day. Leah, a curious and resourceful girl with a passion for books, led the way. Nasir, her older brother, was a tech-savvy boy with a love for puzzles, while Kingston, the youngest of the trio, was a fearless and imaginative boy who dreamed of becoming a superhero, yet wise enough to know that being a hero doesn’t require powers but selflessness and bravery. After their parents banned electronics for a week. One sunny afternoon, as they explored a seldom-...

He's late delivering her pizza, but just on time to deliver her baby! Stephanie Nine months pregnant, recently widowed, and craving a double mushroom and extra sauce pizza. If that’s not bad enough, a handsome med-student who is late delivering my favorite comfort food finally arrives just as my water breaks. Not the beginning of your usual love story, I know. There’s something about Daniel, though. He’s white and privileged, a thousand miles from my world. After he delivers my baby, we start to spend time together. After the baby's father died in Afghanistan, I told myself I'd never ...

Essence best-selling author and Gospel comedy queen Pat G’Orge-Walker delights millions with her riotous send-ups of church life. Don’t Blame the Devil is a hilarious and inspiring novel of mistakes and second chances, heartache and love, sin and salvation. Delilah is in for a few surprises when she decides to come to the rescue of her long-estranged son Jesse—whose wife just died—and her granddaughter Tamara.

Meet Relebogile Naledi Mpho Moruakgomo. Or, for short, Eddie: an aspiring playwright who dreams of making it big in London’s theater world. But after repeated rejections from white talent agents, Eddie suspects her non-white sounding name might be the problem. Enter Hugo Lawrence Smith: good looking, well-connected, charismatic and…very white. Stifled by his law degree and looking for a way out of the corporate world, he finds a kindred spirit in Eddie after a chance encounter at a cafe. Together they devise a plan, one which will see Eddie’s play on stage and Hugo’s name in lights.

June can't tell a lie - and that made for a lot of drama even before she joined her school musical! An enchanting middle grade series that listeners won't want to miss. Honestly. June has a hard time telling the truth when it isn't what people want to hear. But she's trying to be honest with herself, and auditioning for the school musical is what she really wants -- even if her parents have other ideas.

A spicy holiday romance featuring a grumpy hockey star turned CEO, a determined lawyer fighting for her community, and a Taylor Swift-loving turtle. Perfect for fans of Theodora Taylor, Helena Hunting and Pippa Grant! All I want for Christmas…is you! TESSA I never meant to fall for Grant Thompson. He's arrogant, stubborn, and represents everything I'm fighting against in this town. But when he dives into a frozen pond to save my nephew, I start seeing beneath that polished corporate facade. Now he's pretending I'm his fiancée, and what started as a Christmas charade is feeling ...

Tara was tired of going to bed every night alone and waking to an empty house. Here it was, another Christmas passing by, and she didn’t have anyone to spend it with. She made a promise to herself to break free and have some fun. No more living life cautiously. And her sexy neighbor would be the perfect person to help her practice what she preached. Bashir had seen his beautiful neighbor in the area every now and then, but he’d never had an opportunity to introduce himself. Either she was heading out, or he was turning in. He felt that he would finally get his chance when he saw her ...

She is conducting an interview for High Times while harboring a secret. He runs the largest legal marijuana operation in Colorado and loves money above all else. Can they break through and make sense of their worlds as they come together? Brent Stone I run the biggest legal marijuana operation in Colorado, and I’m not about to let anyone stand in my way as I grow my wealth with weed. After she comes into the picture, so secretive and sexy, I lose my way for a minute. If I’ve learned anything becoming the King of Pot, it’s that money talks and women are a dime a dozen. Still, there’s...

Born and raised in the heart of old Dixie, D'aron Davenport finds himself in unfamiliar territory his freshman year at UC Berkeley. Two thousand miles and a world away from his childhood, he is a small-town fish floundering in the depths of a large, hyperliberal pond. Caught between the prosaic values of his rural hometown and the intellectualized, multicultural cosmopolitanism of Berzerkeley, the 19-year-old white kid is uncertain about his place until one disastrous party brings him three idiosyncratic best friends.

Within these pages are the musings, the revelations, the ruminations, and the reflections of the incomparable Larry Wilmore. Here, collected for the first time, all in one place, are his Black Thoughts. From why black weathermen make him feel happy (or sad) and why brothas don't see UFOs to his search for Black Jesus or his quest to replace "African-American" with "chocolate," Wilmore has finally relented, agreeing to share his unique (black) perspective.

The woman she’s had a crush on for years needs a fake girlfriend, and Elana is ready to volunteer for the job! Toya is in a bind. Her little sister is getting married, and her mother is insisting she bring her girlfriend to the wedding. She’d told a little white lie to get her mom off her back, but now it’s backfiring. Her mom thinks she’s in a committed relationship, so Toya needs to find a pretend girlfriend, and fast. Elana fell in love with Toya the minute she set eyes on her. Unfortunately, she somehow went right into the friend zone. Elana has been hesitant to rock the boat, ...

“Happy wife. Happy life.” This recurrent phrase has slowly morphed from folksy colloquialism to full-blown mantra by an ever-increasing share of married men all around the modern world. The irony [or the ignominy–depending on which side of the aisle you sit on] being that no such idiom appears to exist in the reverse. Nevertheless, for Bethuel “Bee” Blazey, finding that special someone to stand beside him while he grows his family business has proven to be an exercise in futility. More meme than Kermit the Frog sipping black tea. Introducing, M.A.I.A., short for Modifiable ...