Black Market Reads

Looking forward to an intriguing summer read, Lissa talks with author Valerie Burns about her latest work. Packed with a delicious mix of cake, chaos, and crime, Icing on the Murder is a page-turner that’s sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats and leave them craving more! In this fourth installment of the Baker Street Mystery series, influencer-turned-bakery-owner Maddy Montgomery is preparing for her dream wedding, but before she can say "I do" to her fiancé, veterinarian Michael Portman, she must first solve a murder that threatens to ruin her big day. When world-renowned wedding planner Serafina is found impaled by one of Baby Cakes Bakery’s wedding cake skewers, Maddy and her trusted crew—along with a little help from her 250-pound Mastiff, Baby—take on the case. But can they unmask the killer in time for wedding bells to ring? Learn more: www.BlackMarketReads.com [https://www.BlackMarket]

Ink, Identity, and Imagination: Literature as a Catalyst for Black Determination was the plenary discussion for From Resistance to Resilience: The Evolution of African American Reading, The Givens Foundation's Annual Conference held June 3, 2025 at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. Moderator: Gevonee Ford, founder of the Network for the Development of Children of African Descent [https://www.ndcad.org/] Panelists: Dr. Duchess Harris [https://www.duchessharris.com/], scholar, author and curator of The Duchess Harris Collection, Dr. Ebony Aya, founder of the Aya Collective [https://ayacollectivemn.com/], and Tish Jones, poet and Executive Director of TruArtSpeaks [https://www.truartspeaks.org/] Enjoy additional conference recordings and highlights: [https://blackmarketreads.com/2025/06/18/from-resistance-to-resilience-dr-luke-wood/]

Duchess Harris, professor and author, was a presenter at From Resistance to Resilience: The Evolution of African American Reading,  The Givens Foundation for African American Literature's annual conference,  held on June 3, 2025 at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. In this engaging workshop, Dr. Harris addresses The Unwritten Curriculum: How Erasure in Literature Fuels Inequity, as she talks about her trajectory as an author, and the banning of her books. Visit BlackMarketReads.com [https://blackmarketreads.com/2025/06/18/from-resistance-to-resilience-dr-luke-wood/] to hear from conference Keynote Dr. Luke Wood, President of Sacramento State University and creator of the first Black Honors College.

Dr. Luke Woods was the Keynote speaker at the Givens Foundation's annual conference conference,  Dr. Luke Wood returned to his alma mater, Sacramento State to become its ninth president on July 16th, 2023. A nationally renowned scholar on racial equity with a specific focus on early childhood education and community colleges. Dr. Wood has authored or co-authored 16 books and published nearly 200 articles, focusing on racial inequity in education. Dr. Woods' bold vision for the university includes 23 strategic action items, including the creation of the Nation's First Black Honors College, which welcomed its inaugural class of scholars in the fall of 2024. President Wood holds a bachelor's degree in Black history and Politics and a Master's degree in higher education leadership from Sacramento State and a master of Education in Early Childhood Education, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies with a higher education concentration from Arizona State University. “From Resistance to Resilience: The Evolution of African American Reading,” was an extraordinary opportunity to champion literacy, cultural equity, and social justice. Held on June 3, 2025, this event was made possible through the generous support of the Minnesota Humanities Center.

In this episode Lissa talks with author Rickey Fayne about deep philosophical questions inspired by his latest novel The Devil Three Times (Hachette Book Group, May 2025). Rickey Fayne is a fiction writer from rural West Tennessee whose work has appeared in American Short Fiction, Guernica, The Sewanee Review, and The Kenyon Review, among other magazines. He holds an MA in English from Northwestern University and an MFA in Fiction from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas. His writing embodies his Black, Southern upbringing in order to reimagine and honor his ancestors’ experiences. This episode was recorded at Magers & Quinn Booksellers [https://www.magersandquinn.com/product/The-Devil-Three-Times/27079546] in Minneapolis, MN. Visit www.BlackMarketReads.com [https://www.BlackMarket]   Our production team for this episode includes co-producers Lissa Jones and Edie French, technical director Paul Auguston, the voice Yo Derek, and our artist of inspiration Ta-coumba T. Aiken. We thank Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota for supporting this series focusing on the intersection of health, race, and culture.