On Building Relationships: Black Authors and Booksellers

As a bookseller, I've learned you have two to three primary relationships: one with whomever you're buying the book from, another with the customers who patron your store, and sometimes a third with an author's publicists—or the author themselves—for engagement events or activities, usually during a book promotion tour. Either way, it's important to cultivate relationships in this space, especially when it comes to the promotion of literature by Black authors, which BLK & Company does exclusively.

Sometime last month, I received an email from the National Association of Black Bookstores with an invitation for Black booksellers to listen to an exclusive conversation with an author whose work I was familiar with: Sadeqa Johnson. You probably know her from Yellow Wife and/or The House of Eve. I thought, "Wow, in all of my short years as a bookseller, I've never been invited to an author-bookseller chat before." It's not that these conversations don't happen—they do, just not often with us as the intended audience.

During this chat, I had the opportunity to learn about Sadeqa's intention behind working with her editor, Dawn Davis, and publisher 37 INK/Simon & Schuster, to engage with Black booksellers around the U.S. directly in the promotion of her upcoming release, Keeper of Lost Children. This conversation also served as a more intimate invitation for us to learn about her history in working publicity and how she came to write her first novel and subsequently become a traditionally published author after years of self-peddling. That journey—from doing it all yourself to landing with a major publisher—isn't lost on those of us who work closely with indie authors. It's a reminder of the hustle, the persistence, and the trust it takes to keep going when the industry hasn't opened the door yet.

I found this conversation enlightening and was appreciative of the opportunity because most times, interactions of this nature are between authors and their target audience of readers, with the bookstore used more as a backdrop—a venue, not a collaborator. We're the space where the event happens, but rarely the ones being spoken to directly about the work itself or how we might champion it within our communities. Even though Sadeqa Johnson is a traditionally published, New York Times bestselling author, this exchange reminded me why BLK & Company works hard on engaging with indie authors to make available marketing opportunities and book distribution. Independent authors often don't have publicists or publisher-backed campaigns reaching out to booksellers on their behalf. So we do that work ourselves: building those bridges, creating those conversations. Seeing a traditionally published author intentionally seek out that same kind of relationship with Black booksellers shows what's possible when the industry recognizes us as partners, not just points of sale.

With this, we want to present an exclusive offer to our community to pre-order her upcoming release, Keeper of Lost Children.

Customers who order will receive:

• A signed bookplate

• A custom bookmark

• An exclusive invitation to a virtual VIP experience with Sadeqa Johnson, where she will be discussing Keeper of Lost Children and hosting a special giveaway

This isn't just about early access or perks. It's about being part of a conversation—about the book, the process, the intention behind it. It's the kind of engagement that deepens the reading experience and reminds us why we care about books in the first place.

For all those interested, fill out the interest form [here].

We hope you grab your copy!

Until next time,

Happy Reading