Tonight: A conversation you can’t miss

Dear ZORA Family,

Does anyone remember Book-of-the-Month clubs from back in the day? Those tiny postage-stamp-sized book covers offered the promise of a journey to worlds both known and unknown. And, if you’re like me, when the box arrived in the mail with the four or six titles you’d chosen, it would make your heart do a happy dance.

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I believe women of color in particular cling to books and become avid readers because we long to see ourselves and our stories represented in print. There is something about fonts on a cream-colored page that feels substantial and significant. And once you find an author who touches those places in you that make you feel seen, you can’t wait for the next book to come so you can immerse yourself in the worlds they’ve created once more.

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In case you hadn’t noticed, we LOVE books at ZORA. In fact, in a very short amount of time, you have helped make ZORA’s Instagram account one of the fastest-growing at Medium — and that’s largely due to your love of books and the book club we have created.

We have a special treat for you tonight, in fact. If you tune in @zora or @medium on Instagram Live tonight at 5:30 ET, you’ll find our Deputy Editor Christina Tapper in conversation with Dr. Sami Schalk (@fierceblackfemme) about our last book pick, The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. If you happened to miss last month’s pick, don’t worry. This month we are reading bestseller, Such A Fun Age by Kiley Reid. We’ll also be hosting a convo with Kiley on May 27th so stay tuned for more details.

When you have a moment, drop us a line about what our June Book Club book should be from the ZORA Canon. We’d love to know what you think!

Stay in touch,

Vanessa K. De Luca, Editor-in-Chief