35 Books Published by Andrews McMeel Publishing on AALBC — Book Cover Collage

A care package, left by r.h. Sin, found by you.

From New York Times bestselling author, r.h. Sin, comes a care package of two new poetry and prose collections boxed together in an elegant slipcase.

From bestselling poet Samantha King Holmes and New York Times bestselling author r.h. Sin comes a collection of poetry, prose, and photography that proves love is infinite and ever changing.

This is a seven-year tapestry of love, adventure, enlightenment, and progression. A collection of moments sewn together with poetry and prose, memories and musings.

Anywho, I Love You is a window into what we have seen and what we have felt throughout our journey as lovers, parents, authors, and artists.

Embark on a gentle journey back to self with this wistful and inspiring collection of poetry from beloved poet and writer Billy Chapata. Velvet Dragonflies cushions readers with love and tenderness, guiding them through the often coarse path back to self-love.

This latest poetry collection by breakout poet Billy Chapata is thoughtfully divided into five sections: "Viscose," "Koigu," "Damask," "Charmeuse," and "Landing." Each section symbolizes the evolving softness and gentle grace found in the journey of rediscovering true, deep self-respect and acceptance. Echoing the style and impact of his previous works, Chapata’s words resonate deeply, leaving a lasting impression on readers long after the last page is turned.

“To describe this book, I wrote from the perspective of the black experience. My experience particularly. It’s a book about grief, death, rebirth, ancestors, and spirit. I talk about the matrix and wanting out of it.”—Reyna Biddy

A collection of poetry focused on rebirth, ancestors, spirit, and so much more from the unique perspective and voice of a revered spoken-word poet, author, and self-love enthusiast.

We Find Our Way, the third collection of poetry from creator Reyna Biddy, explores themes of love and dependency, both within ourselves and with the people we hold close. Biddy’s propensity for making readers feel welcomed, healed, and hopeful is evident in every poem; every sentence; every word she pens. The variety of writing styles—from short, thought-provoking pieces to longer, more lyrical versification—perfectly cradle Biddy’s unique thoughts on intimate topics like motherhood, childbirth, and sacrifice, and many of the other complexities life contains. Biddy’s words are more influential and necessary now than ever.

From New York Times bestselling author r.h. Sin comes a modern-day lullaby that illustrates the importance of rest.

Written from the perspective of parenthood with the intent to illustrate the beauty in rest. The wonderful exploration that exists within a dream and a baby’s journey to get there. Dream, My Child is a modern lullaby that will spark the imagination of your little one.

From the authors of The New York Times bestsellers Empty Bottles Full of Stories and Falling Toward the Moon comes a brand-new collection of compelling poetry and prose.

There’s a harshness in the air; the season is changing its colors. The rain is chilled, icy to the touch, and the sky, filled with melancholy. Your search for warmth has brought you here; you starve for something profound. You require something that will resonate with your soul. Despite how cold, you’re determined to grow. And with these words, you bloom, a winter rose.

Samantha King Holmes brings forth a raw, original perspective. A collection of poetry that breathes hope into the idea of love while mourning the human condition of seeking out connections, sometimes with the wrong people. Her verse takes the readers on an introspective journey of love, longing, and self-evolution.

Born to Love, Cursed to Feel Revised Edition brings to life an answer to the many difficult questions involving self-love and the feelings we have for others. The book explores the need to connect and the way emotions can complicate our decision making. Ultimately this book is a poetic documentation of heartbreak, anguish, and redemption. A story told in hopes of reminding others that their mistakes do not define them and that the end is usually the beginning of something more.

In this revised edition, new, never-before-seen poems are sprinkled throughout among beloved and refreshed pieces from the first edition.

Social media sensation Billy Chapata shares insight and advice into the powerful world of love, heartbreak, and what comes next. This collection of poetry and prose will justify heartache and inspire the fortitude to survive and prosper.

From Chameleon Aura author Billy Chapata comes his second major poetry collection, Flowers on the Moon. Chapata presents his signature blend of experience and advice through a chaptered series of prose and poetry. Filled with the familiar themes of love, loss, resilience, and growth from Chameleon Aura but with fresh poems and new advice, his touching narrative celebrates humanity for its undeniable worth, and this collection will leave readers warm with hope for growth, rebirth, and, most prominently, self-acceptance.

"Thirty years after Armstrong’s comics brought diversity to the funny pages of America’s major newspapers, this humor strip retrospective perfectly packages the uncommon vision and exuberant creativity of its skilled creator." - Publisher’s Weekly

With over 500 comics, original paintings, and an intro by the author, this deluxe JumpStart treasury celebrates 30 years of one of the most beloved African-American family comic strips in history.

Robb Armstrong’s JumpStart comic strip follows the family life of the Cobb family: Joe, a police officer, his wife, Marcy, a nurse, and their children, Sunny, JoJo, and twins Tommy and Teddy, as well as their extended family, friends, and colleagues in the city of Philadelphia.

JumpStart appears in hundreds of newspapers, earning praise from readers including Peanuts creator Charles Schulz. This special treasury traces the strip’s development over the past three decades, featuring some of the strip’s most enduring and humorous storylines, making it the perfect introduction for new readers as well as the ideal souvenir for longtime fans of JumpStart.

From the authors of The New York Times bestseller Empty Bottles Full of Stories comes a brand-new collection of compelling poetry and prose.

The heart will ache, the soul will feel weary, and the mind will be weighed down by the things you wish to forget. There will be nights when all you have is yourself and the moon. There will be nights when silence will exist in abundance. And even though you may feel lonely at first. You must understand that the solitude is a gift; you must understand that even when alone, you are more than enough.

Self-made poet and social media sensation Pierre Jeanty has triumphed once again with his most recent collection, Apologies That Never Came. From words that never left your mouth to feelings you held on to, these words explore an unspoken space in heartbreak and pain, providing solace to the wounded soul.

With massive social media followings and a loyal fan base, Jeanty is poised for great success for his sixth poetry collection entitled Apologies That Never Came. In this series of prose and poetry, both the words and sentiment are simple, uninterrupted by excess flair or complexity.

Apologies That Never Came dissects the agony of heartbreak and loss through the unexpressed words and feelings; what is left over at the end. While his poems and prose delve into pain, they ultimately transcend that heartbreak, awakening everyone’s preexisting strength and capacity for growth. Much like in his previous collections, Jeanty has successfully created a tool for unity and healing out of the torment of his experiences.

Maybe all the answers to all your questions are living within you, waiting to be discovered after finding more of yourself.

Don't Tell Me Not to Ask Why, Samantha King Holmes's second solo poetry collection following her bestselling Born to Love, Cursed to Feel, is a mirror that reflects our honest truths. Holmes's poems are like little stories, hooking readers while navigating issues like body image, family relationships, loneliness, failed relationships, and finding belonging. Don't Tell Me Not to Ask Why is a call to introspection, a demand for honesty, and an affirmation of second chances.

A joint poetry collection from the virally popular and bestselling poets r.h. Sin and Robert M. Drake.

What are you hiding behind your smile? If those empty bottles that line the walls of your room could speak, what tales would they spill? So much of your truth is buried beneath the lies you tell yourself. There’s a need to scream to the moon; there’s this urge to go out into the darkness of the night to purge. There are so many stories living inside your soul, you just want the opportunity to tell them. And when you can’t find the will to express what lives within your heart, these words will give you peace. These words will set you free.

Zimbabwean poet Billy Chapata provides a thought-provoking take on the universal experiences of love, pain, and what comes next through messages of empowerment. This collection of poetry and prose is designed to justify heartache and inspire the fortitude to survive and prosper.

Chameleon Aura presents a harmonious blend of experience and advice, structured as a chaptered series of prose and poetry. It focuses on shared experiences in love and loss. The bold words and phrases are a hallmark of Chapata’s style, capturing the essence of his empowering messages. His narrative celebrates human resilience and undeniable worth, leaving readers imbued with hope for growth, rebirth, and, most importantly, self-acceptance.

From the author of I Love My Love comes this spiritual inquiry in four parts - the blues, epiphany, prayer, and rebirth.

A Psalm for Us is Reyna "Biddy" Mays’s soulful collection of prose, self-affirmations, spoken word poems, and short stories exploring questions of faith and self.

Bestselling poet r.h. Sin, author of the Whiskey, Words, & a Shovel series, presents a poetry collection that illuminates the transformative power of emotional pain.

Algedonic is an aesthetic outlook on pain and pleasure. Complex emotions simplified into poetic interludes as only r.h. Sin can express. With his trademark of giving simplicity to some of the hardest of emotions, Sin reminds us all that there are often two sides to an emotional story and sometimes the pain transforms into something beautiful, something less problematic and maybe something that reignites a feeling of pleasure.

r.h. Sin, bestselling author of the Whiskey, Words & a Shovel series, returns with a collection of poetry and prose meant to remind the wounded that they are, in fact, beautiful in a way society may never comprehend.

A Beautiful Composition of Broken is inspired by some of the events expressed artistically by Samantha King in the bestseller Born to Love, Cursed to Feel. It serves as a poetic documentary of the lives of people who have been mistreated, misunderstood, and wrongfully labeled in a way that limits them in this world. The author’s most personal volume yet, A Beautiful Composition of Broken builds a conceptual bridge between r.h. Sin’s earliest work and his series, Planting Gardens in Graves.

In short, poignant verses, Reyna Biddy’s poems explore pain, emotional reckoning, and the power of self-love.

The debut collection from 22-year-old poet Reyna Biddy, I Love My Love tells the story of Reyna’s childhood, her parents’ toxic relationship, and how, against all odds, she learned to love herself.

For fans of r.h. Sin comes a new voice, Samantha King's raw, relatable poetry both celebrates love and mourns the human "curse to feel." Her verse transports readers to the most private reaches of love and longing.

Born to Love, Cursed to Feel is about love—the good, the bad, and the confusing. It touches on morals and how when emotions are involved it's not as black and white. The poetry

Real and raw, the voice of R. H. Sin delivers gritty, impassioned truths on matters of loving, living, and leaving in his second book of poetry. Sin’s first book is a bestseller and continues to delight his one million followers.

R.H. Sin’s second volume continues the passion and vigor of his previous publication. His stanzas inspire strength through the pure emotional energy and the vulnerability of his poems. Relationships, love, pain, and fortitude are powerfully rendered in his poetry, and his message of perseverance in the face of emotional turmoil cuts to the heart of modern-day life.

R.H. Sin’s poems are often only a few lines long, and yet the emotional punch of his language gives these words an enduring power beyond the short page. He doesn’t back away from the pains and struggles of life and love, and yet his determined, unapologetic voice provides a measure of comfort and a message of perseverance that is at once realistic and indomitable. This blend of determination and painful vulnerability gives his poetry a distinctive, engaging flavor.

Darrin Bell’s Candorville is an insightful comic strip for today’s world. Brutally honest but still evenhanded, Candorville takes on some of society’s toughest issues, giving readers something to think about—as well as smirks, chuckles, and guffaws.

Another Stereotype Bites the Dust is a collection of creator Darrin Bell’s Candorville cartoon strip. In this thought-provoking strip Bell uses a diverse group of friends to paint a real yet humorous portrait of inner-city America. An educated underachiever, Lemont Brown is an aspiring writer. Socially conscious, he wants to work at changing the world and infusing it with wisdom and justice—if only he could pay his rent. Lemont’s childhood friend Susan Garcia is a book-smart and street savvy Mexican-American woman who won’t let bigotry or any glass ceiling keep her down. And Lemont’s friend Clyde (aka C-Dog) is a streetwise thug and undiscovered rapper who’d rather mooch off his mother than get a job.

Another Stereotype Bites the Dust deals with some tough issues—poverty, homelessness, racism, and personal responsibility—with knowing irony and incisive satire. Bell uses edgy dialogue and modern situations to jab everything from political correctness to political spinning, from political hindsight to office politics, making it a hit with the socially aware.

An insightful comic strip filled with edgy dialogue and thoroughly modern situations, Candorville: Thank God for Culture Clash by Darrin Bell is made for today’s world. It fearlessly covers bigotry, poverty, homelessness, biracialism, personal responsibility, and more while never losing sight of the humor behind these weighty issues. The strip targets the socially conscious by tackling tough issues with irony, satire, and humor. Candorville: Thank God for Culture Clash celebrates diversity by poking a little fun at it.

When people read the strip over breakfast, we want them to laugh. If they’re eating cereal, we want them to giggle so hard that milk will run out of their nose. If they’re not eating cereal, the milk-nose thing may be tough to achieve, but we will remain optimistic."

Rudy Park and the other regulars and misfits who hang out at the House of Java coffeehouse form a modern nuclear family, drawn together by something much more powerful than blood-caffeine. Just as cavemen once hung out around a campfire, our regulars gather around the espresso machine discussing issues of the day, coping with modern life, and engaging in the occasional violent dispute over the bathroom key. The cafe also serves as a crossroads for current events and a watering hole for celebrities and politicians, such as J-Lo and Ben Affleck (contemplating a joint run for governor), Dick Cheney (doling out dating advice), and the gang from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (making sure everyone is dressed suitably for the comics page).

So sit down with a warm cup of joe and enjoy Peace, Love, and Lattes, the second collection of Rudy Park, which Newsweek has named as one of the top three contenders for new strip of the decade. Rudy Park offers social and cultural commentary that is both insightful and hilarious. With Rudy at the forefront, this technocentric strip lampoons the fast pace of our technology-driven world, our obsession with material possessions, and the folly of our cultural and political icons. Since bursting onto the comics page in 2001, the strip has grown in syndication to nearly 100 newspapers and Web sites, including the Seattle Times, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Chicago Sun-Times, Detroit Free Press, and Denver’s Rocky Mountain News.

Rudy Park: The People Must Be Wired is the hilarious first collection of the technocentric comic strip Rudy Park. The strip lampoons the fast pace of our technology-driven world, our obsession with materialism, and the foibles of our cultural and political icons. Set at an Internet caf , the strip follows the lives of a regular cast of characters, including Rudy, the caf ’s manager, who believes in all things Internet, the healing powers of consumption, and the conviction that inner peace lies in having the latest technological gadget. At the cybercaf , Rudy must deal with his new station in life, his entrepreneurial boss, and an odd assortment of regular patrons, like Mrs. Cohen, an irascible octogenarian who challenges Rudy at every turn. The caf is also a crossroads for contemporary issues and celebrity and political visitors, such as John Ashcroft (who monitors people from his home inside a pastry container at the cafe), and Senator Tom Daschle (who, afraid to draw too much attention to himself, lives under a table).

Writer Theron Heir grew up in Boulder, Colorado, but currently lives in San Francisco. He is biding his time with cartooning until he finds a way to profit from his revolutionary theories on napping. Cartoonist Darrin Bell grew up in East L.A. before making his current home in the San Francisco Bay Area. His other comic strip, "Candorville," is syndicated by the Washington Post Writer’s Group. His editorial cartoons appear regularly in the L.A. Times and other major newspapers.

The Boondocks is a rich, multilayered comic strip that offers a frank yet often funny look at race in America. It starts with a simple premise: Two young boys, Riley and Huey, move from inner-city Chicago to live with their grandfather in the suburbs. The tension increases, however, because the two boys are African-Americans now compelled to adapt to a white suburban world. They must take all they’ve learned in the "hood" and apply it to life in the ’burbs. Superbly illustrated, The Boondocks has stirred controversy, attracted widespread media coverage, and won readers who’ve applauded McGruder’s unapologetic and humorous approach to race. In this second collection of Boondocks cartoons, readers can get another look at this innovative strip.

The Boondocks took the syndication world by storm. The notoriety landed Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder in publications ranging from Time magazine to People magazine which named him one of the "25 Most Intriguing People of ’99." Centered around the experiences of two young African-American boys, Huey and Riley, who move from inner-city Chicago to the suburbs (or the "boondocks" to them), the strip fuses hip-hop sensibilities with Japanese anime-style drawings and a candid discussion of race. In this first collection of Boondocks cartoons, you’ll discover the funny yet revealing combination of superb art and envelope-pushing content in one of the most unique strips ever.

The Boondocks information Excerpted from an interview of Aaron McGruder by Keith Phipps for The Onion

Since the mid-’90s discontinuation of The Far Side, Outland, and Calvin And Hobbes (themselves holdovers from the ’80s), the world of comic strips has seemed pretty dull. One person changing that is Aaron McGruder, whose strip The Boondocks made its debut last spring in more than 150 papers, a nearly unprecedented number for a launch.

Set in the suburbs, The Boondocks follows the lives of several children, primarily two brothers transplanted from South Chicago to live with their grandfather. One, Huey Freeman, is a deeply opinionated Afrocentrist; the other, Riley "Escobar" Freeman, is a posturing would-be gangsta.

From his strip’s debut in daily papers, McGruder—whose work had previously appeared in The Source and the college paper of his alma mater, the University of Maryland—already seemed to have hit his stride, finding the right combination of winning characters, effective gags, and storylines that didn’t shy away from racial issues and other political material. This latter facet served as the initial focus of most of the attention directed at The Boondocks (it landed the strip on some papers’ editorial pages), but McGruder hopes, and The Boondocks’ continued quality suggests, that audiences will find more to like. So far, McGruder has taken on everything from the identity problems of biracial children to his disappointment in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, to the hot button issue of lawn-mowing. Currently developing an animated version of The Boondocks with director Reginald Hudlin in addition to turning out his strip, McGruder recently took some time to talk to The Onion.

""He does wonderful work. A strip needs good characters-and that’s what Jump Start has.""-Charles Schulz, creator of Peanuts Joe and Marcy Cobb are the quintessential young married couple complete with a baby, two busy careers, and eccentric parents. An eminently likable pair, Joe and Marcy juggle their relationship, their jobs-he’s a police officer, she’s a nurse-and raising their daughter, Sunny. Robb Armstrong’s characters are so popular that many readers of Jump Start tell him that they identify with the Cobbs. In fact, Jump Start features issues familiar to readers of all colors. From buying a home to volunteer work to handling the demands of parents and baby, Joe and Marcy manage life’s challenges with aplomb. ""Don’t say that word, Sunny!"" Joe intones, correcting their daughter’s newly discovered use of foul language. ""Bad, bad, bad, bad,"" corrects Marcy in agreement. In the next frame, however, Sunny’s trash-talking up a storm in church. ""Next time we won’t react so strongly,"" Joe says, embarrassed. ""It’s too late for next time,"" says Marcy, cringing in the pew. Still, Armstrong approaches many African-American-specific issues and does so in a decidedly humorous way, and he bases the strip on his own life. While discussing a movie they’ve heard everyone likes, Marcy tells Joe, ""It’s a shoo-in to get overlooked for an Oscar!"" To which Joe responds, ""That good, huh?"" Robb Armstrong offers a unique perspective that strikes a chord with audiences hungry for a positive, authentic portrayal of middle-class African-Americans. Jump Start’s humor crosses all lines because it’s just that: appealing, realistic, and downright funny!

This collection by the nationally syndicated cartoonist features such characters as Lekesia the activist, and man-dependent Sonya.