New York City, 1930. Following a decade of explosive creativity, the Harlem Renaissance is starting to feel the bite of the Great Depression. In the face of hardship and dwindling opportunity, Angel and her friends battle to keep their artistic dreams alive. But, when Angel falls for a stranger from Alabama, their romance forces the group to make good on their ambitions, or give in to the reality of the time. Pearl Cleage's Blues for an Alabama Sky was first performed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1995. It was revived at the National Theatre, London, in 2022, directed by Lynette Linton, with a cast including Samira Wiley and Giles Terera. Pearl Cleage is a celebrated American playwright, novelist, poet and political activist, and was one of the first Black women in America to achieve national recognition as a dramatist. Her plays, also including Flyin' West and Bourbon at the Border, provide a remarkable and penetrating look at the African-American experience over the last century. 'As a woman, as an African-American, her artistic objectivity and sensitivity to history combine with her capacity to dig for truth' Ruby Dee 'One of the voices singing in the wilderness' Ossie Davis

Bestselling author Pearl Cleage returns to the site of her Oprah pick novel, "What Looks Like Crazy On an Ordinary Day," to affirm life's precious wonder once again.

Since Joyce Mitchell was widowed five years ago, she's kept herself mercifully busy by running The Sewing Circus, an all-female group she founded to provide badly needed services to single mothers and other young women at risk. But some nights, home alone, she knows something is missing. And if the state legislature cuts off funding, she'll soon not even have The Sewing Circus to fill up her life. Then one night, at dinner at the home of her best friend, Sister, Joyce finds a perfect meal and a perfect man: tall, dark Nate Anderson, whose unexpected presence touches a chord in Joyce's heart that she thought it had forgotten how to play.

Suddenly, Joyce feels ready to grab a sexy red dress and the life that goes with it...if she can somehow keep her girls safe from the dark forces aligning against them.

With the unique blend of truth and humor that made her first novel, "What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day" . . ., a huge bestseller, Pearl Cleage returns with an extraordinary novel that is rich in character, steeped in sisterhood, and bursting with unexpected love . . . and maybe just a little magic.
Depending on the time of day, Regina Burns is a woman on the edge of a nervous breakdown or an overdue breakthrough. One shattered heart and six months of rehab have left her wary and shell-shocked--especially with the prospect of taking a temporary consulting job in Atlanta, a move that would allow Regina to rescue the family home that she borrowed against when she was "a stomp down dope fiend." Her stone-faced banker has grudgingly agreed to give her sixty days to settle her debts or lose the house.
Returning to Atlanta is a big risk. Last time Regina was there, she lost track of who she was and what she wanted. There's a lot of emotional baggage with her new employer, Beth Davis. Can she really forgive Beth for breaking up her wedding plans on New Year's Eve because she just didn't think Regina was good enough to marry her son?
Meanwhile, Regina's visionary Aunt Abbie has told her to be on the lookout for a handsome stranger with "the ocean in his eyes" who has a bone to pick and a promise to keep. Then a blue-eyed brother appears on the streets of Afro-Atlanta wearing a black cashmere overcoat, flashing a dazzling smile, and lending a helping hand when Regina needs it most. But between falling for Blue Hamilton and dealing with Beth, secrets will emerge that will threaten to send her life twisting in surprising new directions.
Like a conversation with a good friend, "Some Things I Never Thought I'd Do" shares hope, love, and laugher. As always, it is Pearl Cleage's unforgettable characters and her gift for dialogue that will earn this provocative new novel a place in the hearts of her growing family of readers.

Catherine Sanderson seems to have it all: a fulfilling career helping immigrant women find jobs, a lovely home, and a beautiful, intelligent daughter on her way to Smith College. What Catherine doesn't have: a father for her child- and she's spent many years dodging her daughter's questions about it. Now Phoebe is old enough to start poking around on her own. It doesn't help matters that the mystery man, B.J. Johnson-the only man Catherine has ever loved-doesn't even know about Phoebe. He's been living in Africa.
Now B.J., a renowned newspaper correspondent, is back in town and needs Catherine's help cracking a story about a female slavery ring operating right on the streets of Atlanta. Catherine is eager to help B.J., despite her heart's uncertainty over meeting him again after so long, and confessing the truth to him-and their daughter.
Meanwhile, Catherine's hands are more than full since she's taken on a new client. Atlanta's legendary Miss Mandeville-a housekeeper turned tycoon-is eager to have Catherine staff her housekeeping business. But why are the steely Miss Mandeville and her all-too-slick sidekick Sam so interested in Catherine's connection to B.J.? What transpires is an explosive story that takes her world-not to mention the entire city of Atlanta-by storm.
From the "New York Times" bestselling author of "What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day . . ." comes another fast-paced and emotionally resonant novel, by turns warm and funny, serious and raw. Pearl Cleage's ability to create a gripping story centered on strong, spirited black women and the important issues they face remains unrivaled.

"From the Hardcover edition."

After a decade of elegant pleasures and luxe living with the Atlanta brothers and sisters with the best clothes and biggest dreams, Ava Johnson has temporarily returned home to Idlewild--her fabulous career and power plans smashed to bits by cold reality. But what she imagines to be the end is, instead, a beginning. Because, in the ten-plus years since Ava left, all the problems of the big city have come to roost in the sleepy North Michigan community whose ordinariness once drove her away; and she cannot turn her back on friends and family who sorely need her in the face of impending trouble and tragedy. Besides which, that one unthinkable, unmistakable thing is now happening to her: Ava Johnson is falling in love.

Acclaimed playwright, essayist, "New York Times" bestselling author, and columnist Pearl Cleage has created a world rich in character, human drama, and deep, compassionate understanding, in a remarkable novel that sizzles with sensuality, hums with gritty truth, and sings and crackles with life-affirming energy.

In this inspiring memoir, the award-winning playwright and bestselling author of "What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day" reminisces on the art of juggling marriage, motherhood, and politics while working to become a successful writer.
In addition to being one of the most popular living playwrights in America, Pearl Cleage is a bestselling author with an Oprah Book Club pick and multiple awards to her credit. But there was a time when such stellar success seemed like a dream. In this revelatory and deeply personal work, Cleage takes readers back to the 1970s and '80s, retracing her struggles to hone her craft amidst personal and professional tumult.
Though born and raised in Detroit, it was in Atlanta that Cleage encountered the forces that would most shape her experience. Married to Michael Lomax, now head of the United Negro College Fund, she worked with Maynard Jackson, Atlanta's first African-American mayor. "Lies, Lessons & Love Affairs" charts not only the political fights, but also the pull she began to feel to focus on her own passions, including writing--a pull that led her away from Lomax as she grappled with ideas of feminism and self-fulfillment. This fascinating memoir follows her journey from a columnist for a local weekly (bought by Larry Flynt) to a playwright and Hollywood script writer, an artist at the crossroads of culture and politics whose circle came to include luminaries like Richard Pryor, Avery Brooks, Phylicia Rashad, Shirley Franklin, and Jesse Jackson. By the time Oprah Winfrey picked "What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day" as a favorite, Cleage had long since arrived as a writer of renown.
In the tradition of greats like Susan Sontag, Joan Didion, and Nora Ephron, Cleage's self-portrait raises women's confessional writing to the level of great literature.

When Regina Burns married Blue Hamilton, she knew he was no ordinary man. A charismatic R&B singer who gave up his career to assume responsibility for the safety of Atlanta's West End community, Blue had created an African American urban oasis where crime and violence were virtually nonexistent. In the beginning, Regina enjoyed a circle of engaging friends and her own work as a freelance communications consultant. Most of all, she relished the company of her husband, who never ceased to be a source of passion and delight.
Then everything changed. More and more frightened women were showing up in West End, seeking Blue's protection from lovers who had suddenly become violent. When the worst offenders begin to disappear without a trace, the signs-all of them grim-seem to point toward Blue and his longtime associate, Joseph "General" Richardson. Now that Regina is pregnant, her fear for Blue's safety has become an obsession that threatens the very heart of their relationship.
At the same time, Regina's friend Aretha Hargrove is desperately trying to redefine her own marriage. Aretha's husband, Kwame, is lobbying for them to leave West End and move to midtown. Aretha resists at first, but finally agrees in an effort to rekindle the flame that first brought them together.
Regina and Aretha have no way of knowing that what they regard as their private struggles will soon become very public. When Baby Brother, a charming con man, insinuates himself into the community, it becomes clear that there is more to his handsome facade than meets the eye. He carries the seeds of change that will affect both women in profound and startling ways.
Returning to the vividly rendered Atlanta district of her last two novels, New York Times bestselling author Pearl Cleage brilliantly weaves the threads of her characters' intersecting lives into a story of family, friendship and, of course, love. Baby Brother's Blues is full of wit and warmth, illumination the core of every woman's hopes and dreams.

"From the Hardcover edition."

When Regina Burns married Blue Hamilton, she knew he was no ordinary man. Regina enjoyed a circle of engaging friends and her own work as communications consultant, but she especially relished the company of her husband, who never ceased to be a source of passion and delight. Then everything changes. Frightened women are showing up in West End, seeking Blue's protection from lovers who have suddenly become violent. When the worst offenders begin to disappear, the speculation seems to implicate Blue and his long-time associates. Now that Regina is pregnant, her fears for Blue's safety have become an obsession that threatens the heart of their relationship. Returning to the Atlanta neighborhoods of her last two novels, Pearl Cleage has crafted a warm, witty novel that illuminates the core of every woman's hopes and dreams.