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Praise for Congratulations, the Best Is Over!
ONE OF APPLE BOOKS’ BEST AUDIOBOOKS OF 2023
The unfailingly entertaining essays burst with personality and amount to a full-fleshed portrait of all the beauty and difficulty of coming home again. This tender memoir captivates.
Publishers Weekly (*starred review*)
The bestselling author of Here for It pens another hilarious and thoughtful essay collection… Readers who enjoyed his previous book will love this one. A funny, poignant, astute collection.
Kirkus Reviews (*starred review*)
Kings of B’more is a Bank Street Best Book of 2023, with the distinction of outstanding merit, and a 2023 Stonewall Honor Book!
Employing a charismatic cast, expert comedic timing, and moving prose, Thomas artfully composes a raucous and tenderhearted story of two queer Black boys discovering new truths about themselves in this loving commemoration of identity and friendship.
Publisher’s Weekly (*starred review*)
Unapologetically beautiful and fiercely hilarious, Kings of B’more is utterly phenomenal. R. Eric Thomas has given us the joy, friendship, and unending love we all sincerely need.
Julian Winters, award-winning author of Running With Lions
Using third-person omniscient narration, the author deftly explores the weight and the joys of being Black boys, being queer, and being young. Harrison, Linus, and their colorful cast of friends bring heart and humor that will leave readers rooting for the success of their harebrained scheme. Thoughtful, poignant, fun.
Kirkus Reviews
A laugh-out-loud memoir that is strongly recommended for everyone.
—Library Journal (starred review)
Eric Thomas narrates his collection of funny and heartfelt essays with irresistible warmth… In a voice that will immediately make listeners feel like they’ve known him forever, Thomas reflects on the complexities of identity, faith, and Internet culture.
–Audiofile Magazine
I LOVE everything about this book: the humor, the profundity, the timing, the balance… It’s exactly what I hope for in a book of personal essays. I laughed, I cried, I gasped, I texted quotes to friends and begged them to read it. As soon as I read the last word, I wanted to flip back to the beginning and start all over again.
–Book Riot
R. Eric Thomas, a Baltimore-bred writer and playwright, is one of my favorite writers. I look forward to his columns every day. His first memoir, Here for It [out Feb. 18, 2020], is like if David Sedaris was completely steeped in pop culture instead of living somewhere far away writing about it. It’s like pop culture-obsessed, Sedaris-level laugh-out-loud funny.
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Praise for Reclaiming Her Time
This political biography – that’s anything but your grandma’s political biography (it has illustrations, pastel colors, both lewks and looks) – zeroes in on the moment…Waters became a hero for a whole new generation. …There’s also plenty of funny on these pages. And not just a line here or there; we’re talking curse you for making my face wrinkle this way I am now reaching for the eye cream funny. … The writers are unabashed fans, writing for those who share the love and making the case that political biographies shine bright when they have as much panache as their subject.
The Washington Post
Thoroughly researched, sharply written, full of amazing visuals and just as commanding as the Congresswoman herself, Reclaiming Her Time is an inspired portrait of the always fearless and inspiring Maxine Waters.”
-Gabrielle Union, actor, activist, and New York Times bestselling author of We’re Going to Need More Wine
Reclaiming Her Time renders Congresswomen Waters’s extraordinary career in penetrating detail and razor-sharp wit. Andrews-Dyer and Thomas have created a beautiful celebration of Waters’s great vision, wisdom, and heart in this book.
–Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award-winning and #1 New York Times bestselling author
About Here for It
R. Eric Thomas didn’t know he was different until the world told him so. Everywhere he went–whether it was his rich, mostly white, suburban high school, his conservative black church, or his Ivy League college in a big city–he found himself on the outside looking in.
In essays by turns hysterical and heartfelt, Eric redefines what it means to be an “other” through the lens of his own life experience. He explores the two worlds of his childhood: the barren urban landscape where his parents’ house was an anomalous bright spot, and the verdant school they sent him to in white suburbia. He writes about struggling to reconcile his Christian identity with his sexuality, about the exhaustion of code-switching in college, accidentally getting famous on the internet (for the wrong reason), and the surreal experience of covering the 2016 election as well as the seismic change that came thereafter. Ultimately, Eric seeks the answer to the ever more relevant question: Is the future worth it? Why do we bother when everything seems to be getting worse? As the world continues to shift in unpredictable ways, Eric finds the answers to these questions by re-envisioning what “normal” means, and in the powerful alchemy that occurs when you at last place yourself at the center of your own story.
Here for It will resonate deeply and joyfully with everyone who has ever felt pushed to the margins, struggled with self-acceptance, or wished to shine more brightly in a dark world. Stay here for it–the future may surprise you.
About KING’S OF B’MORE
Two Black, queer best friends face their last day together with an epic journey through Baltimore in this magnetic YA debut by celebrated cultural critic and bestselling author of Here for It R. Eric Thomas.
With junior year starting in the fall, Harrison feels like he’s on the precipice of, well, everything. Standardized testing, college, and the terrifying unknowns and looming pressures of adulthood after that—it’s like the future wants to eat him alive. Which is why Harrison is grateful that he and his best friend, Linus, will face these things together. But at the end of a shift at their summer job, Linus invites Harrison to their special spot overlooking the city to deliver devastating news: He’s moving out of state at the end of the week.
To keep from completely losing it—and partially inspired by a cheesy movie-night pick by his Dad—Harrison plans a send-off à la Ferris Bueller’s Day Off that’s worthy of his favorite person. If they won’t be having all the life-expanding experiences they thought they would, Harrison will squeeze them all into their last day together. They end up on a mini road trip, their first Pride, and a rooftop dance party, all while keeping their respective parents, who track them on a family location app, off their trail. Harrison and Linus make a pact to do all the things—big and small—they’ve been too scared to do. But nothing feels scarier than saying goodbye to someone you love.
About Reclaiming Her Time
In the tradition of Notorious RBG, a lively, beautifully designed, full-color illustrated celebration of the life, wisdom, wit, legacy, and fearless style of iconic American Congresswoman Maxine Waters.
“Let me just say this: I’m a strong black woman, and I cannot be intimidated. I cannot be undermined. I cannot be thought to be afraid of Bill O’Reilly or anyone.”—Maxine Waters
To millions nationwide, Congresswoman Maxine Waters is a hero of the resistance and an icon, serving eye rolls, withering looks, and sharp retorts to any who dare waste her time on nonsense. But behind the Auntie Maxine meme is a seasoned public servant and she’s not here to play. Throughout her forty years in public service and eighty years on earth, U.S. Representative for California’s 43rd district has been a role model, a crusader for justice, a game-changer, a trailblazer, and an advocate for the marginalized who has long defied her critics, including her most vocal detractor, Donald J. Trump. And she’s just getting started.
From her anti-apartheid work and support of affirmative action to her passionate opposition to the Iraq War and calls to hold Trump to account, you can count on Auntie Maxine to speak truth to power and do it with grace and, sometimes, sass. As ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee and one of the most powerful black women in America, she is the strong, ethical voice the country has always needed, especially right now.
Reclaiming Her Time pays tribute to all things Maxine Waters, from growing up in St. Louis “too skinny” and “too black,” to taking on Wall Street during the financial crisis and coming out on top in her legendary showdowns with Trump and his cronies. Featuring inspiring highlights from her personal life and political career, beloved memes, and testimonies from her many friends and fans, Reclaiming Her Time is a funny, warm, and admiring portrait of a champion who refuses to stay silent in the face of corruption and injustice; a powerful woman who is an inspiration to us all.
Media
Kings of B’more publicity
Contact Lathea Mondesir lmondesir@penguinrandomhouse.com
Here for It publicity
Contact Emily Isayeff eisayeff@penguinrandomhouse.com
Reclaiming Her Time publicity
Contact Alison Hinchcliffe Alison.Hinchcliffe@harpercollins.com
High-res version of the cover and author photo may be accessed by clicking on the photos below or clicking here. Author photos by Katie Simbala.
R. Eric Thomas 