About Harlem Book Company
At Harlem Book Company we believe that books hold power. Power to ignite imaginations and inspire change. Power to lift people up and power to tear down walls that divide. Across genres, books have the power to preserve history and shape the future.
Our belief in the power of books is mirrored in the neighborhood we call home. Harlem is steeped in stories—tales of heroism and tragedy; love and loss. Harlem’s roots run deep with a legacy of people pushing the world forward through creativity while searching for place to belong. We take that legacy seriously.
From the Lenape who first loved this land to the Dutch colonizers who gave Harlem its name, to the Black and Hispanic activists and artists who painted the streets with culture and fought for the soul of Upper Manhattan—people of all colors and creeds have shaped the history of Harlem.
Founded by four book lovers of diverse backgrounds—each who came to Harlem full of hope and found it to be a their true home—Harlem Book Company recognizes the legacy of our namesake neighborhood and we strive to honor it.
Meet the Team
Meet Ale
Favorite Classic: Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare
Favorite Current/Contemporary: Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Reading Core Memory: I fell in love with reading as a little! Back in elementary, I would spend afternoons in the library after school. The librarians were super nice and would let me read books before they went on the shelves. Books have been everything to me since then.
One of my favorite memories of getting lost in a book was in 7th grade when my mom let me skip school for two days so I could binge read the whole Twilight series. (Girl, the obsession was real!)
Bonus Facts: I collect stamps from bookstores and stationary stores (please ask me about my travelers notebook hehe). I’ve already read more than 112 books this year.
Meet Hadley
Favorite Classic: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Favorite Current/contemporary: When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
Reading Core Memory: When I was in 1st grade, my teacher picked out and gifted each of us a book that reminded her of us as individuals. and for me she picked Stephanie’s Pony Tail. It was so special to me to feel like I was being seen in a book.
A close second is my mom giving me a book whose title seemed at the time, very suggestive (it was. haha). Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging, is a very British, very coming-of-age novel by Louise Rennison and I devoured the whole series. I thought that was just so cool of her.
Bonus Facts: I grew up in Utah golfing and skiing but now I call Harlem home. I have two daughters and we love to bike around Central Park, visit art museums, and read at libraries.
I write and illustrate my own children’s books!
Meet Joshua
Favorite Classic: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Favorite Current/Contemporary: The Hyperion Cantos: Endymion by Dan Simmons
Reading Core Memory: One of my earliest memories of getting lost in a book came when I was in 4th grade. It seemed like every one of my classmates was reading a certain magical series that I had no interest in getting into. I explained my dilemma to the school librarian and she pointed me towards a new book called The Lightning Thief and the rest is history. To this day I’m still the biggest Percy Jackson & Rick Riordan fan that I know.
Bonus Facts: I grew up just outside of Houston, Texas. I’m a big sports fan and I love hunting for original covers of book to movie adaptations.
Meet Charles
Favorite Classic: A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Favorite Current/Contemporary: 11/22/64 by Stephen King
Reading Core Memory: I’ve always been a reader (I used to stay up late reading Animorphs, and Goosebumps and Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice and more), so I’m certain there were moments before this that impacted me. But the moment that stands out most was in 10th or 11th grade, I was in ISS (in-school suspension for the uninitiated) and had nothing to do but to read the assigned novel for my AP English class (yes, I was a smart kid who got in trouble). I read the entirety of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men in one sitting and all but bawled during George and Lenny’s final conversation. I’d always loved stories, but I think that was a moment when I realized how powerful books could be.
Bonus Facts: I’m a professional comic book editor and creative writer and love to talk about the intricacies of story and feel very lucky to get to tell stories for a living. When I’m not working or reading or spending time with my wife and daughters, I’m writing songs.