Toni At Random: The Iconic Writer’s Legendary Editorship
by Dana A. Williams
Amistad, 2025
NPR SPRING PICK
An insightful exploration that unveils the lesser-known dimensions of this legendary writer and her legacy, revealing the cultural icon’s profound impact as a visionary editor who helped define an important period in American publishing and literature.
A multifaceted genius, Toni Morrison transcended her role as an author, helping to shape an important period in American publishing and literature as an editor at one of the nation’s most prestigious publishing houses. While Toni Morrison's literary achievements are widely celebrated, her editorial work is little known. Drawing on extensive research and firsthand accounts, this comprehensive study discusses Morrison's remarkable journey from her early days at Random House to her emergence as one of its most important editors. During her tenure in editorial, Morrison refashioned the literary landscape, working with important authors, including Toni Cade Bambara, Leon Forrest, and Lucille Clifton, and empowering cultural icons such as Angela Davis and Muhammad Ali to tell their stories on their own terms.
Toni Morrison herself had great enthusiasm about Dana Williams's work on this story, generously sharing memories and thoughts with the author over the years, even giving her the book's title. From the manuscripts she molded, the authors she nurtured, and the readers she inspired, Toni at Random demonstrates how Toni Morrison has influenced American culture beyond the individual titles or authors she published. Morrison’s contribution as an editor transformed the broader literary landscape and deepened the cultural conversation. With unparalleled insight and sensitivity, Toni at Random charts this editorial odyssey.
[Publication date: June 17, 2025]
by Dana A. Williams
Amistad, 2025
NPR SPRING PICK
An insightful exploration that unveils the lesser-known dimensions of this legendary writer and her legacy, revealing the cultural icon’s profound impact as a visionary editor who helped define an important period in American publishing and literature.
A multifaceted genius, Toni Morrison transcended her role as an author, helping to shape an important period in American publishing and literature as an editor at one of the nation’s most prestigious publishing houses. While Toni Morrison's literary achievements are widely celebrated, her editorial work is little known. Drawing on extensive research and firsthand accounts, this comprehensive study discusses Morrison's remarkable journey from her early days at Random House to her emergence as one of its most important editors. During her tenure in editorial, Morrison refashioned the literary landscape, working with important authors, including Toni Cade Bambara, Leon Forrest, and Lucille Clifton, and empowering cultural icons such as Angela Davis and Muhammad Ali to tell their stories on their own terms.
Toni Morrison herself had great enthusiasm about Dana Williams's work on this story, generously sharing memories and thoughts with the author over the years, even giving her the book's title. From the manuscripts she molded, the authors she nurtured, and the readers she inspired, Toni at Random demonstrates how Toni Morrison has influenced American culture beyond the individual titles or authors she published. Morrison’s contribution as an editor transformed the broader literary landscape and deepened the cultural conversation. With unparalleled insight and sensitivity, Toni at Random charts this editorial odyssey.
[Publication date: June 17, 2025]
REVIEWS:
"Toni Morrison is best known as one of the world’s most significant novelists, but in this meticulously researched work Dana Williams introduces us to Morrison the literary editor, who shaped American publishing by introducing a generation of new voices and topics to the reading public. Through Williams we come to see Morrison’s editorial work, along with her fiction, as part of a larger visionary project that was nothing short of transformative. Toni at Random is a major accomplishment.” — Farah Jasmine Griffin, William B. Ransford Professor of English & Comparative Literature and African American and African Diaspora Studies. Author of Read Until You Understand: The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature (W.W. Norton Press, Fall 2021)
“The more we learn about Toni Morrison, the more in awe we are of her gifts and her incredible range as a writer, intellectual and now we meet her as a literary activist and editor. Dana A. Williams rises to the challenge of documenting the workings of a genius, by demonstrating a mighty brilliance of her own. We have in our hands a masterpiece— a scholarly page turner, dwelling at the intersection of meticulous research, abiding passion, and tremendous respect.” — Tayari Jones, author of American Marriage.
“In this essential work, Williams not only reveals the genius of Morrison as editor of some of the nation's most iconic writers, she provides an insider’s view of mainstream publishing during a golden age of Black authors and literature. Toni at Random is a cultural treasure.” — Paula J. Giddings, E.A.Woodson Professor emerita of Smith College and the author of IDA, A Sword Among Lions, Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching
“I flew through these pages. With a dazzling array of characters who become household authorial names and an editor who was as perceptive as she was assertive, 'Toni at Random' is an outstanding exaltation to the legend of the woman herself who birthed so many generations of Black artists alongside and after her.” — Morgan Jerkins, author of Zeal and This Will Be My Undoing
“Toni at Random stands as a towering accomplishment for Dana Williams. Readers, historians, and students of literature are now in Williams' debt... Toni Morrison was responsible for much of what we read as we matured, as our literature became mainstream. By offering Morrison's editorial history to stand beside her literary production, Dana Williams has proven, again, that Toni Morrison is and was indomitable. In Toni at Random, Dana Williams brings receipts.” — A.J. Verdelle, Author of Miss Chloe: A Memoir of a Literary Friendship with Toni Morrison
"This book can be seen as a handbook for editing during a rapidly changing cultural period, how to patiently, diplomatically, or even bluntly help a creative spirit discover his/her true vision in a work. It certainly and effectively presents another dimension to Morrison’s stature as an ever-important contributor to African American and therefore American culture." — John McCluskey,Jr. Professor Emeritus Dept. of African American and African Diaspora Studies
A well-researched biographical study. — Kirkus Reviews
A triumphant account of an underexplored aspect of Morrison’s influence on American literature. — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“An insightful dive into the life, legacy and cultural literary contributions of one of the most prolific voices of the 20th century.”
— Ebony
"Drawing primarily from the author’s correspondence, Williams recounts in remarkable detail how Morrison, the first Black woman senior editor at Random House, forever transformed the publishing landscape by championing Black writers’ work and discovering new voices. This book gives a comprehensive account of Morrison’s work with Huey P. Newton, Boris Bittker, Muhammad Ali, Angela Davis, and more."
— Vulture
"Toni at Random is a deeply reported, insightful, and page-turning account of Morrison’s ground-breaking editorial work. Williams does an excellent job chronicling Morrison’s transformative impact not only on the individual authors she edited and championed, but also on the wider landscape of publishing."
— Literary Hub
“Deeply researched and illuminating” — The Atlantic
“Written with great knowledge, deep feeling and a sense of purpose.”
— Chicago Tribune
“A well-told and successful story of Morrison’s editorship; exceedingly honest — prices of book advances, media squabbles and creative arguments in tow — and often illuminating. Williams is clearly a skilled biographer, and respect for Morrison is given time and space to grow in this far-reaching and informative work.” — Spectrum Culture
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dana A. Williams is Professor of African American literature and Dean of the Graduate School at Howard University. She is former president of the College Language Association and the Modern Languages Association, and is the author of In the Light of Likeness—Transformed: The Literary Art of Leon Forrest. She is also the editor of several books. Her work has been published in prestigious journals, including PMLA, CLA Journal, African American Review, Early American Literature, American Literary History, and the Langston Hughes Review. Her research has been supported by the Ford Foundation, the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. She co-directs the Center for Medical Humanities and Health Justice, a Mellon Foundation-funded collaboration between Howard and Georgetown universities. Williams lives in Maryland.
Oceans of Time: The Musical Autobiography of Billy Hart
by Billy Hart
Cymbal Press, 2025
[Publication date: June 18, 2025]
by Billy Hart
Cymbal Press, 2025
[Publication date: June 18, 2025]
Oceans of Time Charts the Rhythmic Course of Jazz Master Billy Hart. Few drummers have traversed more stylistic terrain or logged more miles behind the world’s greatest jazz musicians than Billy Hart. From Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock to McCoy Tyner and Wes Montgomery, Hart has been the rhythmic heartbeat behind jazz legends for over five decades.
Now, in Oceans of Time: The Musical Autobiography of Billy Hart, the NEA Jazz Master opens up about his extraordinary life in music, in collaboration with pianist, critic, and longtime bandmate Ethan Iverson.
What makes this memoir unique?
Now, in Oceans of Time: The Musical Autobiography of Billy Hart, the NEA Jazz Master opens up about his extraordinary life in music, in collaboration with pianist, critic, and longtime bandmate Ethan Iverson.
What makes this memoir unique?
You'll discover rare insight into the inner life of a drummer who has shaped the sound of modern jazz, spanning:
- His early years in D.C.'s fertile postwar jazz scene
- Historic gigs with Shirley Horn, Jimmy Smith, Stan Getz, and Wes Montgomery
- Legendary sessions with Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, and McCoy Tyner
- His evolution as a bandleader and educator
Inside, you'll find: Rich storytelling that reveals Hart's reflections on race, rhythm, mentorship, and meaning—alongside deep discussions of "the D.C. beat," the elusive quality of swing, and what it means to live a musical life. Oceans of Time offers musicians and aficionados rare insight into the inner life of a drummer who has shaped the sound of modern jazz.
Appendices include tributes from fellow drummers, discographical highlights, and a detailed look at Hart's signature drum setup.
As Iverson writes in the preface, "Billy Hart connects the glory years of jazz to the latest contemporary concerns." This book is the ultimate insider's guide to jazz drumming from a master who bridges jazz's past, present, and future.
"Want to know what jazz is really about? Listen to Billy Hart.”—Mark Stryker, The Detroit Free Press
Appendices include tributes from fellow drummers, discographical highlights, and a detailed look at Hart's signature drum setup.
As Iverson writes in the preface, "Billy Hart connects the glory years of jazz to the latest contemporary concerns." This book is the ultimate insider's guide to jazz drumming from a master who bridges jazz's past, present, and future.
"Want to know what jazz is really about? Listen to Billy Hart.”—Mark Stryker, The Detroit Free Press
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
NEA Jazz Master Billy Hart is a musical legend whose career spans over 600 recordings and five decades of groundbreaking performances. Comfortable in diverse contexts ranging from straight-ahead to avant-garde to pop, Hart bore witness to many major changes in jazz during the transformative '60s and '70s while working in the bands of Shirley Horn, Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery, Pharaoh Sanders, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, and Stan Getz. He became the drummer of choice for countless jazz luminaries and has released a dozen albums as a leader. Beyond performing, Hart has mentored generations of musicians and continues to teach at prestigious institutions worldwide. In 2022 he was named a NEA Jazz Master, in 2023 he received the Living Legacy Jazz Award from Mid-Atlantic Arts, and in 2025 was part of the first group of musicians awarded the Jazz Legacies Fellowship from the Mellon Foundation and the Jazz Foundation of America.
Pianist and acclaimed jazz critic Ethan Iverson brings a unique perspective to this collaboration, having known Hart for three decades and performed in his quartet since 2003. Iverson was a founding member of the influential trio The Bad Plus; since leaving that group, he has released critically-acclaimed albums on ECM and Blue Note and maintains a long-standing relationship with modern dance choreographer Mark Morris. As a writer, his music criticism has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Nation, and JazzTimes, in addition to his widely-read Substack, Transitional Technology. This rare combination of deep musical partnership and journalistic insight makes Iverson the ideal collaborator to capture Hart's remarkable story.
