OUR STORY
Sscarlet's Web is a pop-up bookstore with an online presence, built around intentional curation and a commitment to stories that reflect the fullness of our lives.
This space was created out of a need for stories that allow us not only to survive, but to live, love, and be fully seen.
That need shows up most clearly in the kinds of stories we are often denied.
Black people have always had to find love through the worst of times. Through chattel slavery. Through Reconstruction's broken promises. Through Jim Crow. Through redlining and segregation. Through mass incarceration and state violence. The long fight for civil rights is still not finished.
And we are living in one of those times again.
In a moment marked by rising anti-Blackness, book bans, attacks on DEI, Islamophobia, and anti-immigrant rhetoric, we are once again being asked to endure more than we should have to.
Still, we build joy. Still, we build softness inside systems that were never meant to hold us gently.
As a lifelong reader, I felt that tension on the page. I love stories that stretch our thinking and push us toward collective liberation. And I love romance. But growing up, the love stories I found rarely reflected people who looked like me. Black stories, especially in historical romance, which is my favorite genre, were hard to come by. It often felt like we were allowed to survive history, but not to live and love fully in it.
Discovering writers like Beverly Jenkins shifted something in me. Her stories centered Black characters as complex, joyful, and deserving of love. That kind of representation was not just refreshing. It was necessary.
For years, I applied to work at bookstores and never got a call back. At the same time, I knew I wanted to build something of my own. I originally imagined an interior design firm because I love creating intentional spaces. It took time to realize I could bring those ideas together. My love of books. My desire for ownership. My commitment to representation.
On August 31, 2020, Sscarlet's Web was born.
I opened during what many of us believed was another racial awakening. In the wake of global protests and renewed conversations about systemic injustice, it felt like change was not only possible, but necessary. I believed then, and still believe now, that we need spaces that center our voices, our stories, and our humanity.
Sscarlet's Web is a curated bookstore amplifying Black, Indigenous, Muslim, Refugee, and Immigrant voices across genres and age groups. From romance and fantasy to literary fiction, children's books, memoirs, and thrillers, this space is built on the belief that our stories belong everywhere.
If you have ever struggled to find books that reflect the fullness of who you are, this space was created with you in mind.
How I Choose Books
I don't try to carry everything, and I don't choose books at random.
Each book is selected because it feels worth sharing. Some are upcoming releases I'm genuinely excited about. Some are books people are already talking about when they align with what this space stands for. Some come from authors I trust and return to. Others come from personal taste or recommendations from people I respect.
A real part of my selection process is making space for voices that have been pushed to the margins by an industry that was never really built to center them. I prioritize books by Black, Indigenous, and authors of color, and writers whose perspectives, identities, and lived experiences the mainstream has historically ignored, minimized, or gotten wrong. That includes immigrants, refugees, and people whose stories deserve to be told on their own terms. I know what it feels like to exist in spaces that weren't made for you. That's part of why this matters to me.
This isn't a separate category or a special section. It's just how I curate. If a book doesn't resonate, it doesn't belong here, and that same standard applies to preorders, which are upcoming releases I select in advance with the same care as everything else.
How the Space Works
Sscarlet's Web is a pop-up bookstore with an online presence, so the collection is always limited and always changing.
Some books stay longer because they continue to resonate. Others rotate out to make space for new selections. When a book is no longer available, it usually means it was part of an earlier curation cycle.
This keeps the space focused on books that feel current and worth highlighting in the moment.
What This Space Is
Sscarlet's Web is still growing, but the goal is simple. To create a place where readers can find books that feel personal, thoughtful, and worth holding onto.
Whether you are here for something new, something familiar, or your next read, I am glad you are here.
In the future, I hope to grow Sscarlet's Web into a physical bookstore café in the Brooklyn I grew up in and love. A community-centered space where people can read, gather, attend events, and enjoy thoughtfully crafted nonalcoholic drinks in an environment designed with care.
There is an Ethiopian proverb that says, "When spiders unite, they can tie up a lion." It reminds us that small, consistent efforts, when woven together, become powerful. That spirit is at the heart of Sscarlet's Web. A web built thread by thread, reader by reader.
As a Black Muslim woman, I want to build a place where I can show up fully, and where others with intersectional identities feel safe, seen, and comfortable.
Because we deserve abundance. On our shelves. In our stories. In our lives.
Stay reading. Stay learning.
Welcome to the Web.📚