aBOUT TFHH

Hip-Hop on the bookshelf

COMING OCTOBER 2026

why tfhh exists?

Why isn't the greatest storytelling tradition of the last fifty years on the bookshelf?

For half a century, hip-hop has done what the best literature does. It has built characters, staked scenes, delivered consequence, and told the truth about the places it came from. And it did all of this at a scale, and with a reach, that most literary traditions can only imagine.

The tradition has always been literary. The recognition is what has been late.

A storytelling tradition that outsold, outlasted, and out-traveled most of the fiction on that shelf was left off it. Tales From Hip-Hop was founded to build that shelf.

We publish original short fiction descended from hip-hop's storytelling tradition. Not adaptations. Not retellings. Original works of literature that carry the narrative DNA of the songs forward into prose, and that stand on their own as fiction worth reading. This is the tradition, finally, on the bookshelf where it has always belonged.

descendants

No adaptations. No retellings

Every story in a Tales From Hip-Hop collection is descended from a specific storytelling song in the hip-hop tradition. But the story is not the song. It is not a retelling of the song. It is an original work of fiction that carries the song's narrative DNA forward into prose. A retelling repeats the same story in a new voice. A translation carries meaning across languages. A descendant does neither. A descendant carries the DNA of the ancestor forward into a new work. What lives on is the narrative material that made the song literary in the first place:

the way it builds a scene, the way it moves through consequence, the emotional register, the cultural specificity, the willingness to look directly at things other traditions turn away from. That is what makes these stories descendants. They live inside the tradition without repeating it. They continue the work rather than re-perform it. The result is a body of fiction that reads the way the best storytelling rap sounds. And that stands on its own as literature.

about the press

West Michigan’s own independent literary press. Publishing original short fiction descended from the hip-hop tradition.

Tales From Hip-Hop is an independent literary press based in West Michigan. We publish original short fiction descended from the hip-hop storytelling tradition, in collections and standalone editions.

The imprint is operated by Tales From Hip-Hop LLC, a Michigan limited liability company. Every story and book is edited by Tales From Hip-Hop.

Our debut collection, Tales From Hip-Hop Vol. 1: Where the Music Ends and the Story Begins, will be released in October, 2026. Future volumes are already in development.

  • What we publish. Original short fiction descended from specific songs in the hip-hop storytelling tradition. Collections, standalone editions, and companion Liner Notes. We do not publish adaptations, retellings, novelizations, or fan fiction.

  • Submissions. Tales From Hip-Hop is open to submissions from writers whose work descends from the tradition. To submit or ask a question about submitting, use our Contact page and select "I'm a writer." Someone from TFHH will follow up directly.

  • Rights and licensing. Tales From Hip-Hop retains the right to reproduce, distribute, and license all published works. For subsidiary rights inquiries, use our Contact page.

  • Get in touch. All correspondence, including reader questions, press inquiries, speaking engagements with our authors, submissions, and business matters, goes through our Contact page. Select the category that fits and we'll route your message to the right person.