We recently connected with Fatuma Hydara and have shared our conversation below.

Fatuma, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

We know that reading is powerful and changes lives, especially when we’re reading diversely. I’ve always loved reading diversely but it can be HARD finding authentic representation, especially for the various identities, heritage, and lived experiences of BIPOC folks.

That’s why I created Tuma’s Books. I wanted a place for all types of readers to feel seen, come together, and unite in their passion for books, diverse stories, and making the world a better place for everyone.

We aim to offer books that:

-represent cultures not often reflected in literature
-you might not find on your own,
-need more attention and promotion, and
-will worm their way into our hearts and remain there forever and ever and ever

With my monthly diverse reads subscription and in-person events, I am able to match readers with books and stories that might not have otherwise discovered. Readers return happy about their broadening perspectives. BIPOC readers feel seen and validated when they see titles, book covers, and stories that reflect their identifies. As an educator, providing diverse stories for children is especially important. And I love seeing kids run up to a book that reminds them of themselves, their families, and/or home.

Fatuma, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Meet the Owner: Fatuma aka Tuma Hydara (she/her/hers), Educator & Bookseller/Owner Astrology Sign: Libra (October 13th)
Heritage: Gambian-American, Muslim
Favorite Genres: Fantasy, Literary Fiction, Romance, Graphic Novels, and Memoirs
Likes: Books (duh), Puns/Corny Jokes, Gummi Candy, Bookmarks & Stickers, Chatting about Books
Dislikes: Bullies, Food Touching Each Other on Plate, Book bans

Our Values

1. We’re willing to accept feelings of discomfort to gain a broader understanding of others in our global community.
2. Our reading goals are focused on quality over quantity because we know the more we learn about others, the less assumptions we hold.
3. We firmly believe in the power of STORYTELLING and WHO gets to tell their own stories.

Our Story
I’m a reader; I’ve come out of the womb reading as far as I’m concerned. However, my favorite books as a child did not reflect who I was as a Muslim, First Generation, Gambian-American girl.

As an educator, it hit me one day that the stories I was bringing into the classroom didn’t reflect the Black and Brown children sitting in front of me.

So, I started my journey to diversify my reading with Chimamanda Adichie and Tomi Adeyemi as I sought out African authors. I brought titles like The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez into my classroom for students.

Then, COVID -19 happened and like many people I started reevaluating where I was in my life. Since I was teaching remotely, I found myself with A LOT of extra time when daily commuting wasn’t part of my life. I got back into reading. FOR FUN. And it was illuminating, powerful, and mind-opening.

And one day in May of 2020 …there was a little whisper. “Psssttt! Heyyy Tuma, remember that retirement plan of opening up a bookstore/cafe in the Bronx. Why wait ‘til retirement?”

Next thing I know, I have a website and Tuma’s Books is born!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

As an online bookstore, I have a lot stacked against me given my competitors are Amazon and Barnes and Nobles. I cannot compete of selection or price, so I compete on uniqueness, authenticity, and personalization. As a small business, I can truly get to know my characters and their taste. A huge percentage of my time is spent researching titles from publishers by Black, Indigenous, and POC authors, considering identities and cultures often underrepresented and building my selection of titles that customers are often surprised exist. In this way, I’ve built my reputation of having a unique selection of titles. I’ve also relied on my natural compassionate disposition. I care. Deeply. About people, about justice, about creating a better world. I also have a unique “Giving Back Reading Recs” service where I offer titles about/or by authors from countries affected by humanitarian crisis to help readers learn. 20% of all sales are donated to grassroot organizations on the ground supporting people who need it most. Lastly, we donate 5% of all profits every month to our Free Diverse Books Fund to fulfill requests for diverse books for schools and organizations across the country. In these ways, we’ve branded ourselves as more than just a bookstore.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

When I first started with social media, I didn’t really have a clear marketing strategy. I was a teacher turned business owner and jumped right in without training. I wasted a lot of time just posting about my product and not spending time building community. What folks should keep in mind is the SOCIAL in “social media”. Thought business have started using Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, etc for their marketing, their primary purpose were to bring people together.

Once I realized (or remembered) that I leaned on my skills as an educator–how do I bring students together in the classroom, how do I build community with people who are different, how did I do it virtually during the pandemic. I asked questions, I shared stories, I had fun/make corny jokes, I brought their interests into slides/lessons, so I attempt to do the same in my social media posts.

When sharing about a product or service, I share the story of how I got there or came up with the idea. Or I connect a product to followers interests, share why I think they’ll love it, or I ask them questions about themselves. And I share things I find funny or will make people laugh.

I’ve stopped trying to force sales on social media because honestly it’s hard to predict which post will lead to a sale. But I do know people buy from people they know, like, and trust. So I focus on building those three things and the sales come in at random, surprising times.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tumasbooks.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/tumasbooks
• Facebook: www.facebooks.com/tumasbook

Image Credits
Fatuma Hydara