Vanessa Miller has made a name for herself by digging into the lives of Black women whose history too often falls by the wayside. Her latest, The Ladies Hall: A Novel of Three Women Who Refused to Be Silenced, landed on the USA TODAY bestseller list this past August.
Now, she’s trading the history books for group chats, side-eyes and the kind of conversations Black women have when everybody is ready to speak their truth.
Her upcoming novel, The Disgruntled Black Ladies Book Club, brings the drama firmly into the present—and EBONY has the exclusive first look at its cover.
“The disrespect in 2024/2025 was loud: 92% of Black women voted against this current administration because we knew that it set the advancement of people of Black and Brown people back generations,” Miller told EBONY.
“I was on a call with my agent, Emily Slyvan Kim; she was trying to go over a contract for my next historical fiction with me. And I told her that I was too disgruntled with everything going on in this country to listen. She then said, ‘Why don’t you write about it?’ The Disgruntled Black Ladies Book Club was born.”
The novel revolves around Alexis Osborn, a motivational speaker, Ericka Williams, an attorney and Kenyatta Rivers, a struggling entrepreneur. Though they are very different women, they share one thing: life hasn’t turned out quite the way they expected.
“They are dealing with disappointments, relationships, family expectations, career struggles, and the weight of being the person everyone else depends on. They may look like they have it together from the outside, but underneath, each woman is longing to be seen, heard, and understood,” Miller explained.
They find camaraderie in a book club, which becomes a genuine friendship for the trio. “The conversations become more honest, the opinions get stronger, the laughter gets louder, and eventually they realize that what they’ve found is much bigger than a monthly meeting. They’ve found sisterhood.”
Like any good friends, they have their more uncomfortable moments. “They can be messy, funny, stubborn, loving, and completely honest with one another. But when one of them needs help, the others show up.”
You may have noticed that there are four women on the cover, but only three main characters. That’s on purpose. “I pictured the fourth woman as the reader who gets to participate in the conversation,” Miller exclaimed. “I’m so excited for readers to not only view the cover of this book but for them to delve into the story and see themselves in the pages of this story … This book became my love letter to Black women. I pray they know how special they truly are.”
Miller had another reason to share it with EBONY first.
“I immediately thought of my mother and how EBONY and JET magazine were always on our coffee table. This was my mother’s favorite publication,” she shared.
“Knowing that my cover reveal is in EBONY made me wish that I could get a message to heaven so that my mother would know her baby girl was going to be here. She would think, ‘This is epic!’”
We completely agree.
The Disgruntled Black Ladies Book Club will be available on May 25, 2027.