TOMONOSHi! Publishing is an independent, Black‑owned publishing house founded by MR. TOMONOSHi! , dedicated to the liberation of the Black imagination. Its catalog carries the full range of TOMONOSHi’s work—from genre‑bending children’s literature to cultural philosophy and theological narratives—each one treating imagination as infrastructure and language as architecture. The house publishes work for all ages, building literature that widens perception, challenges inherited narratives, and liberates the imagination to generate new ways of seeing the world.
OUR
PURPOSE
TOMONOSHi! Publishing exists to create a home for stories told in their truest form. A house where imagination leads, language moves freely, and every book reflects the voice that made it. We build our own worlds, and we publish them on our own terms. We believe what we write, and we write what we believe.
OUR
MISSION
Treat literacy as liberation and comprehension as power.
Expand and elevate imagination.
Create experiences that spark wonder.
Build books that build people.
Protect Black childhood and honor Black imagination.
Publish work that deepens critical thinking and emotional intelligence.
Restore what history erases and challenge what systems suppress.
LITERACY
AS LIBERATION
We believe the ability to read is the most powerful tool of liberation.
To read is to decode the world. To comprehend is to participate in it. Literacy is the foundation of self-awareness, civic engagement, and cultural continuity. It allows individuals to navigate systems, challenge narratives, and build futures.
Those who cannot read are not just denied access to books. They are denied access to opportunity, to agency, to the ability to uplift themselves and their communities. Literacy is not a luxury. It is infrastructure.
This is why TOMONOSHi! Publishing treats every book as a vessel of empowerment. We write to awaken. We publish to equip. We distribute to uplift.
WHAT
WE PUBLISH
We publish work that builds.
Work that strengthens identity, expands imagination, deepens critical thinking, and restores what the world forgets.
TOMONOSHi! Publishing creates books that function as cultural artifacts, emotional tools, and imaginative blueprints. Our catalog spans children’s literature, cultural philosophy, and Black American futurist narratives, but every title serves the same purpose: to construct spaces where readers can see themselves, study themselves, and grow themselves.
Our books are designed to be lived with, learned from, and passed down. They are built with intention, crafted with care, and rooted in the belief that literature shapes the world we inhabit.
OUR
EDUCATIONAL
PHILOSOPHY
We put tools into the hands of children and teach them how to use them as early as possible. When young people understand their own power, they can begin building the world they wish to exist in.
We believe education is not a system. It is a lifelong practice of curiosity, creativity, and self‑direction. Children should not wait to be taught. They should be equipped to explore, question, and make meaning for themselves.
We believe learning belongs everywhere. Not just in classrooms, but in homes, communities, conversations, and the everyday rituals that shape a child’s sense of self.
We create resources that are free, accessible, and built for real life. Lesson plans that invite discovery. Activities that spark wonder. Tools that strengthen identity, deepen comprehension, and expand imagination. Everything we make is designed to be adapted, remixed, and used by parents, teachers, and young learners in whatever way serves them best.
We believe children learn best when they are active participants in their own growth. When they build, test, imagine, and reflect. Our educational work is not about delivering information. It is about empowering children to think for themselves, express themselves, and understand the world around them.
Education is how we pass down power.
Education is how we protect childhood.
Education is how we build futures.
FROM PAGE
TO SCREEN
TOMONOSHi! books are crafted with cinematic imagination, emotional clarity, and character‑driven storytelling. They are built with motion in their bones, visual worlds, emotional stakes, and characters who walk straight off the page.
Our stories naturally extend from page to screen into animated and live‑action television, introducing young audiences and families to imaginative worlds, bold characters, and impactful storytelling. Our adaptations honor the heart of each book while expanding the universe for new generations of dreamers.
OUR
FUTURE
Our future is built on deepening our connection with our community of readers. We will continue creating books, worlds, and learning experiences that meet people where they are and grow with them over time. Our work expands not through scale alone, but through trust, relationship, and the shared belief that stories can shape who we become.
We imagine a world full of individuals who think for themselves. A world where imagination is a practiced skill, not an accident. A world where people of all ages are equipped with the tools to shape the futures they deserve.
TOMONOSHi will continue to build stories, tools, and experiences that empower readers everywhere to create the world they wish to exist in.
MEET OUR FOUNDER
MR. TOMONOSHi! (born Martellus Bennett) is a multidisciplinary author, illustrator, and educator whose practice is rooted in emotional inheritance, cultural ritual, and Black sociological imagination.
His work celebrates the fantastical whimsy of Black life while excavating ancestral memory through emotional archaeology and extending the lineage of Black American Futurism.
Through books, performance, and ritual storytelling, he builds cultural infrastructure for legacy, healing, and imaginative expansion, empowering readers of all ages to remember who they come from and imagine who they can become.
WHY
I BUILT THIS HOUSE
At TOMONOSHi! Publishing, we believe literature is the infrastructure of human life.
It is the unseen scaffolding that holds up identity, culture, and society itself. Literature is architecture.
The foundation of all things — education, governance, belief, belonging — rests on the written word. Before there is law, there is language. Before there is policy, there is prose. Before there is culture, there is story.
Language is a raw material. With it, you can build cathedrals of self-worth or prisons of oppression. You can construct bridges between generations or walls between communities. You can raise monuments to memory or erase entire histories.
Every book we publish is a blueprint, a designed space for reflection, invention, and transformation. Our stories are structural interventions that reinforce what society forgets, restore what history erases, and elevate what systems suppress.
To write is to design. To publish is to construct. To read is to inhabit.
WHY
WE PUBLISH BOOKS
A book is one of the last things a person can truly own.
We stream our music. We rent our movies. We license our games. We subscribe to stories that vanish when the signal fades. But a book is yours.
At TOMONOSHi! Publishing, we believe paper is ownership. A book is not just a product. It is a possession. It lives on your shelf, in your bag, on your lap. It doesn’t ask for a password. It doesn’t buffer. It doesn’t disappear when the platform changes.
In this age of convenience and abundance, we have traded permanence for access. But access is not intimacy. Access is not memory. Access is not ritual.
Books slow us down. They return us to our bodies. They let us be human.
When you hold a TOMONOSHi! book, you hold a piece of imagination. You hold a story that cannot be deleted. You hold a moment that cannot be swiped away.
We publish books to be owned. To be passed down. To be marked with notes, folded at corners, gifted with intention. We believe in the dignity of the tangible.
In a world built on the temporary, we build what can be kept, carried, and passed down.
WHO
IS MR. TOMONOSHi!?
MR. TOMONOSHi! is the creative engine behind the house, an artistic identity through which Martellus Bennett builds worlds rooted in ritual and imagination.
As the founder and Chief Creative Officer of TOMONOSHi Publishing, Bennett works as an author, illustrator, and designer creating stories shaped by imagination, cultural ritual, and the fantastical richness of Black life.
His practice blends sophistication and whimsy, building stories and worlds where Black imagination is treated as ceremony, craft, and cultural infrastructure.
RITUAL
& IMAGINATION
MR. TOMONOSHi!’s creative practice is grounded in emotional inheritance, cultural ritual, and Black sociological imagination. His work weaves design, storytelling, and play into a unified artistic language—one that transforms poetic memory, design fluency, and the psychology of play into immersive worlds for children and adults alike.
Across books, animation, interactive media, and visual design, he builds worlds that honor lineage while expanding possibility. Each project opens a space where Black imagination leads, experiments, and architects its own future.
MR. TOMONOSHi!’s creative universe extends across literature, animation, and interactive media, with stories that move fluidly between the page, the screen, and the imagination. His work spans multiple mediums, moving with ease between narrative, visual, and interactive forms. His most recognized work is Hey A.J.!, a bestselling children’s book series that has grown into an animated television project with Disney Jr., where he serves as creator and executive producer.
From poetic meditations to whimsical adventures, his projects share a common thread: worlds built with sophistication, play, and the fantastical wonders of Black life.
MAJOR WORKS
& ADAPTIONS
WRITING
& CULTURAL COMMENTARY
His published work spans children’s literature, poetic meditations, cultural philosophy, and graphic storytelling, including the bestselling Hey AJ series and Dear Black Boy.
In addition to his books and creative worlds, MR. TOMONOSHi! has contributed essays and cultural commentary to publications such as The Washington Post, Chicago Parent, The Dallas Morning News, and others—bringing his voice to conversations on imagination, identity, and the inner lives of children.
Explore the full catalog in the TOMONOSHi! Bookstore.
COLLABORATIONS
MR. TOMONOSHi!’s creative work has led to collaborations with cultural and entertainment partners including Disney, Disney Jr., Barbie, Microsoft, Nickelodeon, Sony Pictures, LAIKA, Complex, GIPHY, Snapchat, Play-Doh, and the Chicago Bulls—extending his storytelling into new mediums, audiences, and imaginative spaces.
AWARDS
& RECOGNITION
MR. TOMONOSHi!’s creative and cultural impact has been honored across education, media, and the arts. His recognitions include:
Forbes 30 Under 30 — Celebrated as one of the nation’s leading young creators reshaping entertainment and media
Key to the City of Dallas — Awarded for cultural contributions and transformative impact through art and education
PROMAX North America Award — Honored for excellence in creative direction and storytelling
HMAAC Extraordinary Community Impact Award — Recognized for advancing imagination, culture, and community engagement
Texas A&M University College of Education & Human Development (2025) — Dean’s Roundtable Honoree as a Transformative Leader
BET Shining Star Recognition — Honored for creative innovation and cultural impact across media and storytelling
Super Bowl Champion — A testament to discipline, collaboration, and creative evolution across multiple fields
Esquire Magazine — Profiled as one of the NFL’s most creatively unconventional figures, celebrated for his imaginative divergence
PRESS
& MEDIA
MR. TOMONOSHi!’s creative evolution and multidisciplinary practice have been profiled in leading arts and culture publications, including:
Chicago Magazine — A definitive profile capturing his imaginative ethos, multidisciplinary practice, and the wonderfully unconventional creative world he built long before TOMONOSHi became a publishing house.
ESPN — A feature highlighting him as one of the most creative minds in the NFL, exploring his artistic identity, design fluency, and imaginative approach to storytelling and life beyond football.
Houstonia Magazine — A feature exploring his journey from the NFL to a prolific creative life, highlighting his philosophy, worldbuilding, and the emergence of the MR. TOMONOSHi universe.
PaperCity Magazine — Coverage of his KOKORO! exhibition at Reeves Art + Design, examining his multimedia installations, yakisugi furniture, and expansive imaginative worlds.
Converge Media — A profile of his Seattle performance Slices of Black American Life, celebrating his role as a creative visionary shaping Black imagination and community storytelling.