#1
- The Interruption of Everything by Terry McMillan #2 - The Sex Chronicles: Shattering the Myth by Zane
#3 - Devil In The Mist by Diane Dorce #4 - The Sisters of APF: The
Indoctrination of Soror Ride Dick by Zane #5 - Vivid by Beverly E.
Jenkins
Nonfiction
#1
- Confessions of a Video Vixen by Karrine Steffans #2 - Countering the
Conspiracy to Destroy Black Boys by Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu
#3 - Race Matters by Dr. Cornel West
#4 - Satan, I'm Taking Back My Health! by Jawanza Kunjufu
#5 - Keeping Black Boys out of Special Education Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu
The Zane Effect
53% of all nonfiction titles sold (trending downward
but still amazingly high)
Fiction to Non fiction ratio
51% to 49% (highest ever for non-fiction)
Top Selling Book (most number
of copies sold): Confessions of a Video Vixen
Highest Conversion Ratio:
Vivid - 71% of people who clicked link actually purchased book
(Ratio for all books on AALBC.com = 6.28%)
Sleeper Title: Bourbon Street
(look for this title to continue to slowly grow in popularity)
Writer and social historian Lerone Bennett, Jr. has served as
the executive editor of Ebony for almost forty years. His written work
deftly explores the history of race relations in the United States as well
as the current environment in which African Americans strive for equality.
Bennett is the author of such seminal works as Before the Mayflower: A
History of Black America and Forced Into Glory: Abraham Lincoln and
the White Dream.
Dr. Wilson is
the author of numerous titles including Black-on-Black
Violence: The Psychodynamics of Black Self-Annihilation in Service of White
Domination,
Developmental Psychology of the Black Child, and
Afrikan Centered Consciousness Versus the New World
Order: Garveyism in the Age of Globalism.
Smith is celebrated as one of Britain's most
talented young authors and is the author of the
critically acclaimed novels White
Teeth, and the recently published, On Beauty.
"Mary Francis Berry resurrects the forgotten life of
Callie House (1861-1928), ex-slave, widowed Nashville washer woman and
mother of five who, seventy years before the civil rights movement,
headed a demand for ex-slave reparations." "House was born into slavery
in 1861 and sought African-American pensions based on those offered
Union soldiers. In a brilliant and daring move, House targeted $68
million in taxes on seized rebel cotton (over $1.2 billion in 2005
dollars) and demanded it as repayment for centuries of unpaid labor."
Dr. Berry tells how the Justice Department, persuaded
by the postmaster general, banned the activities of Callie Houses's town
organizers, violated her constitutional rights to assemble and to
petition Congress, and falsely accused her of mail fraud; the federal
officials had the post office open the mail of almost all
African-Americans, denying delivery on the smallest pretext. Berry shows
how African-American newspapers, most of which preached meekness toward
whites, systematically ignored or derided Mrs. House's movement, which
was essentially a poor person's movement. Despite being denied mail
service and support from the African-American establishment of the day,
Mrs. House's Ex-Slave Association flourished until she was imprisoned by
the Justice Department for violating the postal laws of the United
States; suddenly deprived of her spirit, leadership, and ferocity, the
first national grassroots African-American movement fell apart.
Lorraine and James is a triannual print journal whose
missions is to till the urban landscape in search of new writers and
give attention to the noncommercial work or established writers from the
United States and around the globe. It is our intent that through
this process we will act as a conduit through which a writers from
anywhere can connect with readers everywhere
Lorraine and James publishes fiction, creative
nonfiction, poetry, and interviews in summer, fall and winter.
"Stacia Brown interviewed the ever-honest and
wonderful warrior writer, asha bandele. Soul-brother-writer-number-one,
Mark Anthony Neal, interviewed actress-turned-novelist, Denise Nicholas.
I got a chance to probe Scott Poulson-Bryant, the author of the
soon-to-be-released book that everyone will be talking about, Hung.
There’s a feature where four fabulous writers discuss being first-time
novelists and Danielle Jackson has contributed a piece about the
sometimes understated importance of black publishing houses. Also check
out my new feature, called Editor's BackList, where I pick the books I'm
checking for." —Felicia Pride, Founder/Editor/Publisher
Phillip Thomas Duck Speaks About In the Dark:
Fiction is often grounded in reality. Many times some real life
experience causes a fiction writer to play “What if”. For me, it was my
daughter’s baby monitor intercepting a telephone call from someone in my
condo complex. Marriage and its unique complexities is a theme that
shows up in quite a bit of my fiction. The baby monitor experience and
this reoccurring marriage theme gelled to create one of those “What if”
moments. Namely, “What if a wife found out her husband was cheating on
her by way of her daughter’s baby monitor?” The result of this query is
“In the Dark”, a sexy story about marriage and infidelity with a twist.
Urban-Reviews.com is a new online resource for
open and honest opinions on some of today's latest and greatest
releases, whether it's AA Fiction, Hip-Hop or R&B Music. Our goal is to
provide an insight for visitors to decide on whether or not they should
consider getting any of the featured releases.
March 31, 2006 - Opening Night Literary Gala
Keynote Speaker: Byron Harmon
Description: The Writer's Achievement Award presented to author
Jacquelin Thomas. Authors, Readers and other Invited
guests come together for a night of fine dining to celebrate great
black literature. This is an exclusive black-tie affair. Time:
7:00pm - 10:00pm
Saturday April 1, 2006 is the NCBBF Book
Extravaganza. Readers and writers can enjoy Panel/Author
Discussions, Hands-on Workshops, Meet the Authors Book Signings,
Plus so much more! Free to the General Public
Joseph C. Dixon, North Carolina Black Book
Festival - Founder/Event Coordinator
336.986.3628
joseph@ncbookfest.com
November 4, 2005
at 7:00 p.m. at the Indiana History Center in the Frank and Katrina
Basile, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Presents: Poet, songwriter, author,
workshop facilitator, and educator
Regie Gibson will close out the 14th Annual Etheridge Knight
Festival of the Arts on Friday, November 4, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. at the
Indiana History Center in the Frank and Katrina Basile Theatre, 450
West Ohio Street in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Regie and his work appear in the New Line Cinema
film love jones , based largely on events in his life. The
poem entitled "Brother to the Night (A Blues for Nina)" appears on
the movie soundtrack and is performed by the film's star, Larenz
Tate. Regie performed "Hey Nappyhead" in the film with
world-renowned percussionist and composer Kahil El Zabar, composer
of the score for the musical The Lion King.
Admission is $10. Due to a small portion of
the language and content, the show is suggested for 17 and older.
Email:
rondall_b@yahoo.com for info
"In the last fifteen years or so,
there has been such an explosion of African-American
literature/fiction. The number of committed writers who feel they
have a story to tell has grown exponentially. And as a writer myself
who respects those stories and am eager to read them, I want to do
my part to help get those stories out into the world.
That's why I've established the first ever Sea
Island Writers Retreats, three separate workshops for emerging writers to help them
improve and hone their work. The four-day autumn retreats will take
place on beautiful pristine
Sapelo Island off
the coast of Georgia." —Tina
McElroy Ansa
Spaces for the November retreat are going quickly.
If these are the sessions that you're interested in, we suggest that
you register as soon as possible.
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THE POWER OF BLOGS - A LIST OF
INTERESTING BLOGS
If
you are an author, or know of an author, who has published a web log or
Blog — let us know (email:
troy@aalbc.com). We will continue to provide a list of
interesting Blogs on our newsletters. Also visit AALBC.com's
founder's Blog at
"Mirror to America: The Autobiography of John Hope
Franklin is an astonishing beautiful, deeply intelligent record of
an extraordinary life. Required reading lest we forget what is
possible in a race-based society." —Toni
Morrison, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature
John Hope Franklin lived through America's most
defining twentieth-century transformation, the dismantling of
legally-protected racial segregation. A renowned scholar, he has
explored that transformation in its myriad aspects, notably in his
3.5 million-copy bestseller,
From Slavery to Freedom. And he was, and remains, an
active participant. Born in 1915, he, like every other African
American, could not but participate: he was evicted from whites-only
train cars, confined to segregated schools, threatened-once with
lynching-and consistently met with racism's denigration of his
humanity. And yet he managed to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard, become
the first black historian to assume a full-professorship at a white
institution, Brooklyn College, be appointed chair of the University
of Chicago's history department and, later, John B. Duke Professor
at Duke University. He has reshaped the way African American history
is understood and taught and become one of the world's most
celebrated historians, garnering over 130 honorary degrees.
As hip hop conquers the world and black actors sweep
up awards, a new group of black men has risen to the forefront of
popular culture. These are men who are not afraid to express
themselves and who possess a unique sense of freedom when it comes
to style and image. They are all here in this stunning visual
tribute to black male beauty. From film and television, you'll find
photographs that reveal the suave Jamie Foxx, the sleek Mekhi
Phifer, the lovable Will Smith, and the edgy Vin Diesel. From the
world of music, images convey the raw muscular power of such
performers as 50 Cent, Ja Rule, Jay-Z, and Usher. And, sports
figures like Lebron James, Allen Iverson, and Stephon Marbury
display a comfortable elegance with their athletic prowess in
awe-inspiring photographs. Whatever their mission, each of these men
has made his own way in the world, forging his iconic status out of
his individual personality and attitude. For black men, style is not
just a matter of how they wear-or don't wear-clothes. It's an
opportunity to create an image, to change people's minds, or to
seduce. African-American men possess a fashion vocabulary all their
own. From jazz zoot suits and African hairstyles to hip hop furs and
gangsta rap gold chains, black men often pioneer trends that later
become part of the mainstream. Featuring work by top photographers
including Barron Claiborne, David LaChapelle, Roger Erickson,
Guzman, and Dah Len, More Body, More Soul gives us a candid and
provocative look at the sensuality and vitality of today's most
talked-about black male stars.
In this penetrating collection of original essays,
legendary gadfly and esteemed critic Stanley Crouch tackles the
notion on authenticity-what it is, what it isn't, and what we make
of it, for good or for bad. While the question of who's the real
deal and who isn't has now seeped into nearly every corner of
American culture, nowhere does the idea of authenticity hold greater
sway than in the realm of ethnicity. In this bracing collection of
original essays, Crouch brings all his rhetorical skills to bear on
this animating-and polarizing-idea, and investigates the motives
behind those who present themselves as authentic, those who claim to
expose the inauthentic, and what this all tells us about the state
of the arts-from the vaulted halls of literary fiction to the arena
of soft drink-shilling pop stars-in America today.
For Crouch, this is not simply an academic
exercise, but a summation of our peculiar historical moment. Living
in a time in which much of the conventions that defined and limited
people's futures-whether it be race, class, or sex-have been
obliterated, we're both liberated from bigotries and
yet-still-facing profound disillusionment. As influences come and go
at breakneck speed, as traditions are remade and re-imagined, it has
become hard to tell which metaphorical end is up. The result, Crouch
argues, is not only a national paranoia that someone may have put
something over on us-i.e. that we have too often been duped into
believing that the counterfeit is authentic-but also a deep
retrenchment of imagination and artistic expression, from white and
black alike. As he promises in his introduction: "This book is an
argument with all of that, however sympathetic it might be to the
search for alternatives to our disappointments. It hopes to present,
through affirmation, a new form of rebellion in our time of cosmetic
dissent."
Visit http://books.aalbc.com
to view a complete list of books coming out over the next 6 months.
back to the top
30% off POPULAR URBAN TITLES DIRECT FROM AALBC.com
Purchase these best selling titles directly from
AALBC.com; including the AALBC.com best selling book for all of
2004; Let that Be
the Reason by Vickie M. Stringer. We also have our #5 best
selling Non-fiction for 2004, the classic,
The MIS-Education
of the Negro by Carter Godwin Woodson for only $6.97 Plus
shipping.
Interesting Discussion Board Posts (we
often discuss other things besides books):
Authors to introduce your book to thousands of
AALBC.com visitors for free; I encourage you to mention your book on one
of our discussion boards:
http://www.thumperscorner.com/discus you can include a graphic and
even link to your web site.
"Hey folks, I'm a 1st time user. I think the next
popular genre will be Church Drama (not Christian inspirational, but
Christian church drama) and also what I think will be a popular movement
is novels for the young AA audience." —777
"My observations about John F. Kennedy are that his
assassination turned him into a martyr whose "canonization" was
undeserved. He was not the staunch compassionate Liberal that black
folks like to believe he was and his voting record as a senator
reflected this. He was first and foremost a politician, and a ruthless
one at that, with his pit bull brother Bobby as his henchman. Everything
Kennedy did was calculated and motivated by his pursuit of power. Of
course, there's nothing unusual about this because that's true of all
politicians. But the Camelot myth was just that, a figment of Jacqueline
Kennedy's imagination, and the idea that Kennedy was some kind of a
savior for black people is greatly exaggerated. Like George Bush, JFK
was a white man from a privileged family who grew up ignorant to the
struggle of black people until it was to his advantage to focus on this
because it meant securing him votes. But Kennedy was against the 1963
March on Washington because he didn't want to offend white middle
America, and Bobby kept Martin Luther King under constant surveillance
because King was a thorn in the side of The Administration, who also
needed to woo southern Democrats. I cried like everyone else when
Kennedy was shot, but down through the years, the true picture of the
man gradually began to emerge. He was not a bad guy, but certainly not
someone to be idolized." —Cynique
"Armstrong Williams, LiL Kim, Terrence Howard, and
my man Colin Powell gotsta go -- he made me believe that Iraq was gonna
have us shittin nuclear waste and pissin anthrax..... I was supporting
this stupid ass war for a minute -- I was like "Bush might be a lying
bastard but the brotha ain't sending our boys to war over no goddamn
lies"... so Powell must go! You can't f--k up like that and get away
with it". —Tonya
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Mosaicbooks.com and
AALBC.com web
sites — one fantastic rate, two leading websites! Our advertising
campaigns provide you with real-time reports, a simple pricing
structure, and the ability to reach a large, but targeted audience very
quickly. Visit
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information. (the
$99 setup fee waived for clients who purchase or already have an
AALBC.com Author's Profile)
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