June 2016 Newsletter Celebrating the Best in Black Literature
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Carter G. Woodson Award Winning Books
The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) established the Carter G. Woodson Book Awards for the most distinguished books appropriate for young readers that depict ethnicity in the United States. First presented in 1974, this award is intended to “encourage the writing, publishing, and dissemination of outstanding social studies books for young readers that treat topics related to ethnic minorities and race relations sensitively and accurately.”
The awards are given in the following categories, Elementary (K-6), Middle (5-8), and Secondary (7-12) grade levels. This is arguably the most diverse list of children’s books you will encounter. Check out our book cover mosaic for these award winning titles.
New Books Coming in July
Jewell Parker Rhodes, Towers Falling, is a novel for younger readers, which helps them understand how a tragic event, that took place before they were born, impacts them today. Learning in Womanist Ways: Narratives of First Generation African Caribbean Women by Jan Etienne is a fascinating study of Black Caribbean women who went to Britain in the 1950s and 1960s in search of a better life. New York Times bestselling authors, Ashley & JaQuavis are back with installment #6 of The Cartel series, and celebrity insider, Flo Anthony keeps the drama going with One Last Deadly Play. You’ll also find a new book of poetry featuring the work of Kwame Dawes, as well a highly touted debut novel, Here Comes the Sun, from critically acclaimed writer, Nicole Dennis-Benn, and more.
Book Club Selection for July 2016
Folktales’ Black Women’s Literary Society from Austin, TX is reading Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor’s Reflections on Race and Medicine. The author, Dr. Damon Tweedy, explores the challenges confronting black doctors, and the disproportionate health burdens faced by black patients.
All the chapters of the national book club, Go On Girl! Book Club, Inc., are reading Loving Day by Mat Johnson. Loving Day was named one of the Best Books of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle, NPR and others.
Girl Fridayz Book Club out of Buffalo, NY are reading Victoria Christopher Murray’s bestselling novel, Stand Your Ground, and the San Francisco Bay Area’s, Turning Pages book club is reading Langston Hughes’ classic, The Ways of White Folks.
“I’ve heard black books are dead…”
“I’ve heard black books are dead, and it’s not true. There’s a thriving market; it just has to be nurtured. I am carrying the banner and banging the drum.”—Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati, CEO of the Literary Media and Publishing Consultants. To help beat the drum, Vanesse was joined by; Regina Brooks, CEO of Serendipity Literary Agency; Ken Smikle, president, Target Market News, and former publisher of Black Issues Book Review; and Troy Johnson, president, AALBC.com. You may read about this panel discussion in the Chicago Defender and Publishers Weekly.
Report from the Journalists Roundtable by Richard Prince
Much of the discussion was about how to get companies to recognize their obligation to advertise in the Black press, given the number of dollars African Americans spend with those companies. A. Peter Bailey, an author, speaker, journalist and former Malcolm X associate, suggested that publishers make public the number of dollars Black consumers spend with certain business sectors. “Let these people see that you’re not doing us a favor,” he said. Peter added that Black publishers should require organizations whose leaders want columns in the Black press to make sure their members are reading Black newspapers.
On a note related to leaders not supporting the Black Press; George Curry said, back in 2014, “There is a disrespect for the black press that we have not seen in recent years. For example, we have requested — every year — an interview with the president. He can ignore 200 black newspapers and 19 million viewers but he can give one to every stupid white comedian there is on TV, the black ones and the white ones, and has time for all types of buffoonery but they will not respect the black press enough to give us an interview…” As far as I can tell, the Black press has still not been granted an interview with President Obama (If he has please share the links).
Literary Triumph Despite Adversity…
Mazaradi Fox (center) is the author of The Game Don’t Change The Players Do… (Infamous Books, November 2016). Fox wrote this novel in 2013 during his incarceration at the Orleans Correctional Facility. Excited to learn about this upcoming book from a new author, I ran a quick search and learned, not only was Fox (born Jamal Green) a novelist, he was rap artist signed to 50 Cent’s G-Unit label. I was stunned to discover that Fox was murdered on the streets of Queens, NY in 2014. His tragic end, though it happened two years ago, hit me harder than I would have expected; simply because it could have been any of us. Mazaradi’s story prompted me to post these stories so that we can celebrate the Brothers that achieved literary success despite the odds.
D. Watkins an East Baltimore native, once a teenaged crack dealer, is now a college professor at the University of Baltimore. When he was 16 years old, Dwayne Betts carjacked a man and spent a nine years in the toughest adult prisons in Virginia. Today he is a 2010 Soros Justice Fellow, and a 2016 graduate of the Yale Law School. Antwone Fisher was born in an Ohio prison to a teenage mother and became a ward of the state. Today he is a screenwriter, poet, and a New York Times best-selling author. Mitchell S. Jackson spent 16 months in prison for selling drugs. Today he is an awarding author and serves on the faculty of Columbia University.
“Use Facebook, Don’t Let Facebook Use You.”
Have you ever shared a link from a page on your website to Facebook, and have you wondered how Facebook chose the image used? You can control the image used when anyone shares a link from your site onto Facebook. You can even use an image specifically designed for Facebook—even one not used on the web page itself.
The links I share on Facebook are selected with thought or are crafted in such in a way to increase the likelihood a reader will click the link and visit our web site. In order to help accomplish this I take advantage of Facebook’s Open Graph Debugger Tool. Learn more about this valuable tool.
Books Published by Theatre Communications Group
Are you a fan of playwrights August Wilson, Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks, or John O’Neal? Then check out the books published by Theatre Communications Group.
Events Coming in July
▪ 
Harlem Book Fair, July 16 – Harlem, NY
▪ The Soulful Chicago Book Fair, July 16 – Chicago, IL
▪ Phillis Wheatley Book Awards, July 17 – New York, NY
▪ National Book Club Conference, July 29 to 31 – Atlanta, GA
Promote Your Book for $75 for the Entire Summer!
Your book will appear on AALBC.com’s Homepage and our Book’s Main Page for the the entire summer! As of June 29th that is 84 days. The sooner you start the better the deal. Your book will be seen by tens of thousands of readers of Black literature, for less than $1 per day. Click here to get started.
Dear Reader,
As I continue working through AALBC.com’s website upgrade, I just can’t helped but be moved by the wealth of talented writers we have available to us. I created a page to which lists all the authors that are profiled on AALBC.com; currently there are 2,417 are on the list, and this is the tip of the iceberg.
Some suggest men don’t read because nothing has been published which speaks to their experience. In reality a great deal has been published that they can relate to; we just have to actively ensure these stories are shared. Do not take it for granted that everyone knows about these books. We have to spread the word.
If you discover a book on our site or newsletter, please share it with others. This is the only way our literature, our stories, indeed our humanity will rise above the sensationalism and dysfunction favored by mainstream media.
As always, thanks for reading!
Peace & Love,
Troy Johnson,
Founder & Webmaster, AALBC.com
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AALBC.com eNewsletter – Originally Emailed June 29, 2016 – Issue #235
