September eNewsletter: Bestselling Books, 118 Book Events, and More
July/August 2016 Bestselling Books
Titles on Go On Girl! Book Club’s reading list are prominent on our bestsellers list this period. This is good, because these books excellent reads, and commissions AALBC.com earns from their sales are contributed to Go On Girl! Book Club’s scholarship fund. Several novels, published by Brown Girls Books, made our fiction list because of the of the quaily of their literature and Brown Girls Books’ support of AALBC.com as an online bookseller. Readers, publishers, and authors all win in these scenarios.
118 Important Book Events, Fairs, Festivals, and Conferences
AALBC.com’s Events Calendar will track all of the important book festivals in North America (Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean). We currently have 118 terrific events, covering the next 12 months, and are actively expanding our calendar.
Also, use our free widget to add our Events Calendar to your website or Blog. Our widget is automatically updated, optimized for mobile, and works with websites that use https.
10 Black Writers Longlisted for National Book Awards
“The mission of the National Book Foundation and the National Book Awards is to celebrate the best of American literature, to expand its audience, and to enhance the cultural value of great writing in America.”
A total of 40 books are longlisted in four categories: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Young People’s Literature. On October 13, five finalists, in each category, will be announced. The winners will be celebrated at a wonderful awards ceremony on November 16, 2016. Check out our list of longlisted and winning writers, of African descent. The first award was presented to a Black writer in 1953; do you know who it was?
Black Classic Press Partners with ASALH
“Our plan is to make these titles available as a complete collectors’ library and encourage readers to enjoy them and share them with future generations.”
—W. Paul Coates, publisher Black Classic Press.
Black Classic Press, in partnership with the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), is pleased to announce the launch of The Woodson Series, which recognizes the pioneering efforts of Carter G. Woodson, The father of Black History Month, as a publisher and institution builder. Dr. Woodson founded The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, which became ASALH in 1915.
Enjoy a 30% discount, off the retail price, of all ASALH titles thru October 31.
Book Reviews
Bibsy by Brenda Ross
Bibsy was a finalist (first fiction) for a 2016 Phillis Wheatley Book Award. Our reviewer, Carol Taylor, called Brenda Ross, “…a writer to watch, with a uniquely lyrical and assured voice and style.”
Bibsy gives keen insight into the complexity of the lives of African Americans during the construction of the bridge and the development of the land. It’s the end of a way of life for hundreds of poor displaced families. It’s a story not often told yet this type of displacement happened in widespread areas across the country. Read the complete review.
The Gem Connection by Michael R. Lane
The caper, The Gem Connection, penned by Michael R. Lane, features a private eye team. C.J. Cavanaugh and his partner, Renita Harris. Harris is a computer whiz. They are paired on the Windell slaying following a letter employing them with a hefty fee of $200,000 with the catch that the team must fly under the radar, without the knowledge of the Portland Police Department. However, Cavanaugh has the added pressure to keep all of the information from his long-time lover, Homicide Detective Destini Pendleton, who has been assigned to head the high-profile case. Read the complete review written by Robert Fleming.
Recommended Reads
Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor’s Reflections on Race and Medicine by Damon Tweedy
Black Man in a White Coat examines the complex ways in which both black doctors and patients must navigate the difficult and often contradictory terrain of race and medicine. As Tweedy transforms from student to practicing physician, he discovers how often race influences his encounters with patients. Through their stories, he illustrates the complex social, cultural, and economic factors at the root of most health problems in the black community (Picador, September 6, 2016).
Be sure to check out the book club discussion questions for Tweedy’s book; which was also selected by Folktales Black Women’s Literary Society for their reading list.
The Sellout by Paul Beatty Shortlisted for Man Booker Prize
The Sellout was one of six novels shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction on September 13. This annually awarded literary prize is for the best original novel, written in English, and published in the UK. It is open to writers of any nationality. The winner of the 2016 Prize will be announced at a ceremony in London on Oct. 25. In addition to a prize of £50,000 (approximately $65,513), Beatty is one of two Americans to be honored this year.
The Sellout is a biting satire about a young man’s isolated upbringing and the race trial that sends him to the Supreme Court, Paul Beatty’s The Sellout showcases a comic genius at the top of his game. It challenges the sacred tenets of the United States Constitution, urban life, the civil rights movement, the father-son relationship, and the holy grail of racial equality—the black Chinese restaurant. (Picador, March 1, 2016).
Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching: A Young Black Man’s Education by Mychal Denzel Smith
How do you learn to be a black man in America?
Smith unapologetically upends reigning assumptions about black masculinity, rewriting the script for black manhood so that depression and anxiety aren’t considered taboo, and feminism and LGBTQ rights become part of the fight. The questions Smith asks in this book are urgent for him, for the martyrs and the tokens, and for the Trayvons that could have been and are still waiting. (Watch a Video of Smith Reading with Melissa Harris Perry).
Southside With You – Film Review
The story unfolds in Chicago during the summer of 1989 when Michelle was already employed as an attorney and living back home with her parents. Barack had just finished his first year at Harvard law school and had landed an internship as her assistant at her prestigious, white-shoe firm.
Apparently, he was so instantly smitten with Michelle that he could barely contain himself. So, she had to politely remind him of the the office’s strict rule against fraternizing among associates. Nevertheless, when she refused to consider a romantic rendezvous, he pitched her on the idea of attending a business meeting with him… (read more).
Get a Free AALBC.com Author Profile ($249 Value)
Buy a Large Book Cover or Horizontal Banner Advertisement and Get a Free Author Profile!
An Author Profile Profile is a permanent web presence on AALBC.com. It includes everything an author’s website should have including: your photo, biography, video, and pages for all of your books. Book pages can include a book trailer, description, excerpt, and buy links to all the major booksellers.
For an additional charge we can replace the books on the right hand side of your pages with customized widgets for you social media accounts, events calendar, video, blog and more. We can even associate your domain name to your pages if you don’t have a website. Check out elizabethnunez.com or christopherdburns.com for examples.
AALBC.com is the oldest, largest, and most frequently visited website dedicated to books written by or about people of African descent. There is no other website that reaches this group of readers more effectively.
Dear Reader,
I still need your support. Please consider purchasing your AALBC.com eNewsletter subscription. It is less than $1 per month.
AALBC.com thrives, in a large part, due to your financial support. Sure, I work very hard to keep AALBC.com growing, but I can’t succeed without your financial support. If you are currently a paid subscriber thank you so very much. If you have not yet purchased your subscription thanks in advance for the support.
By the way, our website upgrade is progressing very nicely. I still have thousands of pages to convert, or clean up, but I hope to have this done by the end of the year.
Thanks for reading and supporting Black Literature.
Peace & Love,
Troy Johnson,
Founder & Webmaster, AALBC.com
You may receive messages like this directly in your email-box by subscribing. It may also be read on your Kindle ebook reader, or any device by downloading a PDF version. Enjoy all of our previous eNewsletters and consider sponsoring our eNewsletter or a dedicated mailing.
AALBC.com eNewsletter – September 16, 2016 – Issue #237
