Groundbreaking, persuasive, inclusive, and warm, A Recipe for More brings the ingredients of an abundant life to all readers so that we might honor ourselves, deepen our communities, and finally be present in each miraculous and life-giving singular moment. Buy Now ▶ | Fiction: The literary magazines Killens Review of Arts & Letters and midnight & indigo dominated our bestsellers lists this period. Coleman Hill: A Biomythography by Kim Coleman Foote — six months before its publication date! Nonfiction: Reparations on Fire: How and Why it’s Spreading Across America by Nkechi Taifa has been a #1 bestseller since its publication last year. Children’s Books: The #1 bestselling book, Sailing Commitment Around the World with Captain Bill Pinkney, written by Bill Pinkney and illustrated by Pamela C. Rice, is a six-time AALBC.com Bestseller. Poetry: 2023 has been one of the best years for poetry book sales in several years. The bestselling poetry books this period spans more than four decades from Ntozake Shange’s Three Pieces, originally published in 1981, to Clint Smith’s 2023 book of poetry Above Ground. | The Children’s Africana Book Awards (CABA) are presented annually to the authors and illustrators of the best children’s and young adult books on Africa published or republished in the U.S. Africa Access and the Outreach Council of the African Studies Association (ASA) created CABA in 1991 to encourage the publication and use of accurate, balanced children’s materials about Africa. | Since 1917 the Pulitzer Prize has honored excellence in journalism and the arts. The first award was presented in 1918. The Prize recognizes American authors in six “Letters and Drama” categories; Biography/Autobiography, Fiction, General Non-Fiction, History, Poetry, and Drama. The first African-American writer to win a Pulitzer Prize in any of these categories was Gwendolyn Brooks, who received the award for poetry for her collection Annie Allen in 1950. His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice, by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa won in the General Nonfiction category and was a finalist in the Biography Category. | Running to Fall: A Novel, published by the African American Literature Book Club (AALBC Aspire, Nov 2022) and written by Kalisha Buckhanon, received the Benjamin Franklin Silver Award in the competitive Fiction: Mystery & Thriller category from the Independent Book Sellers Association on May 5, 2023 Publishers Weekly’s Booklife review describes Running to Fall: “Buckhanon’s weaving of thriller elements into a literary novel works beautifully, especially early on, as the focus on how the investigation into Raven’s death impacts Tragedy, as one of the few Black residents, positions the story arc about Tragedy’s drinking as secondary, until it slowly takes center stage.” Read the Full Review ? | Congrats to Mosley’s latest literary creation, Joe King Oliver. He takes on all comers, from Russian mobs, mercenaries, pickpockets, white nationalists, social activists, and lifers. It’s soul noir with timely, modern moral issues. It would be cheating to reveal how the cases were solved, so spoilers are not a part of this review. The tension will keep you breathless and totally guessing. However, the words of Mosley has all of the clues in them: Everything good and everything bad that makes us human. Just imagine this is the second brilliant installment of the Joe King Oliver series… oh man! More ? | On August 25, 1959, jazz trumpeter Miles Davis escorts a white girl to a cab, lights a cigarette outside Birdland, and a city policeman harasses the black man. Bitter words were exchanged. Davis refuses to back down, defiantly standing his ground. Nevertheless, he becomes fearful that the officer’s blackjack would damage his lips or hands. While the cop held his arms, a plainclothes detective roughed him up. Bloody, the musician is taken to the precinct and booked on charges of disorderly conduct and assault. Playwright, novelist, and teacher Wesley Brown takes this confrontation and extends it into an evening full of drama and historic value in his new novella, Blue in Green. More ? | Launched in 1991, Go On Girl! Book Club, Inc. is one of the largest national reading organizations in the U.S. for Black women. Review their reading list; you’ll definitely discover some great books and authors. Added Bonus: Purchase all six books, and you will get free shipping and no sales tax (unless books are shipped to the state of Florida). Plus, Go On Girl! Book Club members get 10% off (see leadership for member discount code). | Everyone on the panel “came out of the struggle” for civil rights, said Coates, who opened Black Classic Press in 1978. “Wade as a young man was involved in the Civil Rights Movement in Louisiana. Haki is still one of the foundational members of the Black Lives Movement. Kassahun was with the Eritrean Liberation Front. Myself with the Black Panther Party. These are people who carried the struggle forward and had it bloom in publishing.” Read Publishers Weekly’s coverage and more ? | Dear Reader, Reader, let me know what you think about length of this newsletter. Is it too long? Could you handle more content? Is the frequency of our emails acceptable? Would you like newsletters custom tailored to your interests, or would you prefer newsletters which provide wide variety of information? As always, your support is crucial to helping us continue to improve the African American Literature Book Club. Your paid subscriptions, book purchases, suggestions, engagement on the site, social sharing, advertisements, and feedback help support the African American Literature Book Club’s mission of celebrating Black culture through books. Peace and Love,
Troy Johnson
President, AALBC.com, LLC | This newsletter is sponsored by Amistad an Imprint of HarperCollins
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? AALBC.com eNewsletter — May 16, 2023 - Issue #387 | |
