#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
 

#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)

My Face Is Black Is True: Callie House and the Struggle for Ex-Slave Reparations

"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
Global Urban Literature

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.

BackList

"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

In the Dark
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000BNBIP2/ref=nosim/aalbccom-20

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.

AfricaSpeaks.com

An aggregation of several websites including; http://www.AfricaSpeaks.com http://www.RastaSpeaks.com, http://www.rootswomen.com, http://www.RastafariSpeaks.com and numerous Blogs and discussion boards.  This web site contains interesting articles and discussions.

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.

back to the top

EVENTS
http://events.aalbc.com/

North Carolina Black Book Festival http://www.ncbookfest.com 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

14th Annual Etheridge Knight Festival of the Arts http://ekfestival.org 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

Sea Island Writers Retreats www.tinamcelroyansa.com/retreats2005.html "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.

back to the top

Baratunde
http://www.baratunde.com/blog/

goodCRIMETHINK is the blog of comedian, author and vigilante pundit Baratunde.  This Brother is truly unique.

Mirror to America: The Autobiography of John Hope Franklin
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0374299447/ref=nosim/aalbccom-20

"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.

More Body, More Soul: Beautiful Black Men by Duane Thomas
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/078931357X/ref=nosim/aalbccom-20

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.

The Artificial White Man: Essays on Authenticity by Stanley Crouch
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0465015158/ref=nosim/aalbccom-20

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."

Buy Popular Titles - 30% off Directly 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.