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Gene Luen Yang - National Book Award Finalist Reading 2013
Gene Luen Yang - National Book Award Finalist Reading 2013 Poetry & Spoken Word
My Favorite Readings from the 2013 National Book Award Finalists
My Favorite Readings from the 2013 National Book Award Finalists Troy Johnson Article I covered this year's National Book Foundation's National Book Awards Finalists Reading for AALBC.com. The readin...
Gene Barretta
Gene Barretta NONE Gene Barretta is an acclaimed children's book author and illustrator, known for titles like “Lincoln and Kennedy: A Pair to Compare.” He has won the Carolyn W. Field Award and Bank...
Gene Edwards
Gene Edwards 0000000110696652 Gene Edwards is an American house church planter, Christian author, and former Southern Baptist pastor. A graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, he stron...
New Kid (paperback)
New Kid (paperback) Jerry Craft 9780062691194 Fiction Quill Tree Books HarperCollins Winner of the Newbery Medal, Coretta Scott King Author Award, and Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature! Pe...
New Kid
New Kid Jerry Craft 9780062691200 Fiction HarperCollins HarperCollins Class Act, the follow up to New Kid will be published in October. AALBC will be the first to reveal Class Act’s, cover on February...
Harlem Book Fair 2013: Video, Photos & Awards
Harlem Book Fair 2013: Video, Photos & Awards Troy Johnson Article All Photos © 2013 AALBC.com, LLC - Feel free to use them but please provide a photo credit to Troy Johnson, AALBC.com and a link...
Fresh Ink: A We Need Diverse Books Anthology
Fresh Ink: A We Need Diverse Books Anthology Lamar Giles 9781524766313 Fiction Ember Ember Published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books, this YA anthology brings together thirteen acclaimed and...
Happy New Year From AALBC.com’s Troy Johnson
Happy New Year From AALBC.com’s Troy Johnson Troy Johnson Article 2013, what a year! With so many great new books and films last year, there was a lot to celebrate. We also extended our reach through...
Adrian Matejka
Adrian Matejka 0000000037525872 Adrian Matejka is a Germany-born, Indiana-based author and educator. A graduate of Indiana University and Southern Illinois University Carbondale, he has penned award-...
Edwidge Danticat
Edwidge Danticat 000000011051509X Edwidge Danticat, a Haitian-born author, is renowned for her books like “Breath, Eyes, Memory”, an Oprah Book Club pick, and “The Farming of Bones”, an American Book...
Angela Flournoy
Angela Flournoy 0000000436914613 Angela Flournoy, author of The Turner House, a National Book Award finalist, has been recognized with numerous awards including the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize. A Nat...
The Loss of All Lost Things
The Loss of All Lost Things Amina Gautier 9781932418569 Fiction Elixir Press Elixir Press Winner of the Chicago Public Library’s 21st Century Award.Winner of a Royal Palm Literary AwardWinner of the F...
The Season of Styx Malone (paperback)
The Season of Styx Malone (paperback) Kekla Magoon 9781524715984 Fiction Random House Children’s Books Penguin Random House A Coretta Scott King Honor Book And The Winner Of The Boston Globe Horn Book...
Ring Shout
Ring Shout P. Djèlí Clark 9781250393814 Fiction Tor Nightfire Macmillan Publishers ebula, Locus, and Alex Award-winner P. Djèlí Clark returns with Ring Shout, a dark fantasy historical novella ...
The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver (paperback)
The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver (paperback) Gene Barretta 9780062430182 Nonfiction HarperCollins HarperCollins The inspirational story of George Washington Carver and his childhood secre...
The Season of Styx Malone
The Season of Styx Malone Kekla Magoon 9781524715953 Fiction Wendy Lamb Books Wendy Lamb Books This lively and diverse middle-grade story from the award-winning author of How It Went Down has the warm...
The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver
The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver Gene Barretta 9780062430151 Nonfiction Katherine Tegen Books HarperCollins The inspirational story of George Washington Carver and his childhood secret ga...
Representing the Race
Representing the Race Gene Andrew Jarrett 9780814743393 Nonfiction New York University Press New York University Press The political value of African American literature has long been a topic of great...
Paul Laurence Dunbar
Paul Laurence Dunbar Gene Andrew Jarrett 9780691150529 Nonfiction Princeton University Press Princeton University Press On the 150th anniversary of his birth, a definitive new biography of a pivotal f...
Deans and Truants
Deans and Truants Gene Andrew Jarrett 9780812239737 Nonfiction University of Pennsylvania Press University of Pennsylvania Press For a work to be considered African American literature, does it need t...
Freedom Bound
Freedom Bound Jayne Cubbage Book Review The novel Freedom bound is based on the life Anta Majigeen Ndiaya who had been captured by slave raiders from Yang Yang village in Senegal, West Africa. Auth...
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) Kam Williams startrek-2013-blueray.jpg Film Review Read the comments now. Read our review after you see the film (there some spoilers). Kirk Matches Wits with Rogue Co...
Cynthia Kadohata - National Book Award Finalist Reading 2013
Cynthia Kadohata - National Book Award Finalist Reading 2013 Poetry & Spoken Word
Jhumpa Lahiri - National Book Award Finalist Reading 2013
Jhumpa Lahiri - National Book Award Finalist Reading 2013 Poetry & Spoken Word
George Packer - National Book Award Finalist Reading 2013
George Packer - National Book Award Finalist Reading 2013 Poetry & Spoken Word
Adrian Matejka - National Book Award Finalist Reading 2013
Adrian Matejka - National Book Award Finalist Reading 2013 Poetry & Spoken Word
James McBride - National Book Award Finalist Reading 2013
James McBride - National Book Award Finalist Reading 2013 Poetry & Spoken Word
Matt Rasmussen - National Book Award Finalist Reading 2013
Matt Rasmussen - National Book Award Finalist Reading 2013 Poetry & Spoken Word
Mary Szybist - National Book Award Finalist Reading 2013
Mary Szybist - National Book Award Finalist Reading 2013 Poetry & Spoken Word
Lawrence Wright - National Book Award Finalist Reading 2013
Lawrence Wright - National Book Award Finalist Reading 2013 Poetry & Spoken Word
Wanda Coleman
Wanda Coleman 0000000116780476 “I have yet to kill anyone—I have exhibited great restraint.” Wanda Coleman (1946-2013) was a renowned poet, former medical secretary, magazine editor,...
Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah
Shoulda Been Jimi Savannah Patricia Smith 9781566892995 Poetry Coffee House Press Coffee House Press Winner of 2013 Wheatley Book Award in PoetryFinalist for 2013 William Carlos Williams AwardWinner o...
Brooklyn Noir
Brooklyn Noir Tim McLoughlin 9781888451580 Fiction Akashic Books Akashic Books Akashic Books announces Brooklyn novelist Tim McLoughlin as the editor of the anthology (in addition to his contributing ...
March 26th 2013 – eNewsletter Highlights
March 26th 2013 – eNewsletter Highlights Troy Johnson Article Read Our Complete eNewsletter AALBC.com mourns the passing of Nigerian novelist and poet Chinua Achebe (November 16, 1930 — March ...
Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné
Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné NONE Danielle Boodoo-Fortuné is a renowned Trinidadian poet and artist, with works featured in multiple publications. She won the 2009 Caribbean Writer's Paiewonksy Prize and...
Koch (2013)
Koch (2013) Kam Williams Interview Bittersweet Biopic Paints Evenhanded Post Mortem on Life and Times of Late NYC Mayor Koch (2013) In Theaters: Feb 1, 2013 Limited Unrated, 1 hr. 40 min. D...
One Night Stand: From the Blank Page to Live Stags, All Within 24 Hours! (2013) - Film Review
One Night Stand: From the Blank Page to Live Stags, All Within 24 Hours! (2013) - Film Review Kam Williams Interview Theater Documentary Chronicles Captivating Musicals Staged in 24 Hours One N...
The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South
The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South Michael W. Twitty 9780062379290 Nonfiction Amistad HarperCollins 2018 James Beard Foundation Book of the Year - 2...
Kimberla Lawson Roby
Kimberla Lawson Roby 0000000063897135 Kimberla’s Thoughts on Concluding Her Reverend Curtis Black Series, After 15 Books Kimberla Lawson Roby is a New York Times Bestselling Author of 24 novels,...
Diana Veiga
Diana Veiga NONE Go On Girl! Book Club, Unpublished Writer Award 2013 Winner Diana Veiga, winner of the 2013 Go On Girl! Book Club's Unpublished Writer award, is a dedicated writer and social justice ...
Marilyn Nelson
Marilyn Nelson 0000000081267022 Marilyn Nelson, former Poet Laureate of Connecticut, is a three-time National Book Award Finalist, Annisfield-Wolf Award winner, and author of acclaimed titles like 'T...
Terrance Hayes
Terrance Hayes 0000000052553847 Terrance Hayes is a renowned poet, author of four collections and winner of the 2010 National Book Award for Poetry. A MacArthur fellow, Hayes has received numerous ac...
Patricia Smith
Patricia Smith 0000000110775334 Patricia Smith, celebrated poet and professor, is known for her direct and adventuresome style. She’s authored six books, including award finalists 'Blood Dazzler' and...
Ruth Forman
Ruth Forman NONE Ruth Forman is an award-winning author of three books and a recipient of multiple literary awards. She's a former faculty member at USC and UC Berkeley, providing writing workshops a...
T. Geronimo Johnson
T. Geronimo Johnson 0000000357171620 T. Geronimo Johnson, a New Orleans native, is a bestselling author known for 'Welcome to Braggsville' and 'Hold It 'Til It Hurts'. A finalist for the 2013 PEN/Fau...
36 African-American Nominees for National Book Awards
36 African-American Nominees for National Book Awards Troy Johnson Article November 11, 2015 Update: A complete list of National Book Award Honorees, of African descent, is now available. The mi...
Koshersoul
Koshersoul Michael W. Twitty 9780062891754 Nonfiction Amistad HarperCollins The James Beard award-winning author of the acclaimed The Cooking Gene explores the cultural crossroads of Jewish and Africa...
Mariana Llanos
Mariana Llanos 0000000037617355 Mariana Llanos, a Peru-born author, studied theater in Lima before moving to Oklahoma in 2002. She self-published her first book, Tristan Wolf, in 2013 and has since p...
Deborah Wiles
Deborah Wiles 0000000058444035 Deborah Wiles is an award-winning author known for acclaimed books like 'Each Little Bird that Sings' & 'Revolution'. Her accolades include National Book Award nominati...
Epigenomic Awareness as a Key to Black Mental Health: The Disruptive Effects of Not Knowing
Epigenomic Awareness as a Key to Black Mental Health: The Disruptive Effects of Not Knowing Benson George Cooke and Schuyler C. Webb 9781942774327 Nonfiction Universal Write Publications Universal Wri...
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom Kam Williams mandela-2013-alternate-movie-poster.jpg Film Review Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom In Theaters: Nov 29, 2013 Limited PG-13 for sexuality, intense violence...
A Companion to African American Literature (Blackwell Companions to Literature and Culture)
A Companion to African American Literature (Blackwell Companions to Literature and Culture) Gene Andrew Jarrett 9781118438787 Nonfiction Wiley-Blackwell Wiley Through a series of essays that explore t...
African American Literature Beyond Race
African American Literature Beyond Race Gene Andrew Jarrett 9780814742884 Fiction New York University Press New York University Press It is widely accepted that the canon of African American literatur...
The Prisoner in the Third Cell
The Prisoner in the Third Cell Gene Edwards 9780842350235 Fiction Tyndale House Tyndale House Imprisoned by Herod, John the Baptist struggles to understand a Lord who did not meet his expectations―a d...
Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope
Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope Esau McCaulley 9780830854868 Nonfiction IVP Academic InterVarsity Press Christian Book Award® program Foreword...
Masande Ntshanga
Masande Ntshanga 0000000450507336 Masande Ntshanga, winner of the 2013 PEN International New Voices Award and 2015 Caine Prize Finalist, is an accomplished writer and UCT graduate. He has written for...
AALBC.com May 2013 eNewsletter Book Highlights
AALBC.com May 2013 eNewsletter Book Highlights Troy Johnson Article AALBC.com Best-selling Books - March to April 2013 This version of AALBC.com's eNewsletter, which focuses on book rela...
Reading Black Books
Reading Black Books Claude Atcho 9781587435645 Nonfiction Brazos Press Baker Publishing Group Christianity Today 2023 Book Award Finalist (Culture & the Arts) Learning from Black voices means liste...
Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)
Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013) Kam Williams the-butler.jpg Film Review Forest Whitaker Delivers Oscar-Quality Performance in Emotionally-Searing Civil Rights Saga Lee Daniels’ The Butler...
Bullet to the Head (2013) - Film Review
Bullet to the Head (2013) - Film Review Kam Williams Interview Unlikely-Buddies Flick Features Cop and Hit Man on Revenge-Fueled Rampage Bullet to the Head (2013) In Theaters: Feb 1, 2013 Wide ...
Tango Negro, The African Roots of Tango (2013) - film Review
Tango Negro, The African Roots of Tango (2013) - film Review Kam Williams Interview Musical Documentary Examines the African Roots of the Tango. Tango Negro, The African Roots of Tango (2013) U...
The Good Lord Bird
The Good Lord Bird James McBride 9781594632785 Fiction Riverhead Books Penguin Random House A 2013 National Book Award Winner! Fleeing his violent master at the side of abolitionist John Brown at ...
Deborah Davis
Deborah Davis 0000000109357178 Deborah Davis is an acclaimed author of seven non-fiction books, including the authorized history of The Oprah Winfrey Show and Guest of Honor, a Phillis Wheatley Award...
Citizen: An American Lyric
Citizen: An American Lyric Claudia Rankine 9781555976903 Poetry Graywolf Press Graywolf Press * Finalist for the National Book Award in Poetry ** Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in Po...
Bookmarks: Reading in Black and White A Memoir
Bookmarks: Reading in Black and White A Memoir Karla FC Holloway 9780813539072 Fiction Rutgers University Press Rutgers University Press What are you reading? What books have been important to you? Wh...
J. Everett Prewitt
J. Everett Prewitt NONE J. Everett Prewitt, a distinguished alumnus and Vietnam veteran, has received numerous awards for his novels, including “Snake Walkers” and “A Long Way Back.” His works have b...
Thief in the Interior
Thief in the Interior Phillip B. Williams 9781938584176 Poetry Alice James Books Alice James Books Recipient of a 2017 Whiting Award for Poetry 2017 Kate Tufts Discovery Award Winner Nominated for the...
Richard Kigel
Richard Kigel NONE Richard Kigel is an experienced literacy professional and veteran teacher with a focus on inspiring students in reading and writing. He is notable for his revealing article on Phil...
Rachel Kushner - National Book Award Finalist Reading
Rachel Kushner - National Book Award Finalist Reading Poetry & Spoken Word
Alan Taylor - National Book Award Finalist Reading
Alan Taylor - National Book Award Finalist Reading Poetry & Spoken Word
Kevin Young
Kevin Young 0000000109530225 Kevin Young, born in 1970, is a renowned poet and teacher influenced by Hughes, Berryman, Dickinson, and Basquiat. A Harvard graduate, Young authored multiple poetry book...
Neil Baldwin
Neil Baldwin 0000000108910963 Dr. Neil Baldwin, born in New York City, is a renowned author and scholar with a Ph.D. in Modern American Poetry. He has authored various poetry, textbooks, and biograph...
James Earl Hardy
James Earl Hardy 0000000042416478 James Earl Hardy is the author of the bestselling B-Boy Blues series, including B-Boy Blues, which has been praised as the first gay hip hop love story and is celeb...
Between the World and Me (paperback)
Between the World and Me (paperback) Ta-Nehisi Coates 9780812983814 Nonfiction One World Penguin Random House Also Available in Hardcover #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WIN...
Nick Chiles
Nick Chiles 0000000034375194 Nick Chiles is a renowned author and journalist, specializing in African-American culture and celebrity. Co-author of the NAACP Image Awards finalist book 'Justice While ...
Ben Jealous
Ben Jealous 0000000417015073 Benjamin Todd Jealous is a notable American civil rights leader and social impact investor. He was the youngest-ever national leader of the NAACP (2008-2013) and ran for ...
Kekla Magoon
Kekla Magoon 0000000040185776 Kekla Magoon, an award-winning author of eight YA novels, including The Rock and the River and X: A Novel, also pens non-fiction on historical topics. She's won an NAACP...
Aracelis Girmay
Aracelis Girmay 0000000038001720 Aracelis Girmay, born December 10, 1977, is a renowned poet, author of multiple books including 'Teeth' and 'Kingdom Animalia', and a finalist for several awards. She...
Danez Smith
Danez Smith 0000000529080232 Danez Smith is an award-winning poet from St. Paul, Minnesota. Known for his works such as [insert] boy, his poetry explores themes of race, class, sexuality, faith, and ...
Genesis Begins Again
Genesis Begins Again Alicia D. Williams 9781481465809 Fiction Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books Simon & Schuster, Inc. “Reminiscent of Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye—New York Times 2020 Winner of The...
Francis Ray
Francis Ray 0000000110715606 Francis Ray (1944-2013) was a celebrated Texas-based author and school nurse practitioner. Known for her bestsellers in Blackboard and Essence Magazine, her work includes...
Laurie Halse Anderson
Laurie Halse Anderson 0000000120318276 Laurie Halse Anderson, a New York Times bestselling author, is renowned for her sensitive, humorous approach to tough subjects. A two-time National Book Award f...
Killens Review of Arts & Letters (Fall& /& Winter 2013): Impact Beyond Boundaries
Killens Review of Arts & Letters (Fall& /& Winter 2013): Impact Beyond Boundaries Clarence V. Reynolds 21551758v4 Fiction Center for Black Literature Medgar Evers College Fall& /& Winter 2013 “Impact ...
Terrence Howard - The “Dead Man Down” Interview (March 2013)
Terrence Howard - The “Dead Man Down” Interview (March 2013) Kam Williams Interview Terrence Howard - The “Dead Man Down” Interview In 2006, Terrence Howard received an Academy Award nomin...
Colson Whitehead
Colson Whitehead 0000000109128041 Congrats to Colson Whitehead: Winner 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Colson Whitehead, born in 1969, is an acclaimed writer who began his career at the Village Voice....
Jacob’s Ladder Reading Comprehension Program - Level 3
Jacob’s Ladder Reading Comprehension Program - Level 3 Joyce VanTassel-Baska and Tamra Stambaugh 9781593633523 Nonfiction Prufrock Press Prufrock Press The Jacob’s Ladder Reading Comprehension Program...
Amina Gautier
Amina Gautier 0000000118109950 Dr. Amina Gautier, an award-winning author of three short story collections, is a scholar and professor specializing in African American literature. She teaches in the ...
How is African American Literature Really Doing?
How is African American Literature Really Doing? Troy Johnson Article For those in the business of Black books in America, this is a common question; “How is African American Literature Doing?” Some...
Salt the Water
Salt the Water Candice Iloh 9780593529317 Fiction Dutton Books for Young Readers Penguin Random House From Printz honoree and National Book Award finalist Candice Iloh, a verse novel about Cerulean Ge...
What They Found: Love on 145th Street
What They Found: Love on 145th Street Walter Dean Myers 9780375845451 Fiction Wendy Lamb Books Wendy Lamb Books By the groundbreaking author of the award-winning Monster-a visionary who influenced and...
Emily Raboteau
Emily Raboteau 0000000036573661 Emily Raboteau, author of 'The Professor’s Daughter' and 'Searching for Zion,' is an award-winning writer renowned for her fiction and essays. She has received numerou...
The Wonder of Words: A Parent’s Guide for Raising Children Who Read
The Wonder of Words: A Parent’s Guide for Raising Children Who Read Curtis L. Ivery 9781944068875 Nonfiction Micro Publishing Media Micro Publishing Media Dr. Ivery provides an insightful and eloquent...
Every Day Is For The Thief: Fiction
Every Day Is For The Thief: Fiction Teju Cole 9780812995787 Fiction Knopf Penguin Random House NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY DWIGHT GARNER, THE NEW YORK TIMES • NAMED ONE OF THE...
2016 National Black Writers Conference
2016 National Black Writers Conference Troy Johnson Article Update: March 25, 2016 The Conference's Complete and final Schedule of Events is Now Available. Greetings Colleagues, We are excited a...
Lonely Crowds (paperback)
Lonely Crowds (paperback) Stephanie Wambugu 9780316581349 Fiction Little, Brown Paperbacks Hachette Book Group Winner of the 38th Annual Publishing Triangle Awards’ Edmund White Award for Debut Fictio...
David Bradley
David Bradley 0000000114789119 David Bradley is a creative writing professor at the University of Oregon. His acclaimed novel, The Chaneysville Incident, won the PEN/Faulkner Award and was a National...
Ibi Zoboi
Ibi Zoboi NONE Haitian-born, New York-raised author Ibi Zoboi is an MFA holder from Vermont College of Fine Arts, a New York Times bestselling author, and a National Book Award finalist. She's known ...
Mercy (American Poets Continuum)
Mercy (American Poets Continuum) Lucille Clifton 9781929918553 Poetry BOA Editions BOA Editions Lucille Clifton’s poetry carries her deep concerns for the world’s children, the stratification of Ameri...