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More Poetry!/Less Jam!
More Poetry!/Less Jam! Tara Betts Article More Poetry!/Less Jam! by Tara Betts Bruce George’s outgoing voicemail message at Phat Farm states "Don’t leave a message unless it&rsq...
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...
Gift of Revelation’s Author Explains his Penchant for Spirituality and how he Overcame Challenges to Produce a Popular Line of Religious Fiction
Gift of Revelation’s Author Explains his Penchant for Spirituality and how he Overcame Challenges to Produce a Popular Line of Religious Fiction Robert Fleming Article Q. Where have you been after ...
3 Must Read Books for Social Media Advocates, Addicts & Sharecroppers
3 Must Read Books for Social Media Advocates, Addicts & Sharecroppers Troy Johnson Article These are three books I recommend we should all read. The strength of the Internet and promise it held ...
Our Future is Cyberspace
Our Future is Cyberspace Troy Johnson Article “Outsiders” have often dictated the trends of African American Culture, sometimes doing the job themselves, sometimes using what authors John A. Williams...
Troy Now “Blogs” on AALBC's Discussion Forum
Troy Now “Blogs” on AALBC's Discussion Forum Troy Johnson Article AALBC’s Founder and Webmaster, Troy Johnson I’m not ending the sharing of my information, ideas, and opinions — I’m...
Musings on AALBC.com
Musings on AALBC.com Troy Johnson Article Blogs...and I'm averaging about one post a month. One thing I've learned is that blogs take time -- it you are short on time don't bother.It is not that I'm ...
Gloria Naylor Discusses Her Novel The Men of Brewster Place on Barnesandnoble.com
Gloria Naylor Discusses Her Novel The Men of Brewster Place on Barnesandnoble.com Gloria Naylor Article Moderator: Welcome, Gloria Naylor! Thank you for taking the time to join us online this evening...
AALBC.com Clients Make the NY Times Best Sellers List!
AALBC.com Clients Make the NY Times Best Sellers List! Troy Johnson Article [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="250"] #13 NY Times Best Seller, Hardcover Fiction May 20, 2012[/caption] I start...
Google’s, Facebook’s, and Amazon’s Adverse Impact on Us All
Google’s, Facebook’s, and Amazon’s Adverse Impact on Us All Troy Johnson Article This lecture describes how these powers have taken control of the world wide web and how we are adversely impacted...
Introducing An American Story
Introducing An American Story Kwame Alexander Article An American Story Written by Kwame Alexander, Art by Dare Coulter Kwame Alexander, the #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning ...
Editing Services
Editing Services Troy Johnson Article AALBC.com's Manuscript Editing Service http://www.aalbc.com/writers/manuscript_review.html EyeEdit Editorial Services https://bit.ly/eyeedit Jazzy Pen ...
Kujichagulia Press
Kujichagulia Press Troy Johnson Article Kujichagulia Press is an independent African-American publishing house that was founded in 1994 by Erriel Kofi Addae (Erriel D. Roberson) and his wife, El...
2015 Year End Thank You!
2015 Year End Thank You! Troy Johnson Article Coming in the New Year The biggest news for the new year is our website upgrade. We are redesigning AALBC.com from scratch, and we have the benefit of 1...
Virginia Deberry and Donna Grant: Our writing career is officially on HOLD
Virginia Deberry and Donna Grant: Our writing career is officially on HOLD Virginia Deberry and Donna Grant Article Virginia DeBerry (r) and Donna Grant (l)
How Bloggers Can Help Each Other
How Bloggers Can Help Each Other Troy Johnson Article A few years ago I created a website, Huria Search, to showcase and highlight the websites of Black content providers, including magazines, ne...
2 Ways Google is Killing Online Booksellers & How You Can Help
2 Ways Google is Killing Online Booksellers & How You Can Help Troy Johnson Article (1) Google Uses its Dominance in Search to Hijack Traffic from Websites Google does this by placing content, it ha...
The Music Moguls Who Bled Millions from a Black Legend
The Music Moguls Who Bled Millions from a Black Legend Reclamation Project Article Originally Published by the NOI Research Group The recent death of the great Rock & Roll pioneer Chuck Berr...
The Power of Blogs Part 4
The Power of Blogs Part 4 Troy Johnson Article Well it has been three weeks since the last post to my Blog. Hey it has been a busy three weeks with Christmas, New Years and everything else that goes ...
Voices of The Harlem Renaissance
Voices of The Harlem Renaissance Alain Locke Article From Locke’s essay “Harlem,” published in the March 1925 issue of Survey Graphic. If we were to offer a symbol of what Harlem...
The Power of Blogs Part 2
The Power of Blogs Part 2 Troy Johnson Article Interestingly enough the process was not as difficult as I thought it might be, however it is far from intuitive -- particularly if you are not technica...
BCP Digital Printing
BCP Digital Printing Troy Johnson Article BCP Digital Printing Visit them at http://www.bcpdigital.com SPECIALIZING IN DIGITAL COLOR, SHORT RUN AND JUST-IN-TIME ...
Why Diversity in Children’s Literature is Important
Why Diversity in Children’s Literature is Important Jewell Parker Rhodes Article A Keynote Address Delivered by Jewell Parker Rhodes April 30, 2015, during the American Booksellers Association&rs...
Bestselling eBooks for 2010
Bestselling eBooks for 2010 Troy Johnson Article Check Out AALBC.com's bestselling eBooks for all of 2010. http://bit.ly/top10ebooks This our first eBook bestsellers list was derived from Kindle eB...
Dark Matter II
Dark Matter II Troy Johnson Article The Call for submission has ended DARK MATTER II : Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora Edited by Sheree R. Thomas GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION...
Simon & Schuster Gives Racist Troll $250K Book Deal, But Boycotting Them Makes No Sense
Simon & Schuster Gives Racist Troll $250K Book Deal, But Boycotting Them Makes No Sense Troy Johnson Article Editor’s Note: Subsequent to the publication of the article, a video of Milo making commen...
Ten Steps to Promote Diversity in Children’s Literature
Ten Steps to Promote Diversity in Children’s Literature Troy Johnson Article Ten Steps to Promote Diversity in Children’s Literature by Wade Hudson This Diversity Books Pledge was developed after a...
Is Amazon the Reader's Friend?
Is Amazon the Reader's Friend? Troy Johnson Article Is Amazon, who accounts for 75% of all new books sold online and 67% of all e-book sales, doing right by readers and the future of books? If you...
Opal's Jim Crow Blues - Research & Share Your Family History (Part 2)
Opal's Jim Crow Blues - Research & Share Your Family History (Part 2) Troy Johnson Article Today's blog post is by guest Cheryl Wills. Cheryl, a television news anchor and reporter, has extensively ...
10 Books African-Americans Should Read & Have in the Home
10 Books African-Americans Should Read & Have in the Home Troy Johnson Article Today, at 5PM EST, I'll be participating in a live interview with Paul Billings host of the "The Beat" on WUVS-LP 103.7F...
Troy still has a few tricks
Troy still has a few tricks Troy Johnson Article Last year I started working out again. As I lost weight and got a little stronger, I started doing some of my old gymnastics moves in the gym during m...
New Hair-do is a “Natural”
New Hair-do is a “Natural” Connie Bradley Article This article originally appeared in the Chicago Today newspaper's Op-Ed page in the early 1970's I finally succumbed. If someone ha...
Why Fertile Ground is an Important Work
Why Fertile Ground is an Important Work Kalamu ya Salaam Article These Are The Lyrics, Our People Are The Music WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE SPIRIT OF BLACKNESS, the spirit of doing for self...
A Reaction to the Opinion, “Watched Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song for the first time. It was really bad.”
A Reaction to the Opinion, “Watched Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song for the first time. It was really bad.” W. Paul Coates Article Maybe, but I do agree with you on the acting; not much there to crow abo...
Why I Wrote One Blood
Why I Wrote One Blood Denene Millner Article I discovered my adoption certificate at age twelve, while snooping in my parents’ private papers. They’d kept it a secret because doing so mad...
Track Your Clicks or (Shorten Your URL's)
Track Your Clicks or (Shorten Your URL's) Troy Johnson Article Track Your Clicks and Shorten Your URLs How can you figure out which web sites like Twitter, Facebook, discussion boards...
Bestselling Books, Book Reviews, & More - May 2019 Newsletter
Bestselling Books, Book Reviews, & More - May 2019 Newsletter Troy Johnson Article New Daughters of Africa by Margaret Busby is the magnificent follow-up to the original, celebrated anthology, u...
100 Bestselling Authors, New Books, and More: October 2016 eNewsletter
100 Bestselling Authors, New Books, and More: October 2016 eNewsletter Troy Johnson Article Our Top 100, All-time, Bestselling Authors We are excited to present our regularly updated list of our top...
Read This to Discover Great Authors, Books, Events & More
Read This to Discover Great Authors, Books, Events & More Troy Johnson Article ★ Read Our eNewsletter Archives ★ Subscribe to Receive Highlights of Our eNewsletter and More on Your Kindle Sponsor...
Bestsellers Lists, Authors, New Books & More - June 2015
Bestsellers Lists, Authors, New Books & More - June 2015 Troy Johnson Article Read Our eNewsletter Archives Subscribe to Receive Highlights of Our eNewsletter and More on Your Kindle ...
Walter Dean Myers: More Than an Outstanding Writer
Walter Dean Myers: More Than an Outstanding Writer Troy Johnson Article by Wade Hudson I was stunned when I heard that Walter Dean Myers had made his transition. During the 25 plus years that my w...
Reflections on Black Book Reviews
Reflections on Black Book Reviews Troy Johnson Article For more than a decade I, through AALBC.com, have published hundred's of reviews of books written by or about Black people. Over the years thi...
Cyclying from Harlem to Willow Grove, PA
Cyclying from Harlem to Willow Grove, PA Troy Johnson Article I've made this trip a couple of times in the past. This year I took a slightly longer northern route. It was much more hilly but much mor...
It’s Been Fun, Kids! C. Kelly Robinson Retires
It’s Been Fun, Kids! C. Kelly Robinson Retires C. Kelly Robinson Article Family, friends, and loyal readers, This week’s passing of acclaimed author and journalist BeBe Moore Campbell mov...
The Best of The Black Book Web Sites - and other thoughts
The Best of The Black Book Web Sites - and other thoughts Troy Johnson Article Having published and monitored the activity of on-line newsletters for over 7 years I have a good feel for what subjects...
The Power of Blogs Part 5 & Updates on AALBC.com
The Power of Blogs Part 5 & Updates on AALBC.com Troy Johnson Article After all that talk about the power of Blogs, it is hard to believe that it has been a full month since my last update. Even...
Richard Wright to Jay-Z: The Decline of Young Black Male Literary Writers
Richard Wright to Jay-Z: The Decline of Young Black Male Literary Writers K.L. Reeves Article Young Writers Need Models Young writers need models. Early in my apprenticeship my predecessors fed me ...
2004's List
2004's List Troy Johnson Article Making the Best of the World Wide Web or Troy's Top 10 Web Resources (October 2004) by Troy Johnson, Founder AALBC.com The World Wide Web (WWW) continues ...
History of our Annual Black Pack Party
History of our Annual Black Pack Party Troy Johnson Article The Black Pack Party is a gathering of professionals across the Black book ecosystem. It was originally held annually during Book Expo Amer...
★ Award Winning Titles, Book Reviews and More - April Newsletter
★ Award Winning Titles, Book Reviews and More - April Newsletter Troy Johnson Article NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Literary Work This year the NAACP celebrates the 50th anniversary of ...
AALBC’s Newsletter: Bestsellers, Novelist Stacey Abrams, Texas Book Festival Videos & More
AALBC’s Newsletter: Bestsellers, Novelist Stacey Abrams, Texas Book Festival Videos & More Troy Johnson Article Subscribe Forward
September Newsletter: Recommended Reads, the MS Book Festival, and More
September Newsletter: Recommended Reads, the MS Book Festival, and More Troy Johnson Article Recommended Reads N. K. Jemisin the Only Writer to Win the Best Novel Hugo Award in three Consecutive Yea...
August 2018 eNewsletter Recommended Reads, Videos, and More
August 2018 eNewsletter Recommended Reads, Videos, and More Troy Johnson Article Videos from the National Book Club Conference I attended the 2018 National Book Club Conference August 3rd and 4th....
April Bestselling Books, Win Barracoon, Top Erotica, Google is too Powerful, and More
April Bestselling Books, Win Barracoon, Top Erotica, Google is too Powerful, and More Troy Johnson Article Bestselling Books March/April 2018 Fiction: The Yearning by Mohale Mashigo was the best...
The Ultimate Top 10 Books Lists, Great New Books, Black Classic Press Celebrates 40 Years, and More!
The Ultimate Top 10 Books Lists, Great New Books, Black Classic Press Celebrates 40 Years, and More! Troy Johnson Article Please join us as we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Black Classic Press ...
AALBC.com Celebrates 20 Years!
AALBC.com Celebrates 20 Years! Troy Johnson Article Website Upgrade Nearing Completion I’m just a few months away from completing AALBC’s most recent upgrade. It has been a two year ...
39 Bestselling Books and More About #ReadingBlack
39 Bestselling Books and More About #ReadingBlack Troy Johnson Article New Video Highlights 3 Books that Epitomize #ReadingBlack Spotlight is a new feature where I share, in short videos, informat...
December eNewsletter Great New Children's Books and More
December eNewsletter Great New Children's Books and More Troy Johnson Article Great Children’s Books Coming Soon I’m always on lookout terrific for children’s books, even before they are a...
October Bestsellers, Award Winning Books, New Bookstores and More
October Bestsellers, Award Winning Books, New Bookstores and More Troy Johnson Article Bestselling Books September/October 2017 The fiction category was dominated by Sadeqa Johnson’s novel Second ...
Book Club Picks - $10 Classics from HarperCollins - Plus More in AALBC’s eNewsletter
Book Club Picks - $10 Classics from HarperCollins - Plus More in AALBC’s eNewsletter Troy Johnson Article Books a Few Book Clubs are Enjoying this Month The Tea’s October Selection – We Shou...
Would You Stop Buying Books from Amazon.com to Save the Book Industry?
Would You Stop Buying Books from Amazon.com to Save the Book Industry? Troy Johnson Article Boycotting Amazon’s bookstore might mean, at least initially, that you’ll have pay a little more for books,...
Bestselling Books, The Top 25 Black-Owned Sites, New Books, and More
Bestselling Books, The Top 25 Black-Owned Sites, New Books, and More Troy Johnson Article Bestselling Books July – August 2017 Fiction titles outsold all other genres this period, led by the stren...
June 2017 eNewsletter: The Best New Books, Author Info, and More
June 2017 eNewsletter: The Best New Books, Author Info, and More Troy Johnson Article This Month’s Newsletter is Made Possible by Support From Amistad Authors You Should Know Tracy K. Smith...
May 2017 Newsletter: Bestselling Books, New Books, Author Info, and Much More
May 2017 Newsletter: Bestselling Books, New Books, Author Info, and Much More Troy Johnson Article Our May Newsletter is Generously Sponsored by Amistad Bestselling Books Bestselling Books: M...
50 Best Places to Meet Other Book Lovers Online
50 Best Places to Meet Other Book Lovers Online Anna Miller Article Editor’s Note: This article was updated in April 2017 to show sites that are no longer active or have completely shut d...
April 18, 2017 Newsletter: New Books, Vote for Your Favorite Author, and More
April 18, 2017 Newsletter: New Books, Vote for Your Favorite Author, and More Troy Johnson Article AALBC.com Congratulates all the Winners of Pulitzer Prizes in the Letters and Drama Categories Fict...
March 28, 2017 Newsletter — Book Recommendations, News, Contests, and More
March 28, 2017 Newsletter — Book Recommendations, News, Contests, and More Troy Johnson Article Top 120 Children’s Books from the Past 50 Years Our list of the Top 120 Children’s Books published ove...
March 1, 2017 Newsletter — Book Award Announcements, New Books, and More
March 1, 2017 Newsletter — Book Award Announcements, New Books, and More Troy Johnson Article New Books Coming Out March 2017 Helene Cooper tells the amazing of story Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, leader o...
New Books February 2017, Book Reviews, Events, and More
New Books February 2017, Book Reviews, Events, and More Troy Johnson Article New Books Coming Out February 2017 Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson A timely and powerful story about a teen gir...
December 2016 Newsletter - Great New Books, Best Film of the Year, and More
December 2016 Newsletter - Great New Books, Best Film of the Year, and More Troy Johnson Article Cerece Rennie Murphy – Our eNewsletter Sponsor for December Experience The Love of A Lifetime ~ T...
The Cartel series is back...and more deadly than ever.
The Cartel series is back...and more deadly than ever. Troy Johnson Article Ashley & JaQuavis are New York Times bestselling authors of over 30 novels. They are the youngest Black writers to ...
September eNewsletter: Bestselling Books, 118 Book Events, and More
September eNewsletter: Bestselling Books, 118 Book Events, and More Troy Johnson Article July/August 2016 Bestselling Books Titles on Go On Girl! Book Club's reading list are prominent on our best...
Top 50 Authors, Bestselling Books, and More
Top 50 Authors, Bestselling Books, and More Troy Johnson Article 50 Favorite African-American Authors of the 20th Century 1,826 readers cast votes, back in 2001, for their favorite African-Ameri...
The Results of a Decade on Social Media
The Results of a Decade on Social Media Troy Johnson Article One of the most profound changes I’ve witnessed on the web, in the past decade, is the rise of social media. Here I share my insight and ...
Terrific Books Coming in May, Beyond Adichie, and More!
Terrific Books Coming in May, Beyond Adichie, and More! Troy Johnson Article Terrific New Books Coming in May Former U.S. Poet Laureate, Rita Dove will publish a collection of her poetry from the 30...
Great Books, Events, Films & More - October 2015 eNewsletter
Great Books, Events, Films & More - October 2015 eNewsletter Troy Johnson Article AALBC.com’s Best Selling Books — July/August 2015 We just published our ten best selling fiction, nonfiction, and ...
Excellent Books, Authors, Events and More
Excellent Books, Authors, Events and More Troy Johnson Article You may receive this eNewsletter directly in your email-box by subscribing. It may also be read on your Kindle ebook reader, or any ...
April 2014 eNewsletter - Good Books, Films, Events, Articles & More
April 2014 eNewsletter - Good Books, Films, Events, Articles & More Troy Johnson Article You may receive this eNewsletter directly in your email-box by subscribing. It may also be read on your ...
Share Info from Indie Black Owned Websites
Share Info from Indie Black Owned Websites Troy Johnson Article Add Huria Search Resources to Your Website or Blog Huria Search was created in reaction to the current trend in search results that f...
The Pimping of Wikipedia
The Pimping of Wikipedia Troy Johnson Article The Pimping of Wikipedia: Contributing to the Decline of the World Wide Web From the late 1990s and in to the following decade, the World Wide Web was a...
How do I get my book featured on AALBC.com (for free)?
How do I get my book featured on AALBC.com (for free)? Troy Johnson Article “How do I get my book featured on AALBC.com?” is a question often posed to me by authors, publishers and publicists. Of...
Google Worsens Web Experience by Retuning Poor Search Results
Google Worsens Web Experience by Retuning Poor Search Results Troy Johnson Article Please read the notes at the end of the article for important updates to this Blog post (the last note added Februar...
A Filmmaker You Should Know: Janks Morton
A Filmmaker You Should Know: Janks Morton Troy Johnson Article Janks Morton has been in the entertainment industry for more than 20 years and is a much sought-after teacher, lecturer, commentator...
Shorten Links, Track Clicks, Using bit.ly Pro
Shorten Links, Track Clicks, Using bit.ly Pro Troy Johnson Article I highly recommend using bit.ly. It has helped me a great deal managing AALBC.com. bit.ly is a URL shortener and provides me...
Playing Around With My New Blog
Playing Around With My New Blog Troy Johnson Article It really is a misnomer to call WordPress "blogging software" it is much more powerful and feature rich than most what most websites provide and c...
21st Century Slavery - My Reaction
21st Century Slavery - My Reaction Troy Johnson Article Generally when I get spam, whether it come from friends, family or a stranger, I usually just delete it. I get a lot of email. Most of it is ...
President Obama: More Than Meets the Eyes
President Obama: More Than Meets the Eyes Vanessa Davis Griggs Article At the end of the day, can you look yourself in the mirror and be okay with the person who looks back at you? Can yo...
AALBC.com The #1 Site for African American Literature - Author Profiles, Book Reviews, Interviews and More
AALBC.com The #1 Site for African American Literature - Author Profiles, Book Reviews, Interviews and More Troy Johnson Article Go to New AALBC.com Events Page
Myths about Single Mothers
Myths about Single Mothers Joy Thomas Moore Article ❖ Majority of single mothers are irresponsible, single from the outset and minority. REALITY: Around half of single mothers have never ...
More Bios.
More Bios. Troy Johnson Article 360� A Revolution of Black Poets Produced in the tradition of the Black Poetry Festivals and Conferences of the Black Arts Movement, this first Nati...
AA LIT. CONFERENCE 2000
AA LIT. CONFERENCE 2000 Troy Johnson Article THIS EVENT HAS TAKEN PLACE AND IS RECORDED HERE AS AN HISTORICAL ARCHIVE. AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE CONFERENCE 2000 "THE LEGACY LIVES O...
Book Expo America 2000
Book Expo America 2000 Troy Johnson Article Book Expo America 2000 (BEA), held in Chicago May 31st to June 4th 2000 was a tremendous event. Anything you wanted to know about books and publishing...
Genesis Press Inc.
Genesis Press Inc. Troy Johnson Article Genesis Press Inc. is the home of Indigo Romance, the nation's leading line of African-American romance novels. Genesis is a pioneer in publishing dive...
Getting in Dialogue
Getting in Dialogue Troy Johnson Article INDEPENDENT FILMMAKERS Interested in being interviewed or having your project considered for DIALOGUE? Mail your biographical sketch and a detailed de...
Migrated Writers
Migrated Writers Troy Johnson Article Migrated Writers 17th Annual Celeb.of Black Writing A Report From The Field More Bios. The Sight of the 360 Event 4th Annual AA Children's Book Fair AA C...
rolling out - Print, Online Video, Photos, News, and More
rolling out - Print, Online Video, Photos, News, and More Troy Johnson Article http://rollingout.com rolling out Freelance Information Are you a voracious ...
Host a Listening Party for SHUT UP AND READ!
Host a Listening Party for SHUT UP AND READ! Jeannine A. Cook Article .image:hover { transform: translateY(-5px); box-shadow: 0 12px 24px rgba(255, 126, 3, 0.4); } Host a Listening Pa...
Child’s Play: A Poem
Child’s Play: A Poem Frederick K. Foote, Jr. Article Another young Black man knocked unconscious, lying motionless on the fake grass His fellow players move around him in hushed groups radiating fea...
AALBC is Done with Amazon!
AALBC is Done with Amazon! Troy Johnson Article For almost 22, years AALBC has exposed readers of all backgrounds to books written by, or about, people of African descent. AALBC has published th...
Notes on “Quotes” from An American Marriage
Notes on “Quotes” from An American Marriage Tayari Jones Article “But home isn’t where you land; home is where you launch. You can’t pick your home any more than you can choose your...