Black Literature

Photo: of Walter Mosley and Paul Coates. Coates presented the award to Mosley during the 70th anniversary gala. MWA Announces the 2016 Edgar® Award Winners Mystery Writers of America is proud to announce the winners of the 2016 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2015. The Edgar® Awards were presented to the winners at our 70th Gala Banquet, April 28, 2016 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City. GRAND MASTER Walter Mosley BEST NOVEL Let Me Die in His Footsteps by Lori Roy (Penguin Random House – …

I am requesting a review of: Psychoactive Poetry by David Washington I am the self-published author. ISBN: 978-976-95792-4-8; Published March 21, 2018 as an E book at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/795818; Print book published April 2018. This is a collection of 28 poems or, in some cases, 'meditations' might be more accurate, The subtitle of the online addition is "Poetry Therapy Meditations on the Quest for Ultimate Meaning." This is a search I consciously embarked upon while working on a Black Psychology paper for a class I took as an exchange student at Fisk University in 1970. The campus Black ideology movement was at its height …

The House at Sugar Beach: Helene Cooper Helene Cooper is "Congo," a descendant of two Liberian dynasties -- traced back to the first ship of freemen that set sail from New York in 1820 to found Monrovia. Helene grew up at Sugar Beach, a twenty-two-room mansion by the sea. Her childhood was filled with servants, flashy cars, a villa in Spain, and a farmhouse up-country. It was also an African childhood, filled with knock foot games and hot pepper soup, heartmen and neegee. When Helene was eight, the Coopers took in a foster child -- a common custom among the Liberian elite. Eunice, a Bassa girl, suddenly became known as "Mrs. Cooper's daughter." For years …

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER! I recently learned more about the Book Review Process, so please excuse my delay. I hope this will not be a factor as I will be releasing the Audiobook for this novel in Summer 2018. I am currently working on the sequel. Book Facts Title: Beyond the Hurt Author: Akilah Trinay Publisher: ReVision Publishing February 2016 Print: ISBN 978-0-692-56655-8, $14.95, 236 Pages, 5 X 8 paperback Word Count: 62,890 Kindle: ASIN B01C7F3PR0, $7.99 Website: www.revisionpub.com https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Hurt-Akilah-Trinay/dp/0692566554/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1527364…

My Road to Essence: Team Get Obsessed Movement Contact Information AAMBC National News www.aambookclub.com aambookclub@gmail.com, SAN ANTONIO, TX, 78245

I actually did my best to ignore this story, but I'm on social media and it is really difficult to filter out these types of stories. I know some will be offended by that statement; "Troy how can you be so insensitive to Black women being kicked off the train for being too loud--they could be you wife, your sister, you mother, your daughters." I know, I know, but honestly I can't get too bent out of shape about these situations. So much worse happens everyday that is completely ignored But I broke down and decided to check out one of the articles linked from Facebook and I and came across this photo. I immediately recognized at least three of the women. One is a publ…

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I just started in earnest to begin the migration of all the older author pages to the website's new format, I've already done a bunch like Chris Burn's and Cynique's pages, but I still have over 700 more to do. Initially I'd planned to migrate the authors alphabetically, then I decided it would make much more sense to migrate them in order of prominence (and traffic), starting with the top selling authors. So I created a page which shows the top 100 bestselling authors. It is actually more than 100 because of ties, but all of these authors have made our bestseller's list at least 4 times. Right now there are 103 authors. I'm still working on the page, so I have no…

As a new author who stepped out on faith, the struggle to become known among the many unknown authors is a struggle without a marketing budget. But keep Hope alive!

Terrance McKnight, the WQXR weekday evening host, served as the MC of the 1st Annual African Voices Literary Awards which honored Poet Tony Medina. Here Terrance introduces me. I helped honor Tony by explaining how Tony's work impacted both himself and his visitors. I even recited one of his poems, a very short one which is usual for a Medina Poem I actually don't appear in this video as I'm actually the person shooting it. As good as I'm an I have not mastered filming myself at events At any rate, I'm editing a video of highlights from the event which features Tony Medina, Asha Bandele and others. I'm only posting this introduction here because I liked it so …

The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction, and young readers’ literature. There are 5 finalists in each category, 8 Black writers made up more than half of all the finalists and won every category! This is quite an accomplishment. When the award started in 2014 there was only one Black finalist and no winners.* *This is based upon recent research; if someone finds something that is factually inaccurate please let me know.

Dear AALBC Members, I would like to have my latest novel, The Family Stone, reviewed. The following is a brief description: It is the year following the long, hot summer in America. Abraham and Winona Stone are the proud owners of Willie’s Market, a modest corner grocery store in a working class urban community, a vibrant mecca where those within the community can have spirited debates and catch up on the latest gossip regarding their uncommon neighbors. The Civil Rights movement is at full throttle. The fight for social equality does not halt personal drama. Intriguing neighborhood sagas of life, death, love, heartbreak, betrayal, hope, faith and …

“Boy, don't you go down there fuckin' with them Jews without no money!” —Richard Pryor I always think of this line whenever someone mentions Jewish people in the content of power. The following is a paragraph from a very interesting article “TOWARD THE NEXT LITERARY MAFIA” In the first decade of the 20th century, it was both virtually impossible and virtually unheard of for a Jewish person, irrespective of their individual talents, to be hired for any job at a major American publishing company—even if they were Ivy League graduates, heirs to family fortunes, and had brilliant literary minds. They couldn’t get hired on the editorial staff of a…

Song. For. You. Book. About. Singer. Whitney. Houston. Affair,With,Her. Close. Friend. Robin. Crawford. Robin. Crawford,She,Says. She. Was. Intimate. With. Whitney Houston... She,Said Actor Eddie Murphy Told Whitney Not To Marry,Bobby-Brown.. She Said Whitney Houston Said The Bible Condemns,Their,Relationship,So They Had To Stop..... Sounds,Interesting. Song For You,By Robin Crawford ........

Author: Marcus A. Nelson Title: Born from weeds & rats ISBN-13: 978-1533321534 Publication Date: May 1, 2016 Genre: Fiction Synopsis: Religion is the only barrier to Mary’s heart but as that wall begins to crumble, James soon realizes it’s his own self-discovery that’s the true blockade impeding their eternal happiness. There’s nothing but love in 16-year-old James’ neighborhood. Friends, family, community – so his crush on childhood friend Mary was inevitable; a match of destiny. She seemed perfect except her love for Christ is deterring his quest for true love here on earth. With his personal aversion towa…

The Divine Butterfly: Inspiration For The Journey To Your Purpose by Karen H. St. Hilaire The group of ladies speaking with Karen are members of "The Tea" book club. The Tea select books every month and create a series of videos on the author and their book. New videos are released every Thursday (subscribe to their YouTube channel to support their work). I have been working closely with The Tea and they have been extremely supportive of my efforts with AALBC, including #readingblack. I'll be featured in more videos, and even participated on one of the club's discussions--this is really good stuff and I'm excited to be working with The Te…

Viola. Davis. Talks. About. Her. Life. Book. By. Viola. Davis....

Today I added two books to the site: Temple Folk by Aaliyah Bilal and Worthy by Jada Pinkett Smith Both books are enjoying a great deal of notoriety right now. Worthy simply because it is about Jada and Temple Folk because it is critically acclaimed and a finalist for this year's National Book Award for Fiction. I could care less about Jada's book. The media is besides themselves all excited about the revelation that she and Will have been separated for 7 years {yawn}. My feelings have nothing to do with Jada personally, it is just my inability to comprehend our culture's fascination with celebrity gossip. Now Aaliyah's bo…

Victor D. LaValle's "The Devil in Silver" Selected by Publishers Weekly's as one of the of Best Books of 2012 All the feedback I've received from others I've shared this news with is that this is a good pick for the honor. I'll add it to my list of books to read between Christmas and New Years.

BOOK BY CHESYA BURKE/BOOK ABOUT BLACK BOY IMAGINES BEING WHITE/BEING WHITE MEANS BEING RSPECTED,TREATED AS HUMAN//SINCE MANY BLACK PEOPLE DO, IN THEIR MIND THINK THEY BECOME LESS BLACK WITH BEING LIGHTSKINNED,SOME DO/BLACK BECOME WEALTHY THEY THINK LESS OF BLACK POOR//////

David doc Robertson's new book Body and Soul was named for the classic improvised lyrical phrases of the Coleman Hawkins jazz performance of the same name. On the first page of the story, which opens in 1940, Peter Daniels plays the song loud enough to drown out the humming tubes on his living room phonograph and dances with his wife to celebrate the birth of their first and only grandchild, Adam Daniels, the story's protagonist. Right away, Robertson's sensitive description teams with Hawkins' tender jazzy lyricism and allows the reader to see the couple in step and undeterred by improvisation that makes it so seductive. This vision presents the structural …

<<<<<< And what about the beloved black woman? No doubt, she still represented a sizable threat, and there was no great willingness on the part of white America to insanely believe the ‘black male’ problem could be effectively neutralized or fixed by their pet projects (sterilization, mental health centers, prisons) so they had, by necessity, to adopt a more proactive approach when it came to dealing with the black woman’s complicity. Here is the essential point. And in all fairness, it must be understood that the black woman, like the black man, is a finished product of white racism, so at best, many of her reactions/responses are inst…

Requesting Your Support of the Twelfth National Black Writers Conference and Tenth Anniversary Celebration of the Center for Black Literature Dear Friends and Colleagues: As you are aware, we are actively promoting the Twelfth National Black Writers Conference: Reconstructing the Master Narrative. This year marks a significant year for the Conference for we are also celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Center for Black Literature at the Conference and we are hosting a special program that pays tribute to and celebrates the writer and Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott. I am writing with the hope that you will support our Conference by attending and by strongly …

Canadian Black History Summit Program Outline This first Canadian Black History Summit will provide an innovative opportunity to connect with Black History and Black Genealogy experts and new information which will be made generally available fall 2016 through the recently announced Freedmen's Bureau Project. The Freedmen’s Bureau Project will provide access to over 4 million searchable records from the Freedmen’s Bureau. This data will also be especially important in Canada because of the ties to those who came to Canada through the Underground Railroad. After the Civil War, the Freedmen’s Bureau was established by the US Governmen…

Can you identify all the writers? Click this link for the answers: https://aalbc.com/fun/who'sthe.htm This collage was used on AALBC.com’s first homepage in 1997. I'm finding all types of things as I plow through migrating all of the website's content to the new format. When I started the website upgrade, in late 2016 I thought I would be finished in the spring of 2016. It will be a great feat if I get it done by the spring of this year But in reality I've done a LOT more than I originally planned so it is all good.

MV Media, LLC Press Release Spacefunk! Anthology January 27, 2025 For Immediate Release 1/27/2025 Fayetteville, GA: MVmedia is delighted to announce the official release of the Spacefunk! anthology edited by Milton J. Davis. Space is the Place! Over forty stories and poems by some of the best African/African Diaspora authors and poets from around the world. In Spacefunk you'll experience amazing stories of action, adventure, escape, hope, and home among the stars. Featuring stories and poems by Linda Addison, Sheree Renée Thomas, Eugen Bacon, S.A. Cosby, Jessica Cage, Maurice Broaddus, Wole Talabi, Gerald L. Coleman, Nicole Givens Kurtz, Balogun Ojetade, Z…

MOTOWN MAN By Bob Campbell Urban Farmhouse Press November 2020 Pages: 200 ISBN-13: 978-1988214399 Contact: rhcampbellpr@gmail.com Synopsis: In Bob Campbell’s debut novel, we are presented with Bradley Cunningham a hard-working, dependable, loving man and capable automotive engineer. His focus, like so many of his fellow Midwestern workers and relations, has been work and helping to preserve a withering way of life in his Midwest industrial town. Bradley has done so rather than grapple with the meaning of his black identity. As if he had a choice. When Bradley meets and romances the woman of his dreams, he is drawn into a …

Essence bestselling Author D T Pollard speaks on his newest book One Eighth Of A Man - Hate For The Skin I’m In and how it ties slavery to current police killing of African Americans and the push to roll back minority voting rights. Kindle ebook, paperback and hardcover. One Eighth Of A Man - Hate For The Skin I'm In One Eighth Of A Man - Hate For The Skin I’m In - YouTube

“THE ONLY THINGS TRUE…ARE THE LIES”After living one way for a while, you tend to take certain facts for granted: the earth is round, the sun rises in the east, and the girl you’ve raised as your daughter is truly yours. Everything changes for Michael Crusher after a car accident leaves his wife and his daughter, Raven, at death’s door. When a routine blood test reveals that Michael can’t be Raven’s biological father, he begins to question everything about his wife; about their love; and about their marriage. Devastated, Michael investigates his wife’s past with the help of her younger sister, Zoey Jordan. What follows is a series of twists and turns that leads to a hard t…

Read Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Article: "Wisconsin's only black-owned bookstore closes, leaving memories — and a void" After 28 years, Carla Allison is retiring and with her, the last black-owned bookstore in Wisconsin closed on Saturday (July 8th). I wonder what percentage of Black Owned Bookstores, or business for that matter, survive their owners?

What’s interesting to me about this review is that he/she claims to have read “quite a few books on the Civil War” and never read that slaves had it bad. How is that possible?? Think about that for a moment. “If Cotton Could Talk” is not about slavery but a story about relationships created by strangers who meet on a Mississippi plantation with one goal in mind, freedom. I certainly don’t consider it to be a Civil War book! On the other hand, it’s still a great review! Your Thoughts?

The price will be right to enjoy a wonderful book festival in Kingston Jamaica, WI. Details to follow! Sign up for the AALBC.com eNewsletter to be sure you get the details as soon as they become available.

The quest for freedom and equality has been a much broader and longer journey than most people realize, given it is still not achieved after 495 years! Divine Consciousness: From a Dystopian Diaspora to Afrofuturism, takes readers on a journey, from a point in time when the African Diaspora was just beginning, to a time yet to be determined—the future. For 340 years, Black people were the “Slave-Industrial Complex.” We were subjected to absolute and unspeakable horror, brutality, and oppression with no abatement and for the next 155 years, subjugated by the Black Codes, Jim Crow laws, lynchings, voter disenfranchisement, oppression, police …

Check out my recent interview with Kontrol Magazine and find out why big girls do it best http://kontrolmag.com/blog/author-conversations-with-nahsun-kontrolreads/ Peace and Afro Grease Nah'Sun the Great

Harlequin Kimani, located in NYC, is searching for an Assistant/Associate Editor Harlequin is seeking an Assistant/Associate Editor to join Harlequin Kimani’s editorial team. The position provides an excellent opportunity for a candidate to contribute to a growing and exciting program. S/he will be responsible for acquiring and developing manuscripts, and management and development of a diverse author base. The primary purpose is to ensure the ongoing and timely supply of high quality, saleable titles for the various publishing programs. The ideal Assistant/Associate Editor candidate must have a sensibility for romance, acquired and edited women’s fiction, an…

Good afternoon, my name is J.B. Vample and I am an author. I was checking out your website and I'm reaching out to request a review for one of my books, titled; "College Life 101: Freshman Orientation". This is book one in the "The College Life Series." "The College Life Series", which is a nine book, fiction series; surrounds the lives of five young black women and follows their journey through their four years of college. This character driven series is unique as there are not many books, if any, that feature an black ensemble cast in a college setting. The series touches on many issues that affect college aged students such as class pressure, family drama, pe…

Once in the animal kingdom of Abapa lived strong, big and gluttonous Python. Python seemed to suffocate, swallow anything that had breathe and crossed his path. Once when Python chanced upon a Gazelle in labor, he didn’t consider the precarious position of mother and unborn, he attacked and swallowed the laboring Gazelle to the horror of an expectant father and husband. Python ate the Pangolin, Warthog, Deer, Parrots, even Porcupine with his quills was not exempt. He didn’t care what state the animal was in, as long as he could catch it, it was fair game. Reports started trickling in to Lion, the king. “Python just swallowed all my three babies,” Warthog …

The actual thank you message is article on my blog that I sent to my mailing list. @Cynique the photo above is from our annual Black Pack Party (20013). We take a group photo every year. If all goes well, it will be held in Chicago this spring. Hopefully you can make it (shoot, hopefully I can make it).

I bet there were a few of you yesterday, not all but a few, thinking: who the heck is this new dope begging for a free book review, posting mushy quotes with bad grammar, and talking about the importance of black women. Answer? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Noooo? Ugh… fine, I’ll answer the freakin question myself, thank you very much. My name is Domovoi Elias Eliot. I’m a writer. Not inspiring. Just a writer (an author if you’re nasty). Truth is I’m no different than Tayari Jones, or Toni Morrison, or Ta-Nehisi Coates except they know Oprah and they are New York Times Bestsellers and I’m quite sure they’re better writers than I am but besides that there is truly no differenc…

Catch the celebration as The Book Look joins its co-host, author and poet Kwame Alexander for the release of his first novel at Bus Boys & Poets in Hyattsville, MD! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5hQzmfNPt4

Greetings! Wanted to share that I’ve just released my 5th book, ‘A Pot to Piss In: Intergenerational Wealth Planning for Black People’. With chapters like, ‘The Fallacy of 401(k)s’, ‘Is Education Really the Key or a Lock?’, ‘The History of #BankingWhileBlack’, and ‘#BlackFinancesMatter’, you’ll finish this 222-page book with a new understanding on strategies to save for retirement, as well as create residual income without taking on a new job, enabling you to leave the Rat Race before falling victim to corporate ageism. Most importantly, you can pass this down your bloodline giving them an opportunity to start life equipped with an awareness in fi…

After our December 2, 2017, Literary Pop-Up Shop, The Writers' Block will be hosting its first event for 2018! "Freedom Fair" Literary Pop-Up Shop! If you know an author or entrepreneur, refer them! Yvonne James, Organizer For more information about The Writers' Block, check us out at https://www.thewritersblock-tn.com

I found my aalbc.com forum entries on muckrackdotcomforwardslashmelhyphenhopkins Now this wouldn't be a problem if I took the time to proofread, fact check (ok, I do) and format my comments- but I take a more casual approach when I post here. Further, I don't expect someone to use my aalbc comments as a sample of my published writing. BUT Muckrack dot com is also a content aggregation website that collects articles written by journalists. The LinkedIN MuckRack dot com company page states it's a public relations management platform tool offered to PR professionals who want to pitch to journalists. Now this is a great business model, as it saves time for bo…

Hi! I'm Bryan D. Covington, author of Between Magic and Dreams. I am submitting my novel for a book review. It's a fantasy piece about a college student fighting to preserve our reality during the rebirth of forgotten times through a phenomenon known as the New Light. This is book one of a trilogy. Book two is already underway. A quick synopsis: Kwen Phifer planned to spend the last few weeks of college chumming it up with the career counselor and winding down once finals were over but, unfortunately for him, those plans fail to come to fruition. He's been approached by someone that explains how he had been chosen to halt an oncoming cataclysm. He lacks skill, expe…

Rakuten Kobo Originals Announces the 2024 Holiday Rom-Com Writing Contest Calling all Romance Writers! If you’re a contemporary romance fan — why stop at reading? Why not try your hand at writing instead? Whether there’s a rom-com story in the back of your head that you’ve been itching to write, or you have the drafts stashed away in a drawer or hiding in the depths of your Notes app – we want those ideas to see the light of day and bring them to life! Kobo Originals is running its first-ever writing contest in Canada where the winner will have the opportunity to have their story published exclusively as a Kobo Original eBook this holiday season. We’re lookin…

My name is Faith Underwood. I am a native of Macon, GA and have recently published my first novel, TRIGGER. I would love if you could feature or review it. There is much authenticity in your book blog particularly giving exposure to the many unsung authors and artists across the country. TRIGGER is a fiction novel set in North Carolina. It follows the relationship of Selena and Alonzo. Like many of us, they encounter temptations as they try to discover their place in this world. Selena is an avid daydreamer that tries to escape her realities when things aren't going well, and Alonzo thinks he has everything planned out. However, TRIGGER isn't just anoth…

Hey, you all should check out this new Forum that is Black-Owned and Black-Centric and join if you like what you see. The address is http://www.theblack-board.com and they are one of only a handful of 100% Black Owned Communities on the internet. They have a slick setup that encourages discussion and even a Virtual Store and Community-Currency to buy cool abilities for your account. They are already one of the fastest growing and most active Black communities on the internet and continually expanding. Check it out, join the discussion, and spread the word! It's time to move our discussions and organizing off of white owned platforms that censor and work against our movem…

Anonymous stated, “Never be ashamed of a scar. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you.” This quote embodies the essence of the invisible and visible scars that the authors had to endure in their lives. The authors of “Gotta Story to Tell” believe in rebuilding a positive self-image within yourself, restoring hope for the future and eliminating any toxicity in your life. Therefore, this book signing launch is a chance for 6 professional women to tell their individual stories without regrets. “Gotta Story to Tell” brought to you by Dr. Jaclyn Walker takes you on a journey of 6 different women that proved to be “stronger than the strugg…