dgivensterry

By Dorothy Givens Terry As an African-American author who is trying to get her middle grade/young adult novel traditionally published, and as a parent of an avid reader, I knew I needed to be at the Publishers Weekly’s (PW), “Salaries and Diversity in Publishing” seminar in New York City. The seminar pegs off of a PW diversity in publishing survey, the results of which appear in the magazine’s October 13 issue. The magazine article and the subsequent discussion, hosted on Oct. 16 at Random House’s headquarters, were eye-openers as I learned that the lack of diversity within publish

Got to keep the faith, my brother!

“I’m a Good Wife…Most of the Time” 2nd Edition Released as E-Book Written by Dorothy Givens Terry | 2nd edition | e-book | $2.99 Synopsis: Do black women go through midlife crises? Shelby Freeman’s not sure, but the African-American wife and stepmom feels fat and is about to turn forty, and the itch from her seven-year marriage has developed into an irritating rash. Bored with life in the sterile confines of extreme suburbia, she turns to journaling to sort through her mixed emotions about marriage, monogamy, career, and the elusive quest for motherhood. Soon, Shelby gets mor

A funny thing happened on the way to the revolution. Somebody forgot to tell us that, in our rush out the door to join in the riches of the larger society as a result of desegregation, we might want to preserve at least some to the things that made us a self-sustaining community, just in case. Well, with the current high unemployment rates among African-Americans, higher than the nation as a whole, that "just in case" moment may be here. The one thing we may have forgotten to do "just in case"? Mind our own businesses! It’s no surprise that, as times get tough, people t

This post caught my eye because Sullivan Island is referenced indirectly in my book, "I'm a Good Wife...Most of the Time." The main character, Shelby Freeman, is an African-American woman in the throes of a midlife crisis. She writes about all of her anxieties in a journal, whose pages begin to mysteriously appear of the Internet. The Internet journal entries go viral and suddenly Shelby is thrust into the white-hot and unwanted celebrity spotlight. She runs away to "Dewey Island" in her native South Carolina. While there, she attends a fundraiser to dedicate a site on the island as a slave bu