Troy

Thanks man. I was not a big fan of it either, but from a technical perspective, but they are very popular and used on a lot of sites. Using a standard banner would also be much easier for me to implement too. Considering your books were one of the images and you still don't like it means you really don't like it. Yeah I'm aware of the alignment issue, and will work those out. I'm experimenting with a bunch of elements on the page which visually looks simply but is a a pain on the backend. Once I settle on what elements i'm using then I make everything line up. Even changing the menus on the content pages will probably take me the better part of a day or two. When you say you like the center of the page, do you mean the round author's images or the larger images with the large text. So you like reading is social huh? I came with that I as I placed the image, but a quick google search shows it is not a unique slogan at 31K results it is basically a cliche. I guess there is really nothing new under the sun. I registered http://chrisdburns.com and pointed it to your web page. There a typo in the original forwarding entry, I corrected it, but it may take a couple of hours for the change to propagate across the net. I also set the masking so that your domain name will persist in the browser, even though you are on my site.

http://aalbc.org/ I think I'm getting closer to a new homepage design. I've completely reworked the menu structure and am playing around with elements on the page. I still have not settled on colors yet, I kind of like the mustard background (more relaxing), but I also like the blue menu which is more energetic, but the too colors are not exactly complementary. I think I'm going to sell the sliding banner at the top of the page as ad space. As always I'm looking for suggestions, ideas and comments.

Cynique, my goal is to create a platform worthy of your writing. I'm going to quote you in the next eNewsletter.

Thanks Shirley, it is a struggle for me to do this, I appreciate you kind words. Thanks. Where have you been all this time? Got any like minded friends? Send them over too :-)

I've completed a list, over the weekend, of all the Black winners and nominees for National Book Awards: This year (2015) had the most number of Black nominee, 9 on the long list and 6 finalists, than ever before--more than the first quarter century that the award was given! More than makes up for the watermelon joke, huh?

Well I'm at the age where I don't need to buy very much for myself anymore. SO the only thing I really shop for is food. Videos are good because you don't need as many brain cells to engage with the content. However, our culture's focus on video and images on screens versus words on the page or even engaging each other directly, is our loss. We need to use those brains cells...

I think this is just another way of saying people don't read any more.... From an article I just read: Condé Nast, which is in the process of evolving its business to be more digitally nimble, is following a similar path as its print rivals. This path includes combining jobs and using the budget to establish new streams of revenue. Most companies are building out their video and live events businesses, while adding e-commerce. Condé is no exception. While each magazine brand there is in charge of managing their own budgets and head counts, Condé is moving money and investing in Condé Nast Entertainment and the digital group. The transition has been described as a shifting of resources rather than a steep across-the-board cut like the company instituted in 2014. Read the entire article

Nov. 9, 2015 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Lois Smyth, Baton Rouge Area Foundation, lsmyth@braf.org, (225) 387-6126 Susan Polowczuk, Zehnder Communications, susanp@z-comm.com, (225) 448-0760 T. Geronimo Johnson Wins 9th Annual Gaines Award Award Honors Literary Legend Ernest Gaines BATON ROUGE, La. – “Welcome to Braggsville” by T. Geronimo Johnson has been selected as winner of the 2015 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. Now in its ninth year, the Gaines Award is a nationally acclaimed $10,000 prize created by donors of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. The award recognizes outstanding work from rising African-American fiction writers while honoring Gaines’ extraordinary contribution to the literary world. Previous winners of the Ernest J. Gaines award include Attica Locke for “The Cutting Season,” Stephanie Powell Watts for “We Are Taking Only What We Need” and Dinaw Mengestu for “How to Read the Air.” Award ceremonies take place at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 21 at the Manship Theatre in downtown Baton Rouge. Johnson will read excerpts from his winning novel. The ceremony is free and open to the public, although reservations are requested at rsvp@braf.org. Johnson is a New Orleans native who lives in Berkeley, California, and serves as visiting professor at the Iowa Writers' Workshop. He earned a master’s degree in fine arts from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a master’s in language, literacy and culture from the University of California, Berkeley. He previously held the Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University and the Iowa Arts Fellowship at the University of Iowa. In addition, Johnson has taught writing at Arizona State University, the University of Iowa, UC Berkeley, Western Michigan University and Stanford. His first novel, “Hold it ’til it Hurts,” was a finalist for the 2013 PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction. “Welcome to Braggsville” offers a socially provocative and dark comedy about four UC Berkeley students who stage a protest during a Civil War reenactment in rural Georgia. In his review, Los Angeles Times book critic David L. Ulin says Johnson is “a terrific storyteller, and he moves fluidly from past to present, place to place. In the end, no one is right and everyone is – or perhaps it’s the other way around.” Due to the exceptional quality of this year’s entries, Gaines Award judges short-listed two books – “The Sellout” by Paul Beatty and “The Turner House” by Angela Flournoy. The national panel of judges for the 2015 Gaines Award are: Thomas Beller, award-winning author and journalist; Anthony Grooms, a critically acclaimed author and creative writing professor at Kennesaw State University; renowned author Elizabeth Nunez, professor of English at Hunter College-City University of New York; Francine Prose, author of more than 20 books, including “Blue Angel,” a nominee for the 2000 National Book Award; and Patricia Towers, former features editor for O, The Oprah Magazine and a founding editor of Vanity Fair magazine. About Ernest Gaines Ernest Gaines, a native of Louisiana’s Pointe Coupee Parish and a literary legend, is a 2013 recipient of the National Medal of Arts, a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation’s Genius Grant, a recipient of the National Humanities Medal and a member of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Last year marked the 40th anniversary of publication of his critically acclaimed novel “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” which was adapted into a made-for-TV movie that won nine Emmy awards. His novel “A Lesson Before Dying” published in 1993 won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. About BRAF The Baton Rouge Area Foundation is one of the Gulf Coast region’s largest community foundations. Winner of the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ 2011 Award for Outstanding Foundation, BRAF connects donors to projects and nonprofit groups, along with investing in and managing community projects. For more information, visit BRAF.org. ###

As I migrate, and update, content from the old version of AALBC.com to the new version I have the pleasure of re-discovering some really accomplished people and ogrnaizations in publishing. As corny as it might sound, that is one of the reasons I sacrifice to run AALBC.com The folks running Good 2 Go Publishing, are just one example a business accomplishing a lot. They are making films, publishing books, and are also a long term sponsor of AALBC.com. Companies like Good 2 Go, should be well known. But hey, that what AALBC.com is for

Classic Cynique! You can't even say merry Christmas without the risk of offending someone...

I've created a new webpage which showcases all of the Black writers honored by the National Book Foundation. I have 15 years of data so far. As far as I know this information is not available anywhere else.

Wow Shirley those were such kind words. I appreciate it. It is clear that you get the purpose of these forums. Readers of this forum have always outnumbered the people who comment and post, Unfortunately both participants and readers are way down compared to a few years ago. I've always said the value of this forum is a function the level of participation, so I definitely appreciate you spreading the word. We have to help each other; no one else will.

Hi Shirley, it would be much better if you simply posted the poem on the page. Copy and Paste works well and preserves the formatting. Attaching a word document forces people to download a file that could potentially hold a virus. Some people, mobile users in particular, may not have a program to open the file.

No she can't know what it means to be treated as "Black" in America, for we are targeted based upon skin color. But a definition based skin color is a definition that is imposed upon a us by folks outside the group. "Blackness" to Black people is about culture, not skin color; this is why a lily white person, like Rachel, could so easily "pass" as Black. Blackness, by necessity, can't fixate on complexion. So if you want to be Black, live with Black people, help and support Black people, or run a freaking chapter of the NAACP that is fone with me 'cause their are plenty of Black people fighting to remove themselves from anything Black, schools, communities, business, etc. Here is a poem from the recently departed D-Knowledge:

@Shirley Gale, the promotion will last until I roll out the new website design (more info). I'm not sure how I will position these type of book ads on the new website. I want to keep the lower priced options available to advertisers, but I just not sure how that will be done on the new website, I'd like to make the main pages, including the homepage a lot less clutter than they are now. @Cynique oh that one is easy, I'll just link your book's cover to your Blog. I just added the a link to your blog from your Author Profile page. To be clear, this service is getting your book cover on the aalbc.com homepage and the books main page for 50 days (not counting whatever extra I throw for being Cynique ). Thanks for your support.

I stumbled across an article I wrote about 5 years ago, Random Thoughts About Facebook. I wrote, "It is astonishing how many people use their websites to drive traffic to Facebook rather than the other way around." Over the years since I wrote that article Black websites have struggled a great deal to get visitors, many have shut down. The are many reasons for this, but one is that we tend send people to social media, to learn about our work, rather than using social media to send people our own platforms to learn about it. If we all made an effort to use social media direct others, with links, to websites we liked and supported, those website could benefit from that simple effort. Here is a perfect example; On November 1st I posted a link on Facebook, to my test site for the new AALBC.comBlack Book Clubs page: http://aalbc.org/bookclubs/. As you can see 176 people shared this post and that resulted in 943 visitors to the website that day (November 1st). The vast majority of visitors were new (it is a brand new website), but the average time on the site was 1:22 seconds which is pretty good, less that organic search, but not bad. There were an average of two pages per session because once you visit the page you have to select a state to find your club. The platform from which visitors came from is also very telling of a trend; almost 75% of the visitors viewed the page on a cell phone or tablet. Just 27% visited the site via a desktop computer. One of my reasons for resdesigning AALBCc.om is to make it mobile friendly, which is also a, essentially, a Google mandate if you want you website to rank in search results. The Bounce rate (percentage of people who leave after viewing one page) is lower for the desktop user and the number of pages viewed is higher. Even though the site is designed to accommodate visitors from mobile devices, the site is engaged more deeply by people on desktop computers. Desktop versus mobile engagement with this site is something I will continue to examine. Facebook referrals coming from mobile users make sense; that Facebook mobile app, like snapchat or instagram, is very popular (addictive to some even). Referral from organic search come from mostly desktop users, but that could be because Google is not referring as many mobile users to the site in their search results. Again this is one reason I'm redesigning the website. Sadly, November 1st was the same day that Dr. Derrick Gilbert, a/k/a D-Knowledge, passed away. Normally, I would have picked this up, because his page received almost 400 visitors that day, through organic search. That is a lot, in one day for a relatively obscure poet, who had not produced anything new in a decade. Now I would argue that D-Knowledge would not be obscure in a world with Black media, if fact his passing is newsworthy. More of us should be familiar with his work

Is there a schedule or topic for each of these chats?

Hi Cynique, sorry for the delayed response. I working on a profile page that ties in each writers, books, articles and reviews on the website. I'm using your profile as a test case: http://aalbc.it/conniebradley since you have all three. Why thank you for taking advantage of the promotional deal. Of course I have to throw something in extra for you :-) Basically you follow the link: http://aalbc.it/1dollarperday that will take you to square (sort of like PayPal but with a nicer setup), then you click the blue "Add to Basket" button that is all it takes. Thanks!

CASTING CALL! CALLING AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN FOR BOOK TALK SHOW. (AGES 20 - 70-something.) Casting call for multi-generational African American females (ages 20 to 70-something) for book-based, issues-related, web-series talk show pilot. Seeking African American women who are smart, love books, are personable, comfortable with discussion, and possess good on-camera presence. All ages. Please forward to a friend! SEND HEAD SHOT, RESUME (IF AVAILABLE), AND SHORT VIDEO - "WHY I LOVE BOOKS" to maxrod122@gmail.com. The pilot program will be videotaped in December in Princeton, NJ. Nonunion. Those selected for the pilot will be considered for the series permanent cast. Producer will provide hospitality. Call expires 11/18. ABOUT QBR THE BLACK BOOK REVIEW and THE HARLEM BOOK FAIR QBR Media supports the mission of QBR and the Harlem Book Fair as the first word on books by and about the black experience by producing media that informs, enlightens, and entertains. Founded as the public program of QBR The Black Book Review (www.QBR.com) and now in its 18th year, the Harlem Book Fair, the nations’ largest and most respected African American literary festival, is partnered by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture the New York Public Library, First Book, the national literacy organization; and televised nationally by C-Span's BookTV. Attended by over 20,000 readers and viewed by millions on C-Span, the Harlem Book Fair is the nation’s flagship African American public literary event. Please contact QBR (914.231.6778) to promote your book or event to 40,000 QBR and Harlem Book Fair opt-in readers.

THE AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN’S BOOK FAIR The 24th Annual African American Children's Book Fair will be held on Saturday, February 6, 2016, 1:00-3:00PM, at Community College of Philadelphia, 17th Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia, PA. The event is free and open to the public. The afternoon is packed with activities that promote the power and joy of reading. Authors and illustrators will make presentations from their books. The Literary Row distributes book related promotional materials free of charges. Our Educator’s book-giveaway also distributes brand new books to teachers and librarian to use in their classrooms. But it is a true fair with a wide selection of affordable literature for purchase. This event is also a part of the organization’s PRESERVE A LEGACY, BUY A BOOK initiative to put books back into homes. You can’t tell a child to read at home if there are no books in the home The Book Fair started out on a cold frosty day at John Wanamaker Department Store, today is it one of the oldest and largest single day events for African American children's books in the country. On average over 3,500 people attend the event each year. With a reported double- digit illiteracy rate in the region, our success is due to the fact that we offer the best and the brightest from the multi-cultural literary community - books that enlighten enrich and empower the young citizens in our community. Parents, caregivers, and educators from the tri-state area are very supportive of the event because they understand that children, who read, make more responsible decisions about their lifestyles. Nationally known bestselling authors/illustrators will participate. Many have won the American Library Association Coretta Scott King award. These authors/illustrators have produced some of the best books of our generation. Games, prizes, and literary resources cap off the afternoon that celebrates the JOY OF READING. FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: THE LITERARY MEDIA AND PUBLISHING CONSULTANTS Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati (215) 877-2012 (MEDIA ONLY) (215) 878-BOOK E-mail vlloydsgam@aol.com Website: theafricanamericanchildrensbookproject.org

NEW SALE PRICE Your Book for Only $50 for 50 Days! http://aalbc.it/1dollarperday Place your book’s cover on AALBC.com homepage, and our Book’s section main page, 50 days for just $1 a day. Visitors, who click your book’s cover, may be sent to any website you choose. Dedicated Sponsored Email $299 http://aalbc.it/aalbcdse Send a rich email message to our mailing list of over 11,000 subscribers. Open rates for our mailings are greater than 25%; many recipients are paid subscribers. You pick the mailing date. Only one Dedicated Sponsored email is sent each calendar month. All mailing are permanently archived on AALBC.com. Here are some samples. Jewel Parker Rhodes (Publisher Mailing): https://madmimi.com/s/fab936 National Conference of African American Librarians (Event Mailing): https://madmimi.com/s/11b3c5 Delaney Diamond Mailing (Author Mailing): https://madmimi.com/s/f39c06 Octavia Butler Mailing (Publisher): https://madmimi.com/s/3f8e15 AALBC.com eNewsletter Sponsorship $149 http://aalbc.it/sponsorenews Promote your author, book, event or business by sponsoring the AALBC.com eNewsletter. This is the only advertisement in our monthly eNewsletter, and it appears right at the top of the email. Other Options Of course our Lightbox and Big Book ads always perform well. If you would like to pay per impression, our rates are $10 CPM. Click through rates on advertisements are typically in the single digit range. Finally, as part of our upgrade, advertisers will have the ability to place and monitor their own advertisements on AALBC.com. I plan to complete the upgrade in March of 2016, to coincide with our 18 anniversary. Here is a list of some of the new types of content that will appear on AALBC.com (AALBC.org is the test site): http://aalbc.com/aalbccom-is-being-upgraded.html

Chris do you know The African Place? One very chill sister I know a speculative fiction writer Sheree Renee Thomas told me about it. You should get to know her. Are you going to the Memphis Noir book event tomorrow? I suspect she'll be there as she is in the Anthology.

This is a timely post. If I had more time I could cover books appropriate for the season in more depth. I just discovered a Scifi writer yesterday: Cerece Rennie Murphy of course there are many more

Hurston/Wright Legacy Award Winning Books: http://aalbc.org/books/hw-award-winning-books.php?year=2015 This is on the new version of AALBC.com. Still playing around with layout, but one goal is to record all the the books that have been awards by entities that celebrate Black books. You can always discover a great read from the awards. Despite the accomplishments of these writers and their awards, they are still not as well know as they should be.

You can also learn more about the 2015 Award winning books ----------- The Hurston/Wright Foundation is accepting submissions for the 2016 Hurston/Wright Legacy Awards in fiction, nonfiction and poetry. The foundation is re-instituting the category of debut fiction. The submission period is from the first Monday in October (October 5th) to the first Monday in December (December 7th). Submissions must be received by the Hurston/Wright office by Monday, December 7th for consideration for the 2016 awards. No submissions will be accepted after that date. The premier award to Black authors from the community of their peers, the Legacy Awards celebrate the creativity and vitality of Black writers. Click here for information on submission guidelines.