Troy

Nice article Nah'Sun. On a related note. If seems to me that most girls are actually "thick" as opposed to slim. It is possible Brothers who prefer thick girls are in the majority. What do you think?

Overall just ok. Biafra needed reminding, hard to believe such a tragedy took place in my life time. Hardly a word if it today. Archival footage very interesting too.

Here is one of the very 1st replies I received in response to my newsletter: "I would pay for it...ONLY if you have more books by authentic literary writers and not that urban fiction trash." Now if you read my current eNewsletter or any of them I take great care include a wide variety of good material. I tell you it is an uphill battle. Of course many people immediately subscribed (not as many as i hoped, so far). But the positive replies out weighed the negative -- fortunately :-)

The current enewsletter may be found by clicking here The eNewsletter includes the following appeal. Which I hope you will all consider: AALBC.com would like to thank all of you for being loyal readers of our eNewsletter. We are proud to have continuously published this eNewsletter for over 15 years — perhaps the longest running eNewsletter of its kind! Our eNewsletter is also available on your Kindle ebook reader and via RSS. However, we really need your support. We are asking every subscriber to seriously consider purchasing a subscription to the AALBC.com eNewsletter for only $7.99 per year. Your paid subscription will make it possible for us to improve our coverage of books, authors, film, events, and to continue celebrating our literary legacy. Sincerely, Troy Johnson Founder, AALBC.com

A large number of sales is a good thing. Critical acclaim, by a "respected" source is a good thing too. If you can get both at the same time that is great. However the two, though often confused, are not the same.

Cynique Warmth is actually my type of book. Lately I've been spending MUCH more time on the website. I actually have not had time to enjoy a book. The article I wrote about not having read a book in three months was really an recognition that I'm not alone with this "problem". Sometimes we look down on people you don't read often -- or at all. I would also argue that it is the publishers role to groom and nurture their writers -- this is really what the editing process is all about. I'd also argue why stop at editing their books? Why not prep them for media appearances? I sure authors with shitty personalities hurt their sales as much as authors with engaging personalities get a boosts in sales (all things being equal). Hickson does this with his writers If you are in the business of selling books, you really have not choice. Writegirl, I'd rather be appreciated when I'm alive. My descendants enjoying the spoils of my work is not necessarily "appreciation" :-)

Surely you jest Nah'Sun But if it helps K'wan's Animal has been #1 on Amazon's Top Rated Fiction: http://aalbc.it/animal-1st Also Bernice McFadden, out of Brooklyn, is cool people, a friend of the website. Besides it is not like the NY Times represents us anyway... Back in the heyday Black books it was not uncommon for AALBC.com to be mentioned in the New York Times. Man I don't think there had been a NY Times mention of AALBC.com in close to 10 years.

The New York Times - 100 Notable Books of 2012 (Click here to see the complete list) Published: November 27, 2012 "The year’s notable fiction, poetry and nonfiction, selected by the editors of The New York Times Book Review." Here are a handful of titles: GATHERING OF WATERS by Bernice L. McFadden (Akashic) Three generations of black women confront floods and murder in Mississippi. HOME by Toni Morrison (Knopf) A black Korean War veteran, discharged from an integrated Army into a segregated homeland, makes a reluctant journey back to Georgia in a novel engaged with themes that have long haunted Morrison. NW by Zadie Smith (Penguin Press) The lives of two friends who grew up in a northwest London housing project diverge, illuminating questions of race, class, sexual identity and personal choice, in Smith’s energetic modernist novel. SALVAGE THE BONES by Jesmyn Ward (Bloomsbury) A pregnant 15-year-old and her family await Hurricane Katrina in this lushly written novel. THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE HER by Junot Díaz (Riverhead) The stories in this collection are about love, but they’re also about the undertow of family history and cultural mores, presented in Díaz’s exciting, irresistible and entertaining prose. AMERICAN TAPESTRY: The Story of the Black, White, and Multiracial Ancestors of Michelle Obama by Rachel L. Swarns (Amistad) A Times reporter’s deeply researched chronicle of several generations of Mrs. Obama’s family. THE GREY ALBUM: On the Blackness of Blackness by Kevin Young. (Graywolf) A poet’s lively account of the central place of the trickster figure in black American culture could have been called “How Blacks Invented America.” THE BLACK COUNT: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss. (Crown) The first Alexandre Dumas, a mixed-race general of the French Revolution, is the subject of this imaginative biography. THE ONE: The Life and Music of James Brown by RJ Smith (Gotham) Smith argues that Brown was the most significant modern American musician in terms of style, messaging, rhythm and originality. (Click here to see the complete list)

Cynique -- thanks for re-posting. I guess I'll reply there an repost on Facebook :-) Stephen Carter's book "Emperor" came out over 10 years ago. I was really talking about new authors introduced in 2012, over even the last few years. The point I was trying to make is that major houses are not introducing, or nurturing a lot of new talent -- mainly capitalizing off writers with demonstrated success ala the Urban fiction model. Nah'Sun, yep Jay essentially summed up the mentality that has been holding us (our culture) back for hundreds of years. Though his book Decoded was not exactly dumbed down. People used to give Bob Johnson summed it up in one line, The "E" stands for Entertainment. He made billions -- even after his ex-wife's cut. Until such a time comes where uplifting people is as profitable as feeding them garbage -- all we will get is garbage.

We are requesting submissions for the 2013 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award (see below for details). Submission deadline extended to December 10, 2012 The Hurston/Wright Legacy Award is the first national award presented to published writers of African descent by the national community of Black writers. This award, consists of prizes for the highest quality writing in the categories of Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry. If you have any questions please send an email to info@hurstonwright.org. Sincerely, Elizabeth Elizabeth Williams VP Programs & Communications Eligibility Writers must be of African descent; Black writers from any area of the diaspora. Full-length books of poetry, fiction and nonfiction, collections of short stories, and collections of essays by one author only are eligible. Paperback originals are eligible. Works must have been published in the United States or must be U.S. editions of foreign books published for the first time in the United States. Self-published authors are eligible. An English translation of a book originally written in another language is eligible. All books submitted for consideration must have a publication date between January and December of the calendar year in which the application is being submitted. Bound galleys may be submitted. Authors that have previously won the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, or any other award are eligible. Anthologies containing works written by multiple authors are not eligible. Poetry books less than 50 pages are not eligible. A reprint of a book published in a previous year is not eligible. Board members and staff of the Hurston/Wright Foundation are not eligible for consideration of this award. Categories Fiction: Debut Novel, Novel, Novella, or Short Story Collection Nonfiction: Autobiography, Memoir, Biography, History, Social Issues, or Literary Criticism Poetry: Books in Verse, Pros Poetry, Formal Verse, or Experimental Verse Submission Requirements Include with each application a $25 nonrefundable application fee (in the form of a money order or check only). Books must be submitted by the publishing companies only with the exception of self-published authors. For full consideration however, permission of the author must be granted. The author of a Legacy nominated book or a representative is expected to attend the awards ceremony. Each publishing company will be required to designate one person to coordinate all Hurston/Wright Legacy Award related matters with the Foundation. The Hurston/Wright Foundation reserves the right to request that publishers submit specific titles to be considered for nomination. Submission deadline extended to December 10, 2012 How To Apply Download and complete an entry form Mail the entry form along with four copies of each title submitted and a $25 money order per title submitted to: The Hurston/Wright Legacy Award 12138 Central Avenue, Suite 953 Bowie, MD 20721 Books not accompanied by the proper documentation will not be considered. Additional Details

Here is some commentary from Facebook: Connie Bradley Troy Johnson Virginia DeBerry Donna Grant

If you are in the Tampa Fl area we have begun plans to host a book event with Eric the 2nd week of January details to be provided as plan are developed.

REAL STORY OF NIGERIA by Jide Olanrewaju "History of our motherland...birthed in greed and riddled with corruption. The summary of it all in one documentary. A must watch for every true Nigerian and Africans as a whole. You'd be surprised at what you'll find out. Truly, the beautiful ones are not yet born." http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3aFc4VrV-94

Hey man here are some short links you can use: Tantrum-Charles-D-Ellison http://bit.ly/Tantrum-Ellison Sonz-Of-Darkness-Dru-Noble http://bit.ly/Sonz-Of-Darkness London-Reign-A-C-Britt http://bit.ly/London-Reign And-God-Created-Woman-Mika-Miller http://bit.ly/And-God-Created-Woman Harder-Sha http://bit.ly/Harder-Sha Convicts-Candy-Damon-Meadows http://bit.ly/Convicts-Candy Ghettoheat-Hickson http://bit.ly/Ghettoheat Love-Dont-Nobody-Stubbs http://bit.ly/Love-Dont-Love-Nobody

Amazon's Top 100 Free eBooks K. Honey Thompson's novel "Forbidden Hearts & Revenge" is #31!

You can sell you unwanted book using Cash 4 Books: Use bonus code "BLOGGER3", Sell a minimum of 3 books and get an extra $5 bucks on your order good of all of 2012. There is also a free iPhone/Android application to scan bar codes. You are given a free pre-paid mailing label (you do not pay to ship books). If you sell $35 or more in books, you may use FedEx (which gets you paid faster). You are paid via PayPal or check.

Impressive List Hickson -- what is you most popular/best title, one you think will be liked by the most people and I'll spread the word about it. Or give me a few and I'll pick one. Thanks

Sorry I mean the Teri Woods interview you turned me on to.

Yep Nah'Sun I did say we needed a way to publicly vet people so that others don't get burned and I still feel that way. But we can't have people just putting folks on blast all willy nilly -- especially in the day of social media. r

Side A: LOL! Side B: Yeah I did not know about Shannon and triple crown until the Wahida interview -- deep. Side C: Agreed! Successfully breaking in a new author is the value publishers are supposed to bring. All the big houses have done over the last few years is give deals to authors who have demonstrated an ability to move their own product. Have the big houses ever introduced (discovered on their own, developed, marketed/promoted) a new urban/street author that generated big sales -- I can't think of one? Man, I forgot all about G-Unit - Do they have any big books (books that have sold well or are popular)? Nikki, Relentless, K. Elliott...

Oh I misunderstood. That explains why I never heard of her book reviews :-) Take it from me, you'd spend more time putting people on blast than writing and selling books. Besides it will not get you anywhere. Have you even been interviewed by the sister that interviewed Wahida -- it seems like she would do a decent job. Are you up on 3 Chicks on Lit?

Someone told me about this today. I was told it was actually pretty good and that it went on for a few hours. Is this it?

Nah'Sun, I'm more than willing to agree that Teri influenced "self-pubbing on the "Black hand side" on a large scale" with the caveat: in the urban/street fiction genre. The reason I say this is that in the 90's Teri Woods was not relevant in the larger book world. She, shall we say, was an "underground sensation" (like a Loaded Lux perhaps). There were too many other authors self-publishing who were more popular, Jessica was just one. Now Teri ultimately Terry surpassed everyone in terms of popularity and most likely revenue as well. Before we started this conversation I would have said Vickie Stringer was probably more influential that anyone else. -- everybody knew Triple Crown -- even before they knew the authors! The branding was strong, because of Stringer. Today it seems like all the top urban authors are writing for Cash Money Content, Wahida, Nikki, K'wan, Treasure, et al. What do you think about CMC, will they resuscitate a waning genre in a struggling industry?

Damn, Nah'Sun you came at home girl hard. How did you discover her as a reviewer? Where does she publish book reviews? This is a perfect example of the state of the industry. In fact, it was never easy to get a book review written AND published where someone will see it. Today it is almost impossible. On AALBC.com, if you want a guaranteed book review written, in 6 weeks or less, by someone with experience, and published where it will be seen by others; I offer a fee based service: http://aalbc.com/reviews/reviewer_guidlines.htm I also offer a manuscript review: http://edit1st.com/get-started/manuscript-review/ Book reviews are not "free". In the early days, when my Goldman gig subsidized this website. I would pay reviewers to review books author sent in. Ad sales NEVER subsidized book reviews. Many of those books, reviewed at not cost to the author, were ripped to shreds -- In fact, Thumper (who this discussion board is named), built a following and reputation for brutally honest book reviews. Despite that he was also are most requested reviewer. Today I can not afford to pay a reviewer to review a badly written book. There is no upside: the reviewer does not want to read badly written books, the reader does not care about some poorly written book by an obscure author, the author will not be happy the finished review -- and I'm out of real cash! Charging authors for reviews had one BIG unanticipated bonus: the quality of the books received increased dramatically. See when an author sends in a book for review -- all they are risking is the wholesale cost of the book and postage, just a few bucks. Now that the financial burden is shifted from me to the author, I get far fewer books and those that arrive are simply better written. I still publish reviews in which the author did not pay for the review. These are usually books the reviewer wanted to read and review. Sometimes I'll barter with a reviewer for a book I really want reviewed, if I can't pay cash. To avoid the problem you ran into with the review Nah'Sun, I ask that authors simply email me a description of their book -- not the book. At the end of the day the reader is really left up to word of mouth to learn about good books.

ALL-WEEKEND PROMO! "Like and Follow" AKILA WORKSONGS (this weekend) on Facebook and/or Twitter for a chance to win FREE TICKETS to "ELEVATING" (our Off-Broadway Showcase at BPAC; details below) or to the Funk Fest at NJPAC (with George Clinton and Morris Day and The Time; details Monday). PSST! Like and/or Follow, and Comment and you could *really* win those comps! We're watching... FEEL FREE to FORWARD BARUCH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (BPAC) CELEBRATES THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF AKILA WORKSONGS WITH AN AFTERNOON OF SPOKEN WORD, LIVE MUSIC, DRAMA, & DANCE (scroll down for all details) Experience Why We're Still Here After Two Decades of Passionate Service Join Us For Our First Off-Broadway Showcase! Baruch Performing Arts Center presents "Elevating: 20 Years of Arts and Activism, Live!" December 16, 2012, 2:30 pm Baruch Performing Arts Center 55 Lexington Ave., NYC 10010 (Enter on E. 25th, bet. Lexington & 3rd Aves.) CONFIRMED PERFORMERS Camille A. Brown Award-winning choreographer for Broadway revival of a Streetcar Named Desire; Artistic Dir., Camille A. Brown and Dancers ( @camilleAbrown) Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai Poet, author, 3x feature on HBO Presents Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam ( @yellowgurlpoet) Masauko Chipembere of Blk Sonshine Internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter ( @blksonshine) Mo Beasley Award-winning poet, playwright, actor (@mobeasleyspeaks) Pyeng Threadgill Award-winning jazz vocalist, composer (@pyengthreadgill) Ras Baraka Poet, educator, and author Principal, Central High School in Newark, NJ (@rasbaraka) Safiya Washington Poet, Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement alumni 2011 National Brave New Voices Gland Slam Poetry Champion (@honestly_safi) Toni Blackman Internationally acclaimed performance artist; the first Hip Hop Cultural Envoy/Musical Ambassador of the US State Department ( @toniblackman) MK Lewis ( @mklewis610) HOST Lumumba Bandele DJ/MUSICAL DIRECTOR Get Your Show Tickets Online! $25, $20, $10 (General, Access AKILA members, College Students) Buy ONLINE and at the BPAC BOX OFFICE http://bit.ly/elevatingtickets or 55 Lexington Ave., NYC 10010 CONTACT US General Ticket Info: 646.312.5073 General Program Info: 718.756.8501 or pr@akilaworksongs.com Media Inquiries Are Directed To: Lea Byrd at lea@akilaworksongs.com Web (Pass It On): www.AKILAWORKSONGS.com/elevatingakila FB Event: www.facebook.com/events/446262102074963/ Twitter: @baruchPAC @akilaworksongs @aprilRsilver Twitter Hashtags: #elevatingakila #artsandactivism #akilaat20 Put On BLAST! c/o AKILA WORKSONGS, Inc. | PO Box 250553 | Brooklyn, NY 11225 | United States