Entries Tagged 'Arts and Entertainment' ↓

Eisa Nefertari Ulen, author and journalist, teaches English at a college in New York City and runs a fascinating blog with some at-times heavy discussions about the state of black book publishing.

Ulen just announced a fiction writing competition for unpublished writers being sponsored by the Go On Girl! Book Club on her blog. The prize is a hefty $500 and the postmark deadline is March 15, 2008.

The Go On Girl! Book Club was founded in 1990 and now has several chapters around the country. The group awarded me with the New Author of the Year award for my first novel Sisters and Lovers.

For details and guidelines, check out Eisa Ulen’s blog.

And go here for more details about the award and the Go On Girl! Book Club.

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You all know I love bookstores, right? No? OK, then I looooove bookstores. I can just hang out in one for a couple of hours, easy.

One of my biggest concerns has been that mortar and brick bookstores are going the way of the dinosaur once devices like the Amazon Kindle come down in price to around $50 - $100 or so, and the creators decide to make their money selling books rather than on the device. Remember record stores? Yeah, that’s what I thought was going to happen to bookstores. Not tomorrow or the next day, mind you. But within another 10 or so years.

Now there’s hope that I was entirely wrong. And this is one of those times when I’m glad to be wrong. But not for the reasons you may think. The reason is the new Borders concept stores due to debut during grand opening festivities on February 22 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the company’s hometown. According to Borders, it’s a 28,900-square-foot concept store–the first of 14 the company expects to open nationwide this year–and represents a big enhancement over existing Borders stores inside and out.

“This is a completely new shopping experience that sets Borders apart from every other store,” said Borders Group Chief Executive Officer George Jones. “We’ve stayed true to what our customers have always loved about Borders-deep and intelligent selection, knowledgeable staff, and a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere. Yet, we’ve brought a fresh new look and an exciting interactive dimension to the store with a Digital Center where customers can do everything from mix and make their own custom CDs, download books and music, publish their own books, explore their family history, and create photo books-all without being computer experts because we have trained people there to help every step of the way.”

The Digital Center sounds mad cool. Self-publish your own books? Create photo books? Sounds to me like Borders is saying, hey, don’t write us off so fast. We get it! You want digital. You want interactivity. You want control. Well, we got it!

Check out the video of what’s happening inside the new Borders bookstore. It’s so unlike anything you’ve ever seen in a bookstore. All I can say is, Borders please hurry and open one near me.

Borders Unveils First Concept Store

I call them the pocket-size paperback. And You Only Get Better, which was first issued as a trade paperback (the bigger size paperback) a year ago, is now available in the smaller pocket size.

You Only Get Better has three novellas, one penned by me and the other two by Lolita Files and Anita Bunkley. That means you get three bestselling authors for the price of one. What could be better than that? To read all about You Only Get Better go here and scroll down.

Pocket-size (or mass market) paperbacks are cheaper than trade paperbacks, and You Only Get Better is generally available wherever books are sold. So if you haven’t picked up a copy, you have absolutely no more excuses!

You Only Get Better, by Connie Briscoe, Lolita Files and Anita Bunkley

All-in-all, a glorious, memorable evening of celebration for some of our finest authors and photographers. Hundreds showed up at Le Parker Meridien Hotel across from Central Park in New York City.

Unfortunately, Jewels: 50 Phenomenal Black Women Over 50, didn’t win in the category of photography. Yeah, I went there. I really wanted Michael to win ’cause he’s a superb portrait photographer, and women should be screaming to be photographed by him.

Fortunately, many other very deserving people were recognized, including Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe in the photography category for her book Daufuskie Island. Moutoussamy-Ashe gracefully acknowledged the other photographers in this category. I’m very thankful that Essence decided to include the category and I hope it encourages more of us to document and capture African-American people and culture in photo books.

Here’s a list of the victors in all the categories.

First Annual Essence Literary Award Winners

Congratulations to each and every one of them. And hats off to Essence for beginning a wonderful tradition, especially to Essence Senior Editor Patrik Henry Bass for his hard work pulling off the event and to Hoda Kotb and Dr. Ian Smith for being so entertaining as hosts of the stellar evening.

And thanks to all the glittering stars who came out like T.D. Jakes, who received the President’s Award, and Terry McMillan, who got a well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award. Then there was the Emmy-award winning actress Lynn Whitfield who presented the award for most inspirational book. Actress and author Victoria Rowell was nominated in the category of memoirs for her book, The Women Who Raised Me, and she also presented the award for best children’s book.

Just one complaint: It was way too crowded. The reception was packed and the room where the awards were presented was standing room only. Bass did promise that Essence would “have enough chairs” next year. Let’s hope they follow through on that for what promises to be a huge hit in the years to come.

Photo captions: Top–Hosts Hoda Kotb and Dr. Ian Smith; Middle–photographers and nominees Michael Cunningham and Carol Ross; Bottom–Connie Briscoe and AALBC Founder Troy Johnson

As many of you know, I attended the Essence Literary Awards Gala in New York City yesterday, and I just returned home a few hours ago. I’ll have details about the gala posted here this weekend. For now, I’ll just say that it was packed with people, and you could feel the excitement for this first-ever literary event pulsating through the atmosphere.

Following on his success in tracing Oprah’s roots, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., returns on African American Lives 2 to journey deep into the ancestry of an all-new group of celebrities.

In part two of the series, Gates locates participants’ ancestors in Africa, Europe and America, including poet Maya Angelou, author Bliss Broyard, actor Don Cheadle, actor Morgan Freeman, athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, radio personality Tom Joyner, comedian Chris Rock, music legend Tina Turner and others who were selected from among more than 2,000 applicants.

African American Lives 2 premieres tomorrow, February 6, at 9:00 pm ET. Check your local listings.

African American Lives 2 on PBS

In recognition of Black History Month, APOOO Book Club will shine a spotlight on 31 authors, one author each day from February 1 through March 2, on the APOOO Website, MySpace blog and other places. The spotlight will include an article written by the author on varied topics such as–

• Why Is Black History Important?
• Room at the Table (Is there room at the table for all African American authors no matter the genre?)
• Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (interracial dating)
• I’m the Head of the Household (coping when she makes more money)
• Help…I’ve Fallen and Don’t Want to Get Up (stepping out of corporate America and not looking back even when the going gets tough)
• ACTING White or Not Black Enough (When did being articulate, intelligent, and financially able become equated to being white?)
• Is the American Dream Real?
• Are We Ready? (for a black president)

First up, Angelia Menchan. And here’s the rest of the stellar lineup. OK, so I’m on there, but still this is a wonderfully eclectic list of authors. Should be exciting.

• Feb 1st: Angelia Menchan
• Feb 2nd: Ebony Farashuu
• Feb 3rd: Cheryl Robinson
• Feb 4th: LA Banks
• Feb 5th: LaConnie Taylor-Jones
• Feb 6th: Donna Hill
• Feb 7th: Bettye Griffin
• Feb 8th: Deatri King-Bey
• Feb 9th: Kimberly Brooks
• Feb 10th: Maryam Diaab
• Feb 11th: Vincent Alexandria
• Feb 12th: Gloria Mallette
• Feb 13th: Djuanna Brockington
• Feb 14th: Niambi Davis
• Feb 15th: Earl Sewell
• Feb 16th: Sheila Goss
• Feb 17th: Gwyneth Bolton
• Feb 18th: Tinisha Johnson
• Feb 19th: Tracy Price Thompson
• Feb 20th: Paula Chase
• Feb 21st: Francis Ray
• Feb 22nd: Angela Benson
• Feb 23rd: Felicia Pride
• Feb 24th: Desiree Day
• Feb 25th: Eric Pete
• Feb 26th: Jewel Parker Rhodes
• Feb 27th: Reshonda Tate Billingsley
• Feb 28th: Shelia Williams
• Feb 29th: DeBerry and Grant
• Mar 1st: Tananarive Due
• Mar 2nd: Connie Briscoe

The African-American Heritage Bookstore in West Palm Beach, Florida, will close its doors permanently at the end of the month, according to Rhonda Swan at the Palm Beach Post.

Swan also mentions the closing of Karibu Books and a Palm Beach Borders. Could it be that all the African-American bookstore closings are just the beginning? When the Kindle and Sony Reader become cheaper and easier to use–will it be bye-bye mortar and brick bookstores?

Your local Borders and Barnes and Nobles could go the way of the record store unless they hit on some new magic formula. I certainly hope not; still I wouldn’t put my money on them being as plentiful as they are currently ten years from now. You can’t stop technology any more than you can stop progress.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has given striking writers permission to work for the 39th annual NAACP Image Awards ceremony. This means that the show can go on without fear of being picketed by writers. And the ceremony won’t suffer the same fate as the Golden Globes award ceremony, which was reduced from the usual big gala to a brief press conference. Bet those writers are lined up for the NAACP gig.

The 39th NAACP Image Awards ceremony will air live on February 14 on FOX. The awards honor diversity in the arts in television, film and literature.

I was once nominated for an Image Award for my historical novel, A Long Way From Home, and it is a huge honor, with a glitzy affair in Los Angeles where all the stars come out. If memory serves me right, at that time there was only one award for literature, and Nikki Giovanni beat out me and a handful of other authors. Still I had fun, and I can’t complain about losing to Nikki. She’s awesome.

I’m pleased to see that the number of nominees for literature has mushroomed to dozens in several categories, from fiction and autobiography to poetry and books for the young ones. That’s a reflection of how many more books are being written by African Americans.

Here’s the list of the NAACP Image Awards nominees in the literary categories–

Outstanding Literary Work - Fiction

• Blonde Faith - Walter Mosley (Little, Brown & Company)
• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz (Penguin/Riverhead)
• Cion: A Novel - Zakes Mda (Picador)
• Knots - Nuruddin Farah (Penguin/Riverhead)
• New England White: A Novel - Stephen L. Carter (Alfred A. Knopf/RH)

Outstanding Literary Work - Non-Fiction

• An Unbroken Agony - Randall Robinson (Basic Civitas Books/Perseus)
• Brother, I’m Dying - Edwidge Danticat (Alfred A. Knopf/RH)
• Know What I Mean?: Reflections on Hip-Hop - Michael Eric Dyson (Basic Civitas Books/Perseus)
• Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond - Don Cheadle, John Prendergast (Hyperion)
• Race and Racism in the Chinas: Chinese Racial Attitudes Toward Africans and African-Americans - M. Dujon Johnson (Authorhouse)

Continue reading →

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 23, 2008
CONTACT:
Richelle Zizian
Sr. Publicist
800-654-5126 x119
rzizian@hayhouse.com

TAVIS SMILEY, PUBLISHER OF SMILEYBOOKS, INVITES SUBMISSIONS FOR INSPIRING VOLUME OF “UNCONDITIONAL LOVE STORIES”

“Love Wins,” Edited By Smiley, to be Released in Fall 2008
New York, NY (BlackNews.com) - SmileyBooks, the publishing company founded by Tavis Smiley, has launched a national campaign to generate submissions for his next book Love Wins: True Stories of Transformation and Triumph. Smiley is the New York Times best-selling author of What I Know for Sure and The Covenant. “I believe, just as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. did, that love is the most powerful and transformative force in the world; the only thing capable of turning an enemy into a friend,” Smiley asserts.

Smiley envisions Love Wins as a collection of inspiring real life stories that give voice to the transforming power of unconditional love. “Too often 21st century living has a way of disconnecting us from that divine power within,” says Smiley. “Love Wins is an expression of faith that we can reconnect with love’s power - to positively transform each other and the world we live in.” Love Wins invites people to reexamine their lives through the lens of love and share the one story that most compellingly reveals how giving or receiving love changed their life.

During Tavis’ travels across the country over the years, he has been captivated by the stories of everyday people whose lives have been affected by the quiet, simple beauty of love in all of its remarkable facets. The true stories featured in Love Wins will range from 500 to 1,200 words in length. Contributors’ bios will be included along with their selection and each author will receive a complimentary autographed first edition copy of Love Wins. In addition to the entries included in the book, SmileyBooks will feature additional selections on www.tavistalks.com. Details on the Love Wins submissions guidelines can be found by clicking on the Love Wins banner at the bottom of the page at www.tavistalks.com/media/smileybooks

In the fall of 2008 when the book is scheduled for publication, Tavis Smiley will undertake a Love Wins “unconditional love” tour, inviting regional contributors to join him at events around the country. Love Wins is Tavis’ gift to those who understand and appreciate the power of unconditional love. “We believe that this book can generate a lot of healing conversation,” says SmileyBooks president, Cheryl Woodruff, “because when we dare to talk about the power of love, Love Wins.“

Tavis Smiley is one of the most familiar faces and voices in America. He can be seen on his PBS television program, Tavis Smiley, and heard on his PRI radio show, The Tavis Smiley Show.