Black Author Showcase

Agents of Literary Change

A cooperative learning, teaching and supporting community for anyone who helps bring a book to life. A network for authors, readers, publishers, photographers, librarians, reviewers, graphic designers, editors, ghostwriters, agents, and others.

Members

Events

BLESSED ASSURANCE BOOK SIGNING WITH CLEVETTE HARRIS
August 23, 2008 from 12pm to 3pm – RAINBOW CHRISTIAN BOOK STORE
HURRY HURRY STEP RIGHT UP...FOR THE BEST SIGNING YET TO COME SISTER CLEVETTE HARRIS WILL BE AT RAINBOW CHRISTIAN STORE ONCE AGAIN. SO COME ONE COME ALL AND LET HER & THE LORD JESUS TOUCH YOUR L...
Organized by Clevette Harris | Type: BOOK, SIGNING
Meet The Author
August 23, 2008 at 1pm – Berean Book Store Cincinnati Ohio Smiley Avenue
Author Holly Spence will be featured August 23, 2008 at Berean Stores Cincinnati Location
Organized by Holly Spence | Type: Book, Signing
BLACK WRITERS FESTIVAL: MEET PUBLISHER/WRITER RENE REYES AND HER PUBLISHED AUTHORS!
August 24, 2008 at 6pm – Los Angeles
Sweet Verse Publisher/Author Rene Reyes will be in attendance at the Black Writers Festival in Los Angeles October 4, 2008! Sweet Verse Published authors that will also be in attendance with Rene R...
Organized by Black Write Fest | Type: WRITERS, CONFERENCE, AUTHORS, POETS
It's About Your Business Interviews Website Makeover Trainer C.F. Jackson
August 27, 2008 at 6:30pm – http://www.itsaboutyourbusiness.com/
Host Julius Koonce of It’s About Your Business! interviews author and website makever trainer C.F. Jackson. Ms. Jackson will be definitely offering valuable and applicable strategies for any autho...
Organized by C.F. Jackson | Type: Television, Interview
Queens Book Fair 2008 Announces Early Author Sign up and registration
August 30, 2008 at 12pm – Queens, New York
Queens, New York - Queens Book Fair announces early author sign up and registration for 2008 Queens Book Fair. Due to increasing demand for the 2008 Queens Book Fair Committee opening up Early Aut...
Organized by Phil Andrews | Type: Book, Fair
Queens Book and Health Fair
August 30, 2008 from 12pm to 7pm – Queens, New York
The 2008 Queens Book Fair is anticipated to attract hundreds of people to NYC, and Piper and Rogers were counting on the event to introduce some writers to a bigger audience than they've ever enjoy...
Organized by C & B Book Distribution | Type: Book, &, Health, Fair
Rene Reyes to host: ERYK MOORE UNPLUGGED!
August 31, 2008 from 8pm to 11pm – PAPA WEST
Poohmafella Recording Artist Eryk Moore will appear in his own feature in Southern California "ERYK MOORE UNPLUGGED" Special guest performance by Neo Soul Singer Gina Green. Hosted by Rene Reyes at...
Organized by Rene Reyes | Type: SPOKEN, WORD, RELEASE, PARTY, NEO, SOUL, POETRY
The Truth About Being Black In America ^ What CNN Didn't Talk About
September 3, 2008 at 8:30pm – Red Crescent & Star World Studio
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE “The Truth about being Black in America, What CNN did not talk about” This show will speak on topics that many so-called Afro-American leaders will not touch; as the topic ...
Organized by Chief Minister Dr. Ra Saadi El/Imam Rasul Hasan Bey | Type: Internet, Talk, Show:, The, Truth, About, Being, Black, In, America

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Groups

Chicago Authors (19 members)
Midwestern Network (14 members)

New York City Connections [Five Boros of NY] (8 members)
Biographers & Historians (2 members)

You Never Forget Your First Time (24 members)
Graphic Designers (21 members)

Screen & Cinema (19 members)
Erotica Writers Group (17 members)

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RSS

Penguin's Fiction Mash-up is Setting the Pace

We Tell Stories, Penguin UK's digital fiction website is clearing the road for the new wave in publishing. Their use of multiple webware to tell six stories by six authors in six weeks is just a taste of the potential of internet publishing.

A favorite Shakespeare quote "What's past is prologue" is the theme here at 22nd Century Press. Publishers large and small alike must grasp technology for the readers' and author's sake. Using different web 2.0 utilities to present these six stories is a step in a direction all publishers should take.

Photos are courtesy of Flickr members, 21 Steps places you in a Google map, the storyline to Slice can be followed on Twitter, Fairy Tales allows the reader to participate in the tale with an interactive website, Your Place and Mine is a real-time blog, Hard Times takes the form of an online Flash presentation, and The (Former) General let's the reader navigate and change the direction of the story.

All of these are innovative, creative approaches to storytelling. It is what is needed to garner the attention of todays' readers. What really is exciting is that given the democracy of the web, any small publisher can utilize current technologies to move with Penguin and other creative publishing houses into the 22nd century.

We Tell Stories - http://wetellstories.co.uk/stories/

ForeWord Publishing Insider: Why aren't there more nonfiction graphic novels?

“Graphic novel” is a weak name. For one thing, it sounds like smut. (“Man, that novel was so…so graphic!”) Besides, it implies that a book-length comic book must be fiction.

And that’s a rotten shame, because nonfiction graphic novels have a huge potential readership. The Zogby polling group just released a new survey on books and reading. It found that the most popular genres after general fiction are nonfiction: history, current events / politics / international affairs, biographies, and religion / philosophy. Library Journal’s 2008 book-buying survey says that the books with the highest circulation are in the medicine/health category. An Associated Press / Ipsos poll says that the most-read books in 2007 were the Bible and other religious works; history and biography were popular, too. Nonfiction sells.

So why does nonfiction account for only two percent of all graphic novels?"

Continued: Why aren't there more nonfiction graphic novels?

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Posted by: David Seidman

ForeWord Publishing Insider
Industry leaders highlight current trends and the latest headlines

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Articles

Call for EZine Writers & Artists

Attention All Writers !!! Spoken Like A Queen will be back in September and is looking for writers. Spoken like a Queen is being created as an e-zine geared towards women and focusing on issues of...

Tagged: writers, artists, ezine

Started by Black Author Showcase in Publishing News, Jobs, and Gossip Aug 17.

KRS-One Creates Hip Hop Imprint

Rapper Sets Up Imprint Rapper KRS-One is creating an I Am Hip Hop imprint with powerHouse Books that will launch in spring 2009 with his own THE TEACHA'S GOSPEL OF HIP-HOP, "a 600-page manifesto do...

Tagged: imprint, KRS, hip hop

Started by Diane in Publishing News, Jobs, and Gossip Aug 16.

New Illinois Bookstore - Azizi Books 2 Replies

Kevin Roberts and daughter Maia Roberts launched blackbooksdirect.com as an online African-American bookstore a few years ago The new offline bookstore, Azizi Books is in Lincoln Mall, Matteson, IL...

Tagged: bookstore, Azizi, authors, writers, African

Started by Diane in Publishing News, Jobs, and Gossip. Last reply by Maia Roberts Aug 18.

Bookstore Rebounds after Hurricane

The Afro-American Book Stop in New Orleans has re-opened in a new 1,500-square-foot space. The previous store was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The grand reopening coincided with the Esse...

Started by Diane in Publishing News, Jobs, and Gossip Aug 16.

More DC Bookstore Blues - Olsson's Faces Bankruptcy 1 Reply

As reported in the Washington Post last June, creditors including Random House, Penguin and Hachette Book Group petitioned a bankruptcy court to liquidate Washington, DC independent store group Ols...

Started by Diane in Publishing News, Jobs, and Gossip. Last reply by Charles Chatmon Aug 17.

Blog Posts

Unprofessionalism: Why Black Americans Fail to Prosper

Self-publishing has taken me on a incredible journey full of new people, places, and experiences. I found support from unexpected places, and this has done my heart good. On the other hand, I am continually stunned by the lack of professionalism of our people. I don't want my comments to turn into yet another racist diatribe against Black people which merely blames the victim. I know that our lack of professionalism stems in most part from internalized racism. Yet, there comes a time in every pe… Continue

Posted by Marcia L. McNair on August 17th, 2008 at 9:44am — 13 Comments (Add)

Excerpts from "It was never about a hot dog and a Coke!"

Chapter 9 Mr. Pearson received several calls on the morning of August 27, 1960 about very suspicious and unsettling activities in Hemming Park. He contacted Arnett Girardeau and Ulysses Beatty and asked them to ride with him downtown to Hemming Park. “As we approached Hemming Park,” Girardeau recalled, “we saw several white men wearing Confederate uniforms. Other whites walked around Hemming Park carrying ax handles with Confederate battle flags taped to them. A sign taped to a delivery-type va… Continue

Posted by Rodney L. Hurst, Sr. on August 16th, 2008 at 1:00pm — No Comments (Add)

Great Way to Cap Off Three Weeks of Travel . . .

My fave pic of newlywed BAS member Travis playing in traffic with his happy bride (my beautiful niece!). Pics were taken in Charlotte, NC by another BAS member (graphic artist)… Continue

Posted by Diane on August 16th, 2008 at 11:30am — 1 Comment (Add)

Pre-Workshop Jitters...

So, it's the night before the Life Lessons Writing Workshop in Baltimore, and I'm asking myself what did I get myself into. LOL I'm volunteering 10 weeks of my life (time which I can't really afford right now) to a project that I'm not even sure if the participants in the substance abuse program will receive positively. I do feel encouraged that I had the opportunity to meet up with a few participants earlier today who seemed really excited but I am a little leary of the fact that they have to g… Continue

Posted by Lynn Pinder on August 14th, 2008 at 6:44pm — 2 Comments (Add)

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Black Author Showcase Members Netcast

The last Member Call was July 30th. We had a rousing members discussion featuring tips on promotions and marketing. Several members described their books and their journey through the promotion phase of publishing. Click on the blue rectangle below to listen now.

Writer, Performer & Publisher Marcia McNair is the July Member of the Month. E-Males and the co-Author of Diary of a Mad Black Feminist.
http://blackauthors.ning.com/profile/MarciaLMcNair
http://ayapressbooks.com

Book Giveaway Questions:
Win a book featured on previous Member calls. The first winning answer sent to: info@blackauthorshowcase.com wins. The questions will remain posted until we have a winner for each question (winners' names will be posted below the question). YOU CAN STILL WIN!

1) Name a group created by BAS' first member of the month Corey Burkes, and win his latest thrilling novel Butta and the Tower of Bling.
WINNER: Cathy Snoggles with the answer: Audio Books and Podcasting

2) Name the author of the quote that influenced Ananda Kiamsha Madelyn Leeke's book title (Hint - Raisin in the Sun) and win a copy of Love's Troubadors.
No winner yet.

3) Name the African American author that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2004 and win the Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni.
WINNER: Celeste Brooks with the answer: Edward P. Jones is the African American who won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize in fiction for is debut novel The Known World.

4) BONUS BOOK QUESTION! Name two printed anthologies in which member Horror/Erotica author Anthony Beal has been published and win a copy of Nalo Hopkinson's speculative fiction novel The Salt Roads.
No winner yet.

You can listen to all of our previously recorded Member calls now.
Click below to go right to the call online.

Listen to the Black Author Showcase Poetry Spotlight Call

MEMBERS - Please click this link to listen and rate the show!

The theme was Love and Relationships.
Thank you all for tuning into last night's show. Samiyyah and I had a great time listening to your wonderful pieces as well as sharing and discussing the meaning of, "Love." Last night's show definitely revealed the many forms of love that humans share not only amongst each other but amongst self and other living creatures.

Thanks again and we hope to hear from you on the next show!

Episode Notes: Hosted by Tahanee and Samiyyah CLICK HERE TO LISTEN AND CHAT ON YOUR COMPUTER.

The Poetry Netcast will be held once a month and will be recorded and available on this site, Talkshoe, and on iTunes. The Poetry Spotlight shines the light on member works the second Wednesday of every month. Discussions writing, publishing, performing, and promoting poetry. if our members write it, we will showcase it here. Please tell us what you think will make the show exciting and please rate the show on the Talkshoe site.

Email ideas and suggestions to: ThePoetryproject@BlackAuthorShowcase.com