New African American Books: New
July 31, 2010
The Cure
by Antoine Maurice Devine
BluQuill Publishing, LLC
Available September 30, 2009 in Hardcover
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Carol Anderson and Thomas Christian, clinical trial examiners performing a routine follow-up investigation, quickly find themselves embroiled in a series of murders linked to the cover-up of one of man’s greatest discoveries – a cure for breast cancer. The former lovers race across North America in pursuit of the records that contain the formula, chased by mercenaries employed by the ruthless CEO of a leading pharmaceutical company. They learn there is more going on behind the “Quest for a Cure” campaigns than they could ever imagine, while struggling to stay one step ahead of the killers who will stop at nothing to keep the formula from the public.
Based upon an actual event in the field of breast cancer research, The Cure weaves the history of the industry into an international action thriller.
Apple now offers The Cure! Just download the free iBooks app, and you’re ready to add the The Cure to your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch library.
Download The Cure with iBooks
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Author Antoine Maurice Devine
July 14, 2010
Color Me Grey (Zane Presents)
by Michelle J Robinson
Strebor Books
Available June 1, 2010 in Paperback
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TWIN BABIES, ONE BLACK MOTHER, TWO FATHERS – ONE OF THEM BLACK, THE OTHER WHITE. Beautiful mahogany-skinned Bridget Grey finds herself locked in a vicious nightmare. Raped by her husband’s white, influential boss and reluctant to tell her husband for fear that it will kill his career, Bridget hides her horrible secret, until she gives birth to twins, a girl named Jasmine; dark-skinned with dark hair and eyes and blonde-haired, blue-eyed Jacob. Bridget makes excuses for the obvious difference between the twins, until her African-American husband, Stephen Douglas, demands DNA testing. When the DNA test proves that the twins indeed have two different fathers, the result of a rare occurrence called “Heteropaternal Superfecundation” (the fertilization of two or more eggs by different males during the same time period), Bridget finds herself fighting two custody battles – one with her husband and the other with her husband’s rich and powerful boss.
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Author michellejaninerobinson
July 7, 2010
Title: Atlanta Black Book Expo
Location: Atlanta
Link out: www.abbexpo.com
Description: The Atlanta Black Book Expo (ABBE) will launch its first-ever literary showcase on Saturday, August 7, 2010 at the Georgia International Convention Center located in College Park. The event will provide a venue for up-and-coming literary professionals such as authors, playwrights, poets, publishers, and booksellers to promote their creative works.
The expo will also focus on encouraging youth to read more often featuring the student theme: “Going Back to School Strong.” ABBE organizers have partnered with the Ludacris Foundation to create a school supply give-a-way promotion. Established by recording star and actor, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, the foundation supports grassroots organizations that work to help youth and will donate school supplies to provide to needy students during the expo.
“Our goal is to a create a viable source of support to the many talented, yet little known writers and other literary professionals who don\’t have access to mainstream media, publishing, or major distribution,” said Kelly Johnson, ABBE founder. “We also want to promote literacy among school students and expose them to the wonders of reading because they are our authors of tomorrow. And we are especially thankful to our partners like the Ludacris Foundation for helping us in this effort.”
The ABBE will also feature a host of fun entertainment and activities including a Spoken Word/Poetry Slam; raffle prizes, and a live radio broadcast. Arts and crafts vendors are also encouraged to participate. The expo will begin at 11:00 a.m.
General event information including author and exhibitor details is available at www.abbexpo.com.
Interested participants should call 404-824-0128 or email info@abbexpo.com.
For inquires regarding sponsorship opportunities please contact: 678-643-4925 or email Kelly@abbexpo.com.
June 22, 2010
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact Malik Shakur at
malik@independentcreativeartists.com
info@damngoodman.com
310-694-4196 / 323-758-1337
LOS ANGELES—Actor and television shopping host Dale Madison was one year old when Berry Gordy formed Motown records. As Motown celebrates 50 years of music-making history, Madison creates a tribute to the music he calls “the soundtrack of his life.” Motown legend and original member of the Supremes Mary Wilson says, “Dreamboy is truly a Dream Come True. You have written a memoir that not only every gay man should read but every person should read.”Ms. Wilson is referring to “DREAMBOY: My Life as a QVC Host and Other Greatest Hits” written by Dale Madison.
As a kid growing up on the gritty streets of Baltimore, Dale Madison idolized the glitz and glamour that the Supremes personified for an era in American music history. So it seemed natural for Madison to shape his memoir as an homage to the group, and in particular to the 1984 Mary Wilson book, “DREAMGIRL: My Life as a Supreme.”
“I had such an emotional attachment to the incredible cultural success of the Supremes in the 1960s” Madison says. “At different points in my life I felt as if I were each one of the Supremes. I can’t tell you how many times my mother caught me singing like Diana Ross whenever I got an ‘A’ on an assignment from school.”
The book explores with candor and charm his Baltimore childhood, his straight and gay relationships, his varied careers, his turbulent four years as a shopping channel host at QVC, and his current work as a bit player in Hollywood movies.
Diva Supreme Mary Wilson says, “We were just doing what we enjoyed doing and hoped that people liked it. I really do appreciate your admiration of us.” and you’ll agree when you read this anthology of greatest hits by Dale Madison.
In an unexpected twist, Madison’s short film of the same name succeeded before the release of the book it was intended to promote. The film “DREAMBOY …” earned four nominations at February’s 2008 San Diego Black Film Festival and won the LGBT film award
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June 16, 2010
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“Hot Box” is a baseball drill that can be played with three or more players and two to four bases. The players take turns being fielders and runners, ultimately trying to tag the rest of the players out. In The Hot Box, best friends Milena and Lydia are playing the game with Jacour, Yosef, Glenn, and Phil. The only problem: the men do not realize that they are playing. Milena lives a sheltered and dismal existence and has not allowed a man to touch her body in eight years . . . until now. Lydia dreams of getting away from small-town America but, until she can make that happen, she is prepared to do whatever it takes to continue to have her bills paid . . . on time. Good sex always does the trick. Two women. Four men. Two love triangles. Reading has never been this hot because, once again, Zane is taking you outside the box.
Atria
Available August 10, 2010 in Hardcover
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June 14, 2010
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Los Angeles is well-known as a temperate paradise with expansive beaches and mountain vistas, a booming luxury housing market, and the home of glamorous Hollywood. During the first half of the twentieth century, Los Angeles was also seen as a mecca for both African Americans and a steady stream of migrants from around the country and the world, transforming Los Angeles into one of the world’s most diverse cities. The city has become a multicultural maze in which many now fear that the political clout of the region’s large black population has been lost. Nonetheless, the dream of a better life lives on for black Angelenos today, despite the harsh social and economic conditions many confront.
Black Los Angeles is the culmination of a groundbreaking research project from the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies at UCLA that presents an in-depth analysis of the historical and contemporary contours of black life in Los Angeles. Based on innovative research, the original essays are multi-disciplinary in approach and comprehensive in scope, connecting the dots between the city’s racial past, present, and future. Through historical and contemporary anecdotes, oral histories, maps, photographs, illustrations, and demographic data, we see that Black Los Angeles is and has always been a space of profound contradictions. Just as Los Angeles has come to symbolize the complexities of the early twenty-first-century city, so too has Black Los Angeles come to embody the complex realities of race in so-called “colorblind” times.
Contributors: Melina Abdullah, Alex Alonso, Dionne Bennett, Joshua Bloom, Edna Bonacich, Scot Brown, Reginald Chapple, Lola Smallwood Cuevas, Andrew Deener, Regina Freer, Jooyoung Lee, Mignon R. Moore, Lanita Morris, Neva Pemberton, Steven C. Pitts, Carrie Petrucci, Gwendelyn Rivera, Paul Robinson, M. Belinda Tucker, Paul Von Blum, Mary Weaver, Sonya Winton, and Nancy Wang Yuen.
NYU Press
Available April 29, 2010 in Paperback
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May 31, 2010
Digging Up Trouble
#6 Amy Hodgepodge series)
by Kim Wayans (Author), Kevin Knotts (Author), Soo Jeong (Illustrator)
Grosset & Dunlap
Available 05/27/10 in Paperback
Amy discovers that a community garden is in desperate need of donations, so she and her friends band together to help. But it’s not long before the friends lose sight of why they are raising money and become overly competitive. Will they save the garden . . . or will their friendships need saving?
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May 23, 2010
Hello Books of Soul Family,
I’m new to the site, but extremely happy to be a part of a family who can relate to our african-american interests.
I am a homeschooling mom of 10 children…but have also found (stolen) time to write. My husband and I have recently decided to self-publish a book that we’ve been “sitting” on for some years now.
Our title is “Color Struck” and we would love to get your feedback on it. You can get a look at the first chapter if you like by visiting my website: www.pamelamtuck.com
All comments are appreciated and welcomed.
Happy Writing,
Pam
May 18, 2010
Title: West Hollywood Book Fair
Location: West Hollywood, CA
Link: http://www.westhollywoodbookfair.org
Description: The City of West Hollywood and LA Weekly present the multiple, award-winning West Hollywood Book Fair that will take place on Sunday, September 26, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at West Hollywood Park, 647 North San Vicente Boulevard in West Hollywood. The West Hollywood Book Fair will feature fifteen stages with author panels, special guests and live performances, 150 exhibitors and writing workshops. The West Hollywood Book Fair is one of Southern California’s largest, most eclectic literary events attracting readers and writers of all ages and interests. This year, the City of West Hollywood is celebrating its 25th Anniversary of Cityhood and the West Hollywood Book Fair will join in the festivities. The City of West Hollywood was incorporated in November 1984.
May 2, 2010
Title: Leimert Park Village Book Fair
Location: Los Angeles
Website: http://www.leimertparkbookfair.com
Description: The Fourth Annual Leimert Park Village Book Fair—the City’s premier showcase for authors, poets and performers—will be held on Saturday, June 26, 2010 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the Vision Theatre Back lot, located at 43rd Street and Degnan Blvd. In collaboration with Eso Won Books, The City of Los Angeles, LA Cultural Affairs Department, and the Leimert Park Village Business Improvement Association, the Leimert Park Village Book Fair has become a cultural tradition that grows in richness and breadth with each passing year.
“We are pleased to welcome back this wonderful literary event,” said Los Angeles City Council member Bernard C. Parks, 8th District. “Each year the Fair continues to bring together great writers in the community, as well as attract some of the nation’s most pre-eminent and highly-regarded authors, poets, and spoken word artists — all for the celebration and love of books and reading. And just like last year — this will be another great opportunity to meet some of your favorite authors as well as discover new ones.”
The 4th Annual Leimert Park Village Book Fair will feature writing workshops, panel discussions, book signings, poetry readings, stage performances, musical entertainment and a variety of activities for children and young adults. Children will especially enjoy storytelling, crafts pavilion, costumed storybook characters, face-painting, book give-aways and more.
Past participants have included California Poet Laureate Al Young; poet/activist/writer Nikki Giovanni; author/chef Bryant Terry; mystery writer Gary Phillips; photographer Howard Bingham; columnist/scholar/author Dr. Anthony Asadullah Samad; author Maryum \”May May\” Ali; author Tananarive Due; novelist/screenwriter Steve Barnes; world-renowned visual artist Synthia Saint James; artist and illustrator Varnette P. Honeywood; as well as names from the entertainment world, including actors-turned-authors Victoria Rowell (“The Young and the Restless”); Hill Harper (“CSI: NY”); Kim Wayans (“In Living Color”); Karyn Parsons (“The Prince of Bel-Air”); Ellia English (“The Jamie Foxx Show”) as well as actor/comedian Kel Michell (“Kenan & Kel”); and actor Lamman Rucker (Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns”); and Nickelodeon’s Devon “Ned” Werkheiser (“Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide”) – to name a few.
Last year, the event attracted more than 3,000 visitors, 100 authors and more than 50 literary exhibitors.
“This great turnout was very impressive, demonstrating clearly the overwhelming interest in and great support for literacy, the literary arts and education in the community,” said LPVBF creator, Cynthia E. Exum. “This year’s program, indeed, promises to be another exciting and engaging event that the community can support.”
Councilman Parks added: “…regardless of your age, literary or cultural interests — the 4th Annual Leimert Park Village Book Fair will have something for everyone.”
Sponsorship and Exhibitor opportunities are available now. For more information on the Fourth Annual Leimert Park Village Book Fair, visit the book fair’s official web site at www.leimertparkbookfair.com or contact 323-730-0628. The Fair is free and open to the public.
