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Thanks to Minny, the bold and loveable character played by Octavia Spencer in The Help, I’m now suspicious of all homemade chocolate pies! Many of us know Ms. Spencer as an amazing actress in movies stemming from A Time to Kill, to her unforgettable role in The Help.  But many of you may not be familiar with her accomplishments as a children’s book author. 

On this 3rd day of February, The Brown Bookshelf proudly highlights the beautiful actress, and now debut author, Octavia Spencer

According to her biography on Biography.Com, Ms. Spencer was born and raised in Alabama, and is the second youngest of seven children.  She graduated from Auburn University where she studied English and Theater Arts.  Ms. Spencer has always loved reading.  She emphasizes her love for literacy, and the inspiration behind her debut novel, NINJA DETECTIVES, in this YouTube clip:

Reviews have been extremely favorable for NINJA DETECTIVES:

Kirkus review

A quick read about a girl sleuth whose fiery determination will leave readers wanting Book 2.

Publisher’s Weekly

Academy Award–winning actor Spencer debuts with an assured, entertaining whodunit that launches the Randi Rhodes, Ninja Detective series.

Thank you, Ms. Spencer, for your contribution to the world of children’s books.

Photo of Ms. Spencer courtesy of Blog.Chron.com

* The Journey
I grew up as an only child. So, books were more than just a source of entertainment, they became my companions. Before learning to read, I would climb into a loved one’s lap while they read to me and I’d become part of the story. I often requested to hear the story over and over again, until I could recite it back page by page. That was my version of “reading” a book. (Reading the pictures is what my family called it.). Some of my favorite books as a child were the Little Golden Books and books by Richard Scarry. As I became older, I read almost anything I could get my hands on. I just loved a good story. Fortunately for me, my grandfather was the master storyteller in our family. For years, I thought Bruh Rabbit, Bruh Bear, and Bruh Fox were his characters. Although I found out otherwise, I’m persuaded to believe the stories he told about them were original. As my cousins and I sat around his feet, my grandfather exploded into eye-popping, jaw-dropping stories. He turned storytelling into a performance. I often tried to imitate his technique by recording myself telling made-up, silly stories and using different voices for my characters. When I played those recordings back for my family, I was thrilled to see my grandfather and father bent over with laughter. That was confirmation that I too would be added to the list of family storytellers.

My writing journey actually began with a poetry contest in elementary school. I submitted a poem about my grandmother and won first place. I was convinced from that point that I was a poet. That experience taught me that I could win contests for my writing. So, poetry coupled with storytelling predetermined my life as a writer. Throughout my school years, I ventured into writing short stories and plays that received recognition from my teachers, friends and local newspapers. The encouragement from my family and community were the biggest influences on my writing.

As an adult, I found serenity in pouring my feelings out on paper. I often used poetry or inspirational compositions as encouragement for myself or gifts for close friends and family members. Once I became a mother, I enjoyed watching my children’s faces as they sat around my dad’s feet and listened to his eye-popping, jaw-dropping stories. It was a night of storytelling that prompted my interest in writing for children.

* The Back Story
My husband, Joel, has always been a positive force in supporting my writing. Together, we read many books on writing and publishing books for children. During our research, we found out about the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). We attended our first SCBWI conference in June 2007, and that’s when I learned the “rules” of writing for the mainstream market.

I was excited about all the valuable information I received from the authors, agents and editors, but I left the conference feeling discouraged. I felt that my lifestyle as a wife and mother of 8 children (at that time), did not fit the writing regimen of other authors. My husband served as the kindling to my inner writing fire. He assured me that I was a writer and I didn’t have to follow someone else’s schedule. He found out about the New Voices Award offered by Lee & Low Books, and urged me to write my dad’s story of desegregating the public school system in the 1960s. I was reluctant at first, but I decided to read several of Lee & Low’s titles to get a feel of what they were looking for. I eventually took my husband’s advice and submitted my manuscript in September 2007. In December 2007, I received a call from one of the editors telling me I had won the award!

I’m thankful to have my dad’s story honored with the Lee & Low Books New Voices Award, and the fabulous illustrations of award-winning illustrator, Eric Velasquez, which vividly capture the “spirit” of my family’s pride and determination. The publication of As Fast As Words Could Fly does more than serve as a long-overdue recognition of my dad’s accomplishments, it includes his story where it belongs: in African American history.

* The Inspiration

I admire the work of several authors, but I think the one who inspired me the most at the start of my children’s book writing journey, is Mildred D. Taylor. I remember when I first discovered Ms. Taylor’s work. I had visited my local library to get books for my children and I noticed a poster of Newbery Award titles. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry seemed to have beckoned me to come closer. I checked out the book and was immediately drawn to the Logan family. Ms. Taylor’s family reminded me so much of my own. I was captivated by her dynamic writing style and her boldness in laying bare the realities of the time period she wrote about.

Ms. Taylor’s books inspired me to draw from my family’s stories of pride, oppositions, and triumph, as civil rights activists. Many of my friends and I learned about African American history in school, and we were exposed to the famous civil rights icons, but very few of us realized how many local unsung heroes walked those integrated hallways before us. That was all the more reason to write about my dad’s courage to take a stand against injustice by using his typing talent to help break racial barriers.

* The Process:

I get a lot of my story ideas from life experiences, so in most cases, the story is already there. I just have to piece it together with “creative” glue. I try to find a plot point to work around and focus on developing it. I don’t formally outline my stories, but I create a mental or brief written outline that I use as a guide. If possible, I conduct interviews to find out the emotions surrounding the event, along with the dialogue for the time period. I do research to make sure I’m historically correct and accurate with my details, dialect and setting. By the time I’m finished with my interviewing, asking “what if” questions, and researching, I’m ready to write if I feel as if I can “walk” in my characters’ shoes.

My ideas flow more freely when I’m typing rather than writing them down on paper, and I require complete silence. That’s a lot to ask of a family of 13, so I generally isolate myself in my bedroom, send my children to a different part of the house, and give my husband the warning not to talk to me until I’m done (unless we’re writing together). Once everyone complies with my rules, I commence unto typing my first draft on my computer. When I’m done, I read out loud to test the flow of my sentences and how natural my dialogue sounds. I edit questionable spots and then I “sound the trumpet” for my audience. I enjoy bouncing ideas off my family, friends and fellow writers for their helpful critiques. I like to let my manuscript rest for a while before I work on it again so I can read it with “fresh eyes”. My next round of edits includes concentrating on more questionable spots, word economy, grammar, and checking the flow of events and details.

I’m grateful to my family for understanding my writing antics, and giving me the space and silence I need; in addition to being there as cheerleaders, making a lot of noise, for my writing successes.

* The Buzz

2013 Book Lists:
As Fast As Words Could Fly was selected as one of the Diverse and Impressive Picture Books for 2013 by IRA Reading Today Online.

Conversations Book Club also selected As Fast As Words Could Fly as one of the Top 10 Literary Finds with Young Readers in Mind for 2013.

Reviews:

- School Library Journal

“This well-crafted tale would be an excellent complement to overviews of the Civil Rights Movement.”

- Booklist

“Told from a personal viewpoint and appended with a powerful author’s note, this is a story to share across generations.”

- Publisher’s Weekly

“Tuck lays bare the challenges that faced Mason and black students like him, but she also tempers the story’s cold realities with moments of hope, echoed by the pride and determination visible in scenes of Mason and his family.”

- Kirkus

“A warm. . . title about the struggle for equality.”

Find out more about Pamela M. Tuck at http://www.pamelamtuck.com

‘There’s no place like home’ could not be truer for author, Jaime Reed. After studying art at Virginia Commonwealth, and living three soul-searching years in New York City, Jaime returned to the place where she spent her childhood in Virginia, and rekindled her love for writing.  Now, as the amazing author of the series, The Cambion Chronicles, it is with great honor that The Brown Bookshelf celebrates Day 28 with a spotlight on YA author, Jaime Reed.

Tell us about “The Journey”

I went into the writing world blind, deaf and dumb. I just thought of a cool story that’s been in my head for a while and wrote it down.

As a kid, most of the teen books I read had a lead character and I would place myself into the story and into their shoes. It’s a difficult thing to do when NONE of the characters come from my background or look like me. It shares a startling parallel to black children who only played with white dolls because that was all that was available at the time.

This problem unfortunately leaks into literature. Authors are reluctant to write characters of color in their stories out of fear that having a minority lead will weaken sales. As a result Caucasian females dominate the bookshelves in every major bookstore in America. As most great ideas go, it begins with a very simple question: why?

I felt it was my duty as a writer to even the playing field a bit. So I wrote LIVING VIOLET with a biracial girl as the main character. She balances two worlds and meets a boy who deals with a similar juggling act, but on a different scale. I thought it would fit well with the story, but ethnicity should never dominate a plot.

When I finished the manuscript, I let a few friends read it and they thought it was good enough to publish. So I went to the web and researched, researched and researched for an agent who represented YA fantasy with multicultural characters. Then when I found Kathleen Ortiz (my agent) she loved it. It was a bumpy ride after that–creative differences and schedules–but I have no regrets. I’m still learning the ins and outs of the industry and Kathleen is a godsend.

What or Who is your Inspiration?

I’ve always enjoyed teen fiction and I find myself reading more of it now than when I was an actual teen. I’m a big fan of John Green and Libba Bray. They have a talent for getting into the heart of the teen psyche, which I like to incorporate into my own writing. I look for truth in writing, not pretty words and hot love interests. Though I write fantasy, I want the emotion and the surroundings as realistic as possible.

Can you fill us in on the Back Story?

It started out with just the one story, LIVING VIOLET. I went in thinking it would be a stand-alone story, but as I kept writing I knew there was more in store for my characters, more twists, more conflicts, more adventures. When I was signed with Kensington, they agreed to a 3-book deal. Thus BURNING EMERALD and FADING AMBER were born.

The Buzz

The Cambion Chronicles have received great reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. Kirkus Review, (one of the toughest book reviews out there) gave positive acclaim on the follow-up stories, BURNING EMERALD and FADING AMBER. I even have a Tumblr fanpage shipping the two main characters, which I find more exciting than any awards. It’s by fans, for fans who have grown attached to the characters I created. Awesome. The Cambion Chronicles has also been translated into German and Slavic for publication in Europe.

In your opinion, what is the state of the Industry?

I think the industry has made a lot of progress as far as publishing, but there is still a ways to go to integrate lead characters of color into the mainstream. Thankfully, I found a publisher (KTeen/Kensington) who specialize in minority literature. I didn’t have to deal with the hiccups in the industry, like proper shelving in the bookstore or “whitewashing” cover designs.

 To be fair, the industry is in a really tight spot that even they find frustrating. There hasn’t been a heavy demand for people of color, and the industry will only supply what’s selling. Once publishers see that there is a growing interest to have minorities in stories, they will request more to agents. But there are a few stories that slip through the cracks that cross cultural lines into the mainstream, and hopefully that will boost the interest and help other authors get their foot in the door.

Combining her talents as an editor, journalist, and photographer,
Linda Tarrant-Reid created one of the most powerful compilations of African
American History with Discovering Black America.  Her experience includes being managing editor of The Million Man March, contributor and researcher of The Family of Black America, co-editor of Black Star Power: BET Celebrating 20 years and the author of Discovering Black New York.

It is with great honor that we spotlight Linda Tarrant-Reid on Day 24 of our 28 Days Later Program.

Tell Us About ”The Journey.”

I was recruited into the Doubleday Editorial Trainee Program directly from the campus of Hampton Institute, the historically black college in Hampton, VA, in the early 1970s.  As an English Major, with a deep interest in African American history, working at a publishing house was intriguing.  I knew a little bit about the industry, so I jumped at the opportunity.  After interning in various departments including Books for Young Readers, Trade, Sci-Fi, Anchor Books (academic paperbacks) and the Unsolicited Manuscript Department, I landed, with the help of my Editor/Mentor, in the Trade Division working on bestselling books.

Eventually, I made my way back to Anchor Books, where I became the assistant to Marie D. Brown, the renowned editor and now literary agent.  While in Anchor, we edited the Zenith Series – books for young readers on African American history and culture – as well as major non-fiction books by major authors of the Black Arts Movement.  It was a heady time and I learned everything one needed to know about the book making process – from nursing accepted manuscripts through production to published books to the marketing/promotion and bookstore placement of the final products.

After Doubleday, I took a position at ABC-TV in Prime Time Development, still working with books but this time for adaptation to the small screen. I was there when Alex Haley’s “Roots” was made into a mini-series.  Following my stint at ABC, I freelanced several literary projects as Managing Editor, including The Million Man March, The Family of Black America and Black Star Power: BET Celebrating 20 Years.  I finally decided it was time to write my own book and wrote Discovering Black New York:  A Guide to the City’s Most Important African American Landmarks, Restaurants, Museums, Historical Sites, and More.  It received modest notice from reviewers and I was on my way.

What or Who was Your Inspiration?

I am relatively new to this generation of children’s book publishing but I have been inspired by the work of Tonya Bolden, the author of many award-winning books including Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl and M.L.K.: Journey of a King, who writes lyrical passages that make history come alive!  As for illustrators, I think Eric Velasquez is a phenomenal talent with his realistic renderings of real people.  It adds another dimension to the written word for young readers to see everyday people being portrayed on the pages of their books.  And of course, Kadir Nelson, I love his work and now his words!

Can You Fill Us In on The Back Story?

I was introduced to my current publisher via email by a friend.  I sent a very short pitch email describing my concept and was invited in for a meeting.  I do not have an agent, so when I was offered a deal I negotiated it myself.

The Buzz

Discovering Black America, which was published in September 2012, has received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and PW, as well as praise from School Library Journal, Booklist and Library Media Connection which ‘highly recommended’ the book.  DBA was also selected by Kirkus as among the “Best Children’s Books of 2012” and by NPR as one of the “Best ‘Backseat’ Reads of 2012.”  DBA also made Essence magazine’s Holiday Shopping & Web Guide in the December 2012 issue. 

And recently, Discovering Black America was selected for Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young  People 2013 list, a cooperative project of the National Council for the  Social Studies (NCSS) and the Children’s Book Council.

I have also been interviewed by reporter Tracie Strahan on WNBC-TV’s “Positively Black,” for the “Urban Agenda” show on KMOJ-FM, the oldest Black-owned radio station in Minnesota, and “Harlem 411” on WHCR-FM, Harlem Community Radio which is broadcast from City College of New York.

Various organizations have hosted book events including the historic ThomasPaineCottageMuseum where Academy Award-nominated actress Ruby Dee read from DBA.

In Your Opinion, What is the State of the Industry?

I just read this informative article in PW on “The State of African-American Publishing” and basically nothing is new under the sun.  It is still a struggle for African American writers to gain access to the halls of traditional publishers, especially with the consolidation of publishing companies morphing into giant media conglomerates and the rise of the “Big Six” Book Publishers – the Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Group, Random House and Simon & Schuster.  Options for writers wanting to pursue a traditional path are limited and with the potential merger between Random House and Penguin, options are really limited.  So, many with a story to tell have taken to self-publishing which is what the 21^st century is all about, doing it yourself!  So, I salute all of the ingenious writers and authors who have put their work out there.

I do feel that children’s book publishing has also felt the impact, but it seems that there is a market, which we need to expand, for books on the African American experience and the African Diaspora.  With school districts across the United States adopting the Common Core Curriculum, there will be a need for books that speak to foundational history with research, primary sources and resources that will add to the students’ educational experience in a holistic way.

For more info about Discovering Black America visit: www.facebook.com/discoveringblackamerica

From her bio at Simon & Schuster: Nalo Hopkinson is the award-winning author of numerous novels and short stories for adults. She was born in Jamaica, and lived in Trinidad and Guyana before moving to Canada at sixteen.

Her novels, such as Brown Girl in the Ring and The Salt Roads, and other writing often draw on Caribbean history, culture, and language. Ms. Hopkinson is one of the founding members of the Carl Brandon Society, an organization that helps “build further awareness of race and ethnicity in speculative literature and related fields.”

The first chapter of The Chaos, her forthcoming young adult novel, can be read online. From the book description:

“Sixteen-year-old Scotch struggles to fit in—at home she’s the perfect daughter, at school she’s provocatively sassy, and thanks to her mixed heritage, she doesn’t feel she belongs with the Caribbeans, whites, or blacks. And even more troubling, lately her skin is becoming covered in a sticky black substance that can’t be removed. While trying to cope with this creepiness, she goes out with her brother—and he disappears. A mysterious bubble of light just swallows him up, and Scotch has no idea how to find him. Soon, the Chaos that has claimed her brother affects the city at large, until it seems like everyone is turning into crazy creatures. Scotch needs to get to the bottom of this supernatural situation ASAP before the Chaos consumes everything she’s ever known—and she knows that the black shadowy entity that’s begun trailing her every move is probably not going to help.

For her adult work, Hopkinson has received Honourable Mention in Cuba’s “Casa de las Americas” literary prize. She is a recipient of the Warner Aspect First Novel Award, the Ontario Arts Council Foundation Award for emerging writers, the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, the Locus Award for Best New Writer, the World Fantasy Award, the Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, the Aurora Award, and the Gaylactic Spectrum Award.

The Chaos must be characterized by the same literary excellence, as it has received the following reviews already:

“Noted for her fantasy and science fiction for adults, Hopkinson jumps triumphantly to teen literature. . . . Rich in voice, humor and dazzling imagery, studded with edgy ideas and wildly original, this multicultural mashup—like its heroine—defies category.”–Kirkus Reviews, *STARRED

For more about Ms. Hopkinson, visit her online.

Sultans, magic, Sinbad and sorcerers!  Who can resist?  With a perfect title, THE BOOK OF WONDERS, readers will find everything they could want in this mystical, fantasy debut by Jasmine Richards.  The Brown Bookshelf is honored to present her in our spotlight on Day 18 of the 28 Days Later Program.

Jasmine Richards was born in London, grew up in a library, and was the first in her family to go to a university. After graduating from Oxford, and following a brief stint at New Scotland Yard, Jasmine chose a career in publishing over being the next Sherlock Holmes. Today she’s a senior editor at a leading British publishing house. She now lives in Oxfordshire with her husband in an old wool mill.

Tell Us about The Journey

I suppose my journey to being published started with my love of reading. Stories undoubtedly shaped me into the person I am today.  They raised my aspirations, broadened my horizons and gave me the gift of imagination. Because stories have always been so important to me I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that I love telling them as much as I love reading them.

Even as a child, I always knew that I wanted to write a book one day and the idea for my debut novel came from a collection of stories that I read in my childhood called 1001 Nights.

Also called Arabian Nights, this collection of tales feature the famous stories of Sinbad, Aladdin and his magic lamp as well as tales like Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

 As a kid, it always irked me that by the end of 1001 Nights the sultan, who has been busily beheading his wives with impunity gets a happy ending. That didn’t seem fair to me. I wondered whether there might be a different version of this story and that was when the idea for the Book  Wonders was sown.

Who or What is your Inspiration?

I am a huge fan of Roald Dahl’s writing. The Witches, Matilda, The Twits . . . I love them all. Roald Dahl never talks down to children, and he doesn’t pretend that the world is always a nice place. I think it is that honesty that I connected with as a child and which I would like to convey in my own books.
I also greatly admire Phillip Pullman. I absolutely devoured his Sally Lockheart books as a child and when I was older His Dark Materials trilogy. Like Dahl he doesn’t talk down to children and isn’t afraid to tackle big issues.

What About The Back Story?

I live in the UK but I am very lucky to have an amazing agency behind me Stateside called Adams Literary. They sent out The Book of Wonders to a select few publishers and I was delighted when Harper Collins came back and made an offer for my book! A dream come true.

Here’s The Buzz

Trailer

Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Book of Wonders

Jasmine Richards. Harper, $16.99 (416p) ISBN 978-0-06-201007-0

In her skillful debut novel, Richards, an editor of children’s books in the U.K., keeps the novelties coming. The setting is Arribitha, a land with ancient Middle Eastern overtones; the quest is full of danger and magic; and the combative protagonist, known variously as Zardi or Zee, is in fact a 13-year-old Scheherazade. Zardi is the daughter of a vizier serving a cruel sultan who has forbidden magic throughout his realm, and her best friend is Rhidan, a boy whose silver hair and violet eyes are unlike those of anyone else they know. When Zardi’s sister and father are taken by the sultan to be prey in his hunt, Zardi and Rhidan go chasing rumors of rebels who might be persuaded to help. Their escort is an unwilling Sinbad, a pirate-charlatan whose half-djinni mother sets the children on their path of destiny. It’s a fun action-adventure read, unapologetically two-dimensional, and a good challenge for developing readers, who will find the headlong action a worthwhile incentive to master the vocabulary. Ages 8–12. Agent: Adams Literary. (Jan.)

From Kirkus Reviews

BOOK OF WONDERS

By Jasmine Richards (Author)

Age Range: 8 – 12

Dipping into the deep plot well of Middle Eastern fairy and folk tales, this buoyant debut offers a fresh plot, brisk pacing and engaging characters. Zardi’s 13th birthday celebration is cut short when her sister, Zubeyda, is abducted by the cruel sultan to serve as his praisemaker, an “honor” that in 90 days will end in her death. Zardi (short for Scheherazade) sets off to find the sultan’s enemies and obtain help in rescuing Zubeyda, accompanied by her adopted brother, Rhidan, who is on a quest of his own: tracking down Sinbad the sailor, who has clues to Rhidan’s mysterious heritage. Though not entirely reliable, Sinbad proves an ally, as does his mother, Sula, who defies the sultan’s ban on magic and uses her powers to help Zardi and Rhidan discover their own.

With Sinbad, they head for the Black Isle, home to powerful sorcerers and possibly Rhidan’s birthplace, but fate has other plans for them. These include rocs, a brass giant, trapped djinn and the fearsome Queen of the Serpents in her snake-filled kingdom. Richards deftly borrows from lesser-known tales of the 1001 Arabian Nights to enrich her complex storyline while keeping style and syntax simple and direct. A sprightly, accessible series opener recommended for those ready for a change of venue from standard-issue, middle-grade fantasy.

(Fantasy. 8-12)

Pub Date: Jan. 17th, 2012

ISBN: 978-0-06-201007-0

Page count: 416pp

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

The State of the Industry

Young readers, in fact all readers, want the same thing. Great narratives, characters that you can love and empathize with, vivid settings and a plot that keeps you turning those pages.  

It shouldn’t matter what color the characters are who populate these fictional worlds but surely there should be variety?

 Our planet and the people who live on it our varied, readerships are varied, characters in children’s fiction should be varied! This is what frustrates me about children’s fiction at times. It all feels so homogenous and not representative of the world we live in.   

Also let’s consider this, if you are a child of color and you fail to see people like yourself in novels then there is a danger that you might think you’re not important enough to be described in a book, that maybe you are even invisible . . .

How do we change this state of affairs? Well, I think we need more diversity in the publishing industry at all levels -editorial, marketing and sales. We need more diversity in our booksellers and we need more authors who are keen to write books with characters of color in their narrative landscapes.

No child deserves to be invisible.

“‘So do you really believe that in the future we’re going to have the kind of trouble you write about in your books?’ a student asked me as I was signing books after a talk. The young man was referring to the troubles I’d described in Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents, novels that take place in a near future of increasing drug addiction and illiteracy, marked by the popularity of prisons and the unpopularity of public schools, the vast and growing gap between the rich and everyone else, and the whole nasty family of problems brought on by global warming.

‘I didn’t make up the problems,’ I pointed out. ‘All I did was look around at the problems we’re neglecting now and give them about 30 years to grow into full-fledged disasters.’

‘Okay,’ the young man challenged. ‘So what’s the answer?’

‘There isn’t one,’ I told him.

‘No answer? You mean we’re just doomed?’ He smiled as though he thought this might be a joke.

‘No,’ I said. ‘I mean there’s no single answer that will solve all of our future problems. There’s no magic bullet. Instead there are thousands of answers–at least. You can be one of them if you choose to be.’”

Award-winning, Vanguard Young Adult Author, Octavia E. Butler, penned these words for an article in the May 2000 issue of Essence Magazine (A Few Rules for Predicting the Future). They remain amazingly relevant and poignant today…as does her body of work overall.

*    *    *

THE JOURNEY

Octavia Estelle Butler was born on June 22, 1947 in Pasadena, California to Laurice and Octavia M. Butler. An only child whose father died when she was just a baby, Octavia grew up tall, painfully shy, and dyslexic. She was also creative, a thoughtful reader, and a keen observer of life’s complexities and injustices. Having already written several short stories by the age of 10, Octavia’s first published series of novels was the result of stories she began writing as a youth, after having watched a bad science fiction movie on television and knowing she could create something much better.

After graduating high school in 1965, Octavia worked and attended college simultaneously, taking a variety of writing courses along the way. She also attended writing workshops sponsored by the Writers Guild of America, through which she met acclaimed science fiction writer, Harlan Ellison…through which she was invited to participate in Clarion’s Writers Workshop (in 1970)…through which she received her first publication credit, a story included in an anthology.

Before going to work, Octavia would consistently wake up in the wee hours of the morning to hone her writing skills. In  1976, Doubleday published Patternmaster, the first novel in a five book series often referred to as the Patternist Series. 

In 1979, Octavia wrote Kindred, a novel inspired by the indignities she’d quietly witnessed her mother and countless others experience under the oppression of a racist society, and by the flippancy with which the younger generations seemed to regard the ancestral sacrifices made on their behalf. Kindred would be Octavia’s most successful novel. The books that comprise her Xenogenesis and Earthseed series would also prove to be popular. Besides novels, Octavia wrote award-winning short stories and novellas (like Blood Child), and became the first science-fiction writer to win the MacArthur Foundation’s “Genius Grant” in 1995.

During her career, Octavia also received the Hugo and Nebula awards, the Langston Hughes Medal, and a PEN Lifetime Achievement award. Her last novel, Fledgling, was published in 2005. In February of 2006, at age 58, Octavia Butler died outside of her Seattle home. She remains the “grand dame of science fiction”, having broken through the barriers of a male-dominated field…paving the way for women, African-Americans, and legions of science-fiction writers worldwide.

THE BOOKS

Patternist Series:

“Butler’s acclaimed vision of a world transformed by a secret race of telepaths and the violence, intolerance, and plague that follow their rise to power.”

Kindred

“Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stay grows longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana’s life will end, long before it has a chance to begin.”

Xenogenesis Series:

“Lilith Iyapo is in the Andes, mourning the death of her family, when war destroys Earth. Centuries later, she is resurrected — by miraculously powerful unearthly beings, the Oankali. Driven by an irresistible need to heal others, the Oankali are rescuing our dying planet by merging genetically with mankind. But Lilith and all humanity must now share the world with uncanny, unimaginably alien creatures: their own children. This is their story…”

Earthseed Series:

“Octavia Butler tackles the creation of a new religion, the making of a god, and the ultimate fate of humanity…The saga began with the near-future dystopian tale of Parable of the Sower, in which young Lauren Olamina began to realize her destiny as a leader of people dispossessed and destroyed by the crumbling of society.

“In Parable of the Talents, the seeds of change that Lauren planted begin to bear fruit, but in unpredictable and brutal ways. Her small community is destroyed, her child is kidnapped, and she is imprisoned by sadistic zealots. She must find a way to escape and begin again, without family or friends.”

Fledgling

“Fledgling…is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly unhuman needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: She is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted—and still wants—to destroy her and those she cares for and how she can save herself. Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of “otherness” and questions what it means to be truly human.”

The information in this spotlight was obtained from the sources below. For additional facts, interviews, and commentary on this important literary trailblazer, please visit the following:

OctaviaButler.org

OUP Blog

Essence Article

Seattle PI

My daughter was immediately enchanted by The Diary of B.B. Bright, Possible Princess, big time. From the moment she saw the luminous cover to her nonstop read of the lyrical, lovely tale, she was hooked. And no wonder. This mother-daughter team packs a powerhouse punch.

At Vanderbilt University Alice Randall teaches Bedtime in the Briarpatch: African American Children’s Literature. Briarpatch is an intensive examination of African-American children’s literature from the 17th century to the present. In her course and in her writing Randall is concerned with how African-American children’s literature can be used to reflect and challenge the larger society. Some of the books her students read include: Peeny Butter Fudge, by Toni Morrison and Slade Morrison, Please, Baby, Please, by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lewis, We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, by Kadir Nelson; Stitchin’ and Pullin’: A Gee’s Bend Quilt, by Patricia McKissack; Zeely, The House of Dies Drear, and M.C. Higgins, the Great all by Virginia Hamilton, Monster and All the Right Stuff, both by Walter Dean Myers;
Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, by Mildred D. Taylor, The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 , by Christopher Paul Curtis, Tar Beach Faith Ringgold, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou and Life Doesn’t Frighten Me by Maya Angelou and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Caroline Randall Williams is the great-grand daughter of the man many consider to be the father of African-American children’s literature, Arna Bontemps. Like Bontemps, Williams is poet and a children’s author.

Many thanks to both for their wonderful and wise words (and a fabulous bit of history below!):

A Gift To You

“First, we want to wish all the readers out there a very, very happy Valentine’s Day and an inspiring Black History Month. Because it is Valentine’s week and Black History month we have a cyber Valentine for you made possible by the Library of Congress—a link that will allow you to peruse one of the great treasure troves of Black Kid Lit—The Brownies Book.

Edited by W.E.B. DuBois and Jesse Redmon Fauset , The Brownies’ Book was a
“Monthly Magazine for the Children of the Sun.”According to the cover The Brownies’ Book was “designed for all children but especially for ours. “ We love the Brownies’ book. And we think you’ll love it too. What reader of the Brown Bookshelf wouldn’t love a magazine that states on its cover that “it aims to be a thing of Joy and Beauty, dealing in Happiness, Laughter and Emulation, and designed especially for Kiddies from Six to Sixteen.”

There’s poetry, and short stories, there’s history, and letters. And there are wonderful photographs and drawings. Page after page of brilliance by and for African-American children. Elegant and amusing The Brownie’s Book was a kind New Yorker for children.”

The Journey

Our journey to publishing was a bit circuitous. Though we have a big New York agent for this book, Conrad Rippy, we ultimately chose to publish with a distinguished independent publisher, Turner Books located in our hometown, Nashville.

The Inspiration

Working on the creation of a Black Fairytale Princess, B. B. Bright, we were very, very inspired by The Brownies’ Book which was only published for a year or two starting about January 1920. The Brownies’ Book celebrates the writing of Black children by publishing their letters. That was part of our inspiration to narrate our novel in the forms of letters written into a diary. The Brownies’ Book assumed that the child reader was sophisticated and curious and recognized that adults often peer over the shoulder of the children reading in the house. Like The Brownies’ Book our novel is written for children, and for folks who once were children. Other writers who have influenced us significantly that we love include Virginia Hamilton and Patricia McKissack. Both of these writers bring beauty and grace to the page—are willing to summon a kind of archetypical elegance—and they always tell a good story in a voice that is at once feminine and universal. That’s hard. But they do it and do it well. Creating a girl’s voice that boys would listen to was something we were seeking to do. But we were most strongly committed to writing to empower girls to be their full authentic selves and to know when they are being fully and finally themselves—they are royal. No matter who their parents are or what the situation into which they are born or live.

The Back Story

This story began in a doctor’s office over twenty years ago. Caroline got bored and Alice started telling her a story—about a fairytale princess that looked like young Caroline with beautiful brown skin and brown eyes. Immediately Caroline started changing and adding to the story. Twenty years later we had a book—and a contract for seven more.

The Buzz

We were so excited that The Diary of B.B. Bright, Possible Princess was nominated for a NAACP Image Award; that was a big honor. Making it better we got to sit next to a hero of ours, Christopher Paul Curtis (The Watson’s Go to Birmingham) at the awards! We were also excited that The Diary of B.B. Bright, Possible Princess was nominated for a Cybils Award in MG Fantasy. We’re even more excited that there’s been some talk of turning The Diary of B.B. Bright Possible Princess into a movie. We’ve begun talks with an Oscar nominated producer about optioning the rights.

The State of the Industry

It has always been hard to get African-American children’s books published and hard to get the word out about them once they are published. There are precious few of us working as agents booksellers, editors, publishers, or publicists. And precious few writing and illustrating. But our children read. There is a growing audience that gets larger by the day. Children are profoundly influenced by the books they read and don’t read. This keeps us writing, to close gaps. There are still far too many aspects of ourselves not reflected on published pages.

We take heart from our history from knowing what our foremothers and forefathers endured to get published and read. The history of African-American Children’s literature (something Alice teaches at Vanderbilt) is a history of writers who manage to triumph over obstacles and land in homes and schools, and set up residence in the hearts and heads of children of color.

Many thanks for your amazing work!

Visit Alice Randall online at her Web site.

B. A. Binns is a Chicago Area author who writes stories about “real boys growing into real men,” and finds writing the perfect follow-up to life as an adoptive parent and a cancer survivor.

She has authored three realistic, YA books exploring multicultural themes: PULL (2010), DIE TRYING AND OTHER STORIES (2012) and BEING GOD (2013). She presents workshops on subjects such as Reaching Reluctant Readers, Multicultural literature, and Non-traditional Romances. She has been featured at the Illinois Reading Council, the Wisconsin Festival of Books, the Ohio Educational Library Media Association, the Indiana Library Federation, the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE, DePaul University. In 2013 she will present at the Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Children.  It is with great honor that we present to you, B.A. Binns, on Day 10 of our 28 Days Later Program.

Tell Us About “The Journey.”

The best part about taking any journey is that you always end up somewhere. The nicest part about my journey is that it’s on-going, I still have new destinations before me.

My journey began with a character who moved into my head and refused to leave. She was joined by others, her friends, relatives, and even a few enemies. Suddenly I had more imaginary friends than my elementary school daughter. Friends with their own lives who wanted me to tell their stories.

One character in particular, David Albacore, needed to explain his motives to the world. I combined his need with information from an AWP (Association of Writing Professionals) workshop I attended in 2009, about boys not reading. The result was his story, told from his POV. I found an agent and editor who loved the message and christened the book PULL. Westside Books published David’s story in 2010.

Watch the PULL book trailer:  

What or Who Is Your Inspiration?

Cynthia Liu and I are both Chicagoland girls, and I loved her Paris Pan middle grade book. It was wonderful to meet her and discuss some issues about POC in today’s YA books.

James Klise is another Chicago area author, librarian, and teacher. He and I have met and worked together at several conferences and workshops. This summer we will collaborate on a presentation about attracting male reluctant readers at the American Library Association summer conference (I have come full circle from my AWP days).

Last, but so not least, Torrey Moldanado a Hispanic male YA author I discovered at the 2012 YALSA literature symposium. I immediately became a fan. I was deeply moved hearing him speak about writing to reach out to his own younger reluctant reader self. That remains one of my major motives in writing, to reach out to young reluctant readers and help turn them around.

Can You Fill Us In onThe Back Story?

PULL sold to Westside in 2010 and was rushed into production by November of that year. The response to David’s world inspired other characters and both short stories and new books. BEING GOD takes Malik Kaplan, Pull’s antagonist, on his own journey, because even bad guys have reasons for their actions. And when that “bad guy” is only seventeen, he deserves a shot at redemption. So I take the boy who believes that force is the right response to almost every situation and make him confront a series of disasters that force him to look into a mirror and decide if the man he sees staring back is really the man he wants to be.

The Buzz

PULL was named a 2012 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers, and named to a 2011 School Library Journal list of Best Books For Youth In Detention. PULL has also received wonderful reviews from a number of sources.

A sample of some of the reviews:

This compelling story gives authentic voice to…the long-term consequences of domestic violence, and a maturing teen’s need to differentiate the expectations he has of himself from those even the adults he respects have. …Offers much to engage both male and female readers, readers of color, and teachers. – Booklist

The story is gripping, and the raw language accurately depicts how young adults speak…many young adults will enjoy reading about the many challenges David faces and his unruly wooing of Yolanda. It is the kind of book where once you’ve read the first page, you are hooked. – Voya

Tautly written, gripping and realistic…the story of what we owe our parents’ dreams for us–and what we do not. – Tanita S. Davis, recipient of the 2010 Coretta Scott King Author Honor

The characters’ feelings are realistically portrayed and the raw language is not gratuitous. …this is Binns’ first novel and she is an author who definitely has potential. – School Library Journal

David is never a comfortable character, and he won’t make you feel comfortable (especially if you, like me, wince at the thought of someone not getting an education). And that, I think is what makes this book so raw and powerful. It is simply too easy to believe that David is real. To buy into what is a complex mix of teenage anger and angst and hope and self-hatred and arrogance all at once–and even though those things sound contradictory, when David lets you know how it is, in his short, terse, no-nonsense style, it’s real. – USA Today Bestselling author Courtney Milan

It was beyond refreshing to have a guy male character who is not a “lovable nerd” or a “playa with a soft interior”. David seems to fit in the middle of these two extremes. He’s not a playa, nor is he particularly good at school and he’s surprisingly not hopeless when it comes to girls (it most likely helps that his mother was a good example and that he has two sisters). I was afraid that David would try and play the “noble hero” throughout the novel. He does try it, but he soon realizes that he does resent his sisters. Because of his sisters he can’t keep his paycheck for himself or take The Dare (as Yolanda is known) out on fancy dates along with a host of other things. The noble thing about David is that he acknowledges his resentment, but fights to keep it under control. Pull is a frank story that does not hesitate to talk about sex, swear or even gay relationships (I was grinning from ear to ear when I read a certain scene between Carl and Neill. They were gay and it was no big deal. Yes!). – Ari at Reading in Color blog

My favorite review came from an 8^th grade boy described by his teacher as a “reluctant reader,” who called Pull “better than cable” and asked for MORE. That desire helped inspire me to complete The DIE TRYING collection (2012) and now BEING GOD (2013).

BEING GOD’S first review came from a 17-year-old boy, who said, “The book BEING GOD was really good! I was able to relate to what the main character was going through. This book shows that there is always a way out of trouble, and also how the decisions we make can affect us in the long run. I loved it.”

See my blog: http://harperwriterstogether.blogspot.com/p/pull-reviews.html for a more comprehensive list of reviews.

In Your Opinion, What is The State of the Industry?

Westside wanted to publish more books with diverse characters, but it couldn’t find the right mix and market. The company’s demise in 2012 left me without a home. I made a decision to self-publish BEING GOD, which came out February 1, 2013 under my own imprint, AllTheColorsOfLove. I purchased cover art, hired an editor, used Createspace for printing, and signed a contract with Follett Library Services for distribution of my books. And now I am free to move on to the next book, MINORITY OF ONE, where Neill, a black gay teen, deals with the revelation that he was adopted, has a white half-sister, and that his mother wants to re-enter his life.

I believe the new world of publishing will open avenues to readers in the niche or boutique markets that major publishers may be reluctant to risk entering. I write for people who want diversity in their reading material, and for reluctant teen readers. I realize those groups are still considered niche groups among the major players in the publishing world. While I hope everyone who likes a good read will pick up one of my books, for AllTheColorsOfLove, those “niche” groups are the prime target.

I do not believe books featuring diversity in characters and settings is a limiting area. People just don’t know how many quality multicultural books are out there or where to find them. I speak at a number of librarian and educator conferences. When I do, I always find teachers and librarians who want more diversity in their collections and do not know how to find the right books. I donate books to schools, libraries, and juvenile detention centers to make sure my intended audience find books to instill a love of reading.

For more about B. A. Binns check out her website, http://babinns.com, blog http://barbarabinns.com or LIKE AllTheColorsOfLove on Facebook, http://facebook.com/allthecolorsoflove

See B. A. Binns interviewed by:

Sammy the Parrot at the 2012 Illinois Library Federation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HRN4wEqzmRM

Norwood Holland of Black Literature Magazine, at the 2012 Romance Slam Jam – http://youtu.be/7yMUtZXaEz4?t=6m15s

©Paul Abdoo. All rights reserved

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

That’s a truth that Traci L. Jones knows first hand. It was the harshly delivered criticism of a college professor that nearly destroyed the lifelong love Traci had held for the written word as long as she could remember. 

Nearly.

It’s also true that life begets life. After the birth of her first child, Traci’s literary passions were reawakened and she enrolled in a writing course at the University of Denver. According to Traci, “My love for writing returned with a vengeance and I haven’t quit writing yet.”

Traci was born in Monmouth, Illinois and raised in Denver, Colorado. She still resides in Denver with her husband and four children–in the very same home in which she was raised. In 2006, Traci won the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Author Award for her debut young adult title, Standing Against the Wind (FSG). Two well-received YA novels have followed: Finding My Place (FSG, 2010) and Silhouetted by the Blue (FSG, 2011). On Day 6, The Brown Bookshelf invites you to celebrate the inspirational words and story of author Traci L. Jones.

*   *   *

The Journey

From the beginning I was a reader.  It wasn’t until I got a manual typewriter for Christmas, when I was ten, that I became a writer.  Then it would be another thirty plus years before I became a published author.  At first, I never thought about being an author.  All through high school and college I wanted to work at an advertising agency and be a copywriter. Jingles that stuck in your head, slogans you wore on t-shirts?  THAT was what I wanted to create. Not novels.

Unfortunately, in my very first English class, during my very first semester in college, I was told by one of my first college professors that I was a terrible writer. Rather than hold on to the compliments from teachers I had gotten in elementary, junior high and high schools, I chose to believe him. That’s the thing about being young; you too readily believe what is negatively said about you, rather than what is positively said about you. So, although it was my big dream to come up with a commercial jingle that people would find themselves singing, I stopped taking English classes and switched my major from English to Psychology.  Later, I did work in advertising–not on the creative side as I had dreamed, but on the account management side, which I did for six years until I got married and became a stay-at-home mom.

One day I was flipping through the newspaper and stumbled upon an ad for a Creative Writing Certificate.  It dawned on me that I had found what I hadn’t realized I’d been missing: writing.  So I enrolled at the University of Denver’s creative writing program, and that empty part of my heart was suddenly filled. It was in one of my classes that I began writing my first book.  It was an assignment which eventually blossomed into an award winning YA novel called Standing Against the Wind. From the instructor’s desk, to the slush pile at Farrar, Straus and Giroux, to a Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award…not bad for a simple classroom assignment.

The Inspiration

The range of novelists that inspire me is far too wide and vast to even begin to name them all.  Suffice it to say that whatever style of book I’m reading tends to seep into my novels.  I was reading a Regency romance novel by Stephanie Laurens when I wrote Standing Against the Wind, which is why the lead male character in the book is very much a dashing hero figure, albeit one who is 13 years old and from the Chicago projects, rather than an adult English Duke from Cambridge.

While I wrote my second book, Finding My Place, I was reading grittier, darker YA novels from authors like Laurie Halse Anderson.  Finding My Place started out a much darker novel with a far less happy ending before my editors pulled me back into the light.

As I wrote my third book, Silhouetted by the Blue, I was reading books that focused on family interactions, and how home environment effects characters in ways in which they are sometimes unaware.

I guess I’m like a literary sponge.  What I read gets absorbed into my soul, and then gets squeezed out onto the page as I write.  Generally, I love the voice of Christopher Paul Curtis, the storytelling of J. California Cooper and the characters of J.K. Rowling.

The Back Story

I have been very fortunate in my career not to have to shop around my books very much.  I received a contract with Farrar, Straus & Giroux for my first novel, which led them to accepting my second, which ended with them accepting my third. My first FSG editor, Beverly Reingold, found my novel in her slush pile.  She brought Finding My Place, but halfway through the editing process she left FSG and I finished that novel with Lisa Graff. Lisa purchased my third, Silhouetted by the Blue.  Halfway through the editing process of Silhouetted Lisa left, and I finished the book with my third editor in 5 years.

The Buzz on Silhouetted by the Blue

Kirkus Reviews says, “The portrayal of Serena is strong, showing both her maturity in handling her family problems and her normal seventh-grade insecurities…A compassionate portrait of an African-American family coping with grief and mental illness.”

School Library Journal says, “Jones has done a magnificent job of describing someone who is clinically depressed.”

BCCB  says, “Jones creates a convincing character in Serena…Readers will be immediately sympathetic to Serena’s plight and draw a sigh of relief when she finally gets the help she needs.”

Horn Book Magazine says, “Serena’s courage, perseverance, and hesitant relationships with friends, with Henry, and with new boyfriend Elijah make her a compelling character.”

Publishers Weekly says, “…[A] moving portrait of a girl forced by her mother’s death and her father’s incapacitating depression to accept adult household and child-raising responsibilities.”

The State of the Industry

As much as I love the publishing industry, I also find it can be quite disheartening.  I read close to 100 books a year, and find the vast majority well written and fully developed. Yet those are not the books that get the attention of the media and make the deserving authors millions.  Like the rest of our nation, even the book industry is celebrity obsessed.  It seems that any actor or reality star is able to get not only a lucrative book deal, but invaluable media exposure to help promote their books.

I also think that the industry is color struck.  What I mean by this is that often publishing firms seem to pigeon-hole authors of color.  They seem to believe that we can only write for readers of color, and because of this assumed narrow segment of readers, it seems that editors further believe that readers of color only want books that focus on slavery, civil rights, or on the art of being ghetto fabulous.  Characters must be in some sort of race based peril otherwise the book is somehow unmarketable.  Books by authors of color in which race is not a focal point seem to be ignored.  For instance, Sharon Draper’s Out of My Mind was an incredibly moving and fascinating book which received none of the critical acclaim and attention it deserved.  The same goes for If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson. While characters I write are always African-American, that shouldn’t automatically mean that the characters are poor, speak grammatically incorrectly, and don’t know their fathers.  Or that the audience for my books is solely kids of color. Good books are good books and we African-American authors should also be given the book ends and prominent displays in all bookstores. Once we are allowed to write characters whose skin color is incidental to the universal theme about which we are writing, the industry will take a huge leap forward.

For more information on Traci L. Jones and her work, visit:

Traci’s Website

FSG/Macmillan’s Website

Encyclopedia.com

“When you grow up, you must write this down!”  Those are the powerful words from Glennette Tilley Turner’s father, and we are so thankful that she listened.

Glennette Tilley Turner was born in Raleigh, North Carolina on November 23, 1933.  Blessed with strong, educated parents, she graduated high school, and in 1955, went on to earn her B.A. at Lake Forest College. Even though Mrs. Turner once worked in advertising, her heart was clearly in education.  She’s taught in the Chicago Public School System, the Maywood-Melrose Park Public School System and, in 1968, she began teaching in the Wheaton-Warrenville Public School System, where she remained for twenty years.

In 1977, Mrs. Turner went back to school and earned her master’s degree in History and Juvenile Literature at Goddard College.

She is an educator, a consultant, a historical researcher and often lectures on her knowledge of the Underground Railroad.  As a member of the Underground Railroad Advisory Committee of the National Park Service (NPS), she testified before subcommittees of the U.S. Senate and House and the Illinois Senate in support of Underground Railroad legislation.  Her Underground Railroad program is recognized by the NPS Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program. She has made presentations at National Network to Freedom Conferences, written articles about the Underground Railroad for several magazine and newspaper publications, and has been interviewed by C-SPAN and other cable networks. She even narrated the Chicago Opera Theater’s production of Harriet Tubman!

It is with the greatest honor that we present to you:

A VANGUARD SPOTLIGHT ON GLENNETTE TILLEY TURNER

Tell Us About “The Journey.”

When I was 10 years old my father became president of a small, cash strapped college in St. Augustine, Florida. As a result he was administrator by day and fund riser in the evenings. After doing a full day’s work he would drive to Baptist churches as far as 60 or 70 miles away to appeal for money to operate the college.

My mother feared he would fall asleep at the wheel if he traveled those distances alone, so she solved the problem by sending me along. She figured that having a kid along talking and asking questions would keep him awake. Those were treasured times for me.

As we drove along he would recount family stories and tell about people and events in Black history. He was especially interested and knowledgeable about Black inventors. I was fascinated! Not only was this the first time I heard details of the family stories, it was also my first time I heard about the achievements and contributions of Black people to national and world history. I wasn’t learning any of this in school and there weren’t books that told these stories. Knowing this Daddy would end each story by saying, “When you grow up you must write this down!” So I grew up with every intention of becoming a writer.

After college the only writing related job I could land was writing advertising copy for a woman’s dress store. During this time a fellow copywriter and friend had a chance conversation with a children’s book editor who lived in the same apartment building. The editor told my friend that she was looking for someone to write a multicultural picture book for her fall list. My friend told the editor, “I know just the person to do it.” Surprise for Mrs. Burns was the outcome.

What or Who is Your Inspiration?

After marrying and starting a family I went back to school to get my teaching credentials and began teaching elementary school. Meanwhile I began writing a monthly biographical sketch in Ebony, Jr! magazine. Naturally, it featured some of the figures from Black History that my father had told me about. During that time I had an opportunity to go to D.C. to attend a conference and while there met my idol, Eloise Greenfield. She was gracious, and welcoming, and encouraging. I left there thinking how I could expand on and combine the biographical sketches I’d been writing into a collective biography.

As a classroom teacher I’d been writing skits which kids loved acting out–so paired the bios with skits and published Take a Walk in Their Shoes and later Follow in Their Footsteps. And followed that book with a full length biography of Lewis Howard Latimer. In the meantime I’d began conducting research on the Underground Railroad and have since published The Underground Railroad in Illinois,  Running for Our Lives, and An Apple for Harriet Tubman.

Can You Fill Us In on The Back Story?

While at ALA one year I gave a copy of Running for Our Lives to the editor of my most recent book. He liked it and we began a conversation which led to a contract to write Fort Mose: And the Story of the Man Who Built the First Free Black Settlement in Colonial America.   The book has personal meaning to me because Fort Mose was located in St. Augustine. At the time our family lived there the story was either unknown—or untold—and I happened to learn of it some forty years later.

The Buzz

What a thrill to tell that story in this book and for there to be such great response to the book. It is the SCBWI 2011 Golden Kite Honor Book for Excellence in Children’s Literature, received a starred review in Booklist, was a Booklist Editors Choice, was listed on Top 10 Best Black History Books by Booklist and as one of 15 best nonfiction multicultural books of the year by Booklinks, and selected for the National Council for the Social Studies list of Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People.  SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN’S BOOKS, and KIRKUS REVIEWS all gave it excellent reviews. As if I wasn’t already on Cloud Nine, the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program presented me with their Wilbur Henry Siebert Award for excellence in the field of the Underground Railroad. Fittingly the award was presented at the NTF’s national conference in St. Augustine.

On a more personal note, I am the recipient of the Studs Terkel Humanities Award, the Margaret Landon Award, The Alice Browning Award of the International Black Writers Conference, the Irma Kingsley Johnson Award of the Friends of Amistad, and was inducted into the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent at the Gwendolyn Brooks Center of Chicago State University. In 2011 I received a lifetime achievement award from Operation Uplift and honored by Top Ladies of Distinction. But most recently, I was the 2012 recipient of Network’s Wilbur Siebert Award for my extensive Underground Railroad writings and efforts to make this significant chapter of American history known.

State of the Industry?

How good it is to see the contrast between the total absence of books by and about people of color and the wonderful books that are being created today.

On behalf of The Brown Bookshelf, thank you, Mrs. Turner, for all of your contributions to education and literature.

When debut author Glenda Armand read the autobiographies of Frederick Douglass, the story of his mother walking 12 miles each way to see him stayed with her. Armand, a mom of two, was moved by Douglass’ mother doing whatever it took to be with her son. She knew the story of their bond had to be shared with kids.

Winner of the 2006 Lee & Low New Voices Award, her picture book, Love Twelve Miles Long, illustrated by Colin Bootman, has been praised for celebrating a special relationship between mother and son and showcasing their love and hope as they deal with the tragedies of slavery and separation.

We are proud to feature Glenda Armand who shares her path to publication, inspiration for the book and meaning of her work:

The Journey

            This book had its beginning, first and foremost, with my love of history, teaching and writing.  After many years as an elementary school teacher, I made up my mind to teach middle school. (Some of my colleagues would substitute “lost my mind” for “made up my mind.”) In preparing to teach 8^th Grade US history, I read Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.

            In his biographies (he wrote several), Frederick Douglass speaks lovingly of his mother, a slave named Harriet Bailey. Harriet and her son had the same master but lived on different farms, twelve miles apart.  Some evenings, after a hard day of labor, Harriet walked those twelve miles to visit her young son and then twelve miles back. Reading about Harriet and her beautiful act of motherly love was a life-changing experience for me. I had to tell her story.  I felt Harriet Bailey’s hand guiding me as I wrote it.

            I told the story by imagining myself as an unseen observer as Harriet and Frederick talked in Old Master’s kitchen.  I wrote what I “heard.” The connection that I felt to Harriet was never as strong as when Frederick asked his mother, “Why did God make us slaves?” To me, the question was too difficult and so, after writing it, I literally crossed it out (I was writing longhand). But then I heard Harriet’s voice telling me, “Let him ask the question.  I will answer it.”  And she did.

The Inspiration

            I am inspired to write about African-American history, particularly slavery, because these were people who, even though enslaved, led lives of consequence.  They loved, invented, dreamed and hoped.  They dared and planned and triumphed.

            The institution of slavery, to me, is made all the more cruel if we fail to recognize the humanity of the individuals who were enslaved. We, their descendents, are a testament to a people whose souls, whose spirit and aspirations could not be chained. I feel that I am honoring them by giving them a voice; by telling their stories.

            My personal connection to their stories is represented by a Bible which is my most prized possession.  This Bible, printed in 1869, first belonged to my great-great-grandfather, who was born a slave and died a free man in 1928.

The Back Story

            I met Louise May, the editor-in-chief at Lee and Low, at the annual conference of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.  I told her about the manuscript I was writing about Frederick Douglass and his mother.  She encouraged me to enter it into a contest that her house had for yet-to-be-published authors.

            The manuscript for Love Twelve Miles Long won the New Voices Award for that year, which included a publishing contract.  I was honored that Lee and Low chose Colin Bootman to illustrate the manuscript.  He did a beautiful job.

The Buzz   

2013 California Collections – Elementary School California Readers

“Frederick Douglass’ mother imparts 12 lessons, one for each mile she walks on her clandestine nighttime visits to him . . . In this, her debut effort, Armand focuses on the positive aspects of maternal devotion and a mother’s dreams of greatness for her son. The full-page watercolor paintings capture the nighttime setting and depict a loving mother and child . . . Share this with young readers as a series of homilies on dreams and a family love strong enough to overcome any adversity.”

– Kirkus

“As a young child, Frederick Douglass was separated from his mother and sent to live on another plantation. From this slight piece of history, Armand weaves a story that illuminates a mother’s love and amplifies the power of the human spirit . . . Readers are in the night with Harriet and Frederick, almost as if nothing exists outside of their warmth . . . This account is not about escape, tracking dogs, or slave hunters. As an ode to the love a mother has for her son, it is sweetly successful.”

– School Library Journal

“Starting with the boy’s elemental question, “Mama, why can’t I live with you?” the words and pictures tell the family separation story in all its heartbreak and hope.”

– Booklist

Find out more about Glenda Armand at http://glenda-armand.com/.

Check out this fascinating video of four Lee & Low staffers, including publisher Jason Low, walking 12 miles and paying tribute to Frederick Douglass’ mom: http://www.leeandlow.com/p/twelvemilewalk.mhtml.

I didn’t know until last night that the Harbaughs were born in Toledo, Ohio. No wonder they’re so good! (Yes, Toledo is my hometown.)

When the Colts lost early in the playoffs, all my attention turned to the 49ers. You could call me a fair weather fan of the Niners, thanks to my oldest son. I think he has been a fan of the Niners ever since he knew what football was and, when I think back to him as a boy I vision him in his cardinal red and metallic gold coat, hat, scarf, sweatshirt and/or one of many t-shirts that were part of his wardrobe. It may be just a game, and he may be just a fan but his loyalty to that team is mighty impressive. And, because of that I’m rooting for them, too.

Well, I’ll be rooting for them after I attend the Taiwanese New Year celebration on campus. I met a student who is from the town in Taiwan where I used to live and she was kind enough to gift me with a ticket. I’ll be surprising her with a red envelope. My fingers are crossed for beef noodles.

I really can’t believe there are only 6 books by authors of color released this month. I’m really looking forward to the emails and comments telling me of the titles I’ve missed.

14 February is International Book Giving Day

A Chair, A Fireplace and a Tea Cozy usually posts a comprehensive list of African American non-fiction in February. She recently posted the winners of the American Indian Youth Literature Award.

The Brown Bookshelf’s 28 Days Later is underway. MG/YA authors will include

Feb. 1 – Malaika Rose Stanley (MG)

Feb. 3 – Alaya Dawn Johnson – (YA)

Feb. 5 – Glennette Tilley Turner – (MG)

Feb. 6 – Traci L. Jones – (YA)

Feb. 8 – Brian F. Walker – (YA)

Feb. 9 – Veronica Chambers – (MG)

Feb. 10 – B.A. Binns (YA)

Feb. 12 – Alice Randall and Caroline Randall Williams – (MG)

Feb. 13 – Octavia Butler – (YA )

Feb. 15 – Lyah Beth LeFlore – (YA)

Feb. 17 – Arna Bontemps – (MG)

Feb. 18 – Jasmine Richards – (MG)

Feb. 21 – Nalo Hopkinson – (YA)

Feb. 24 – Linda Tarrant-Reid – (MG)

Feb. 26 – Chudney Ross – (MG)

Feb. 28 – Jaime Reed – (YA)

Indeed, another impressive list of vanguard, established and new talents!

If you’re looking for a way to get one of these authors to visit your school or library, you might consider the Amber Brown Grant or a Targets Arts Grant.

Have you read Wasafiri? Wasafiri is Wasafiri is a literary magazine at the forefront in mapping new landscapes in contemporary international literature today. The current issue highlights global youth culture.

YALSA is about to make spring committee appointments. If you’re a YALSA member, do think about getting involved! All I did to get begin working with them was to complete an application.

My term with the YALSA’s Best Fiction in Young Adult selection committee officially began today and it begins with the question: How do you define ‘a good book’? I think it would be easier to agree on a definition of a good book than it will be to agree on a good book itself.

Here’s hoping you (and the Niners) have a good week!

Malaika Rose Stanley

She is now a children’s author, whose books feature strong, positive African, Caribbean and Asian characters and reflect the cultural richness and diversity of family life, friendship groups, schools and society in general. Her work ranges from picture books to young fiction and she has recently had an adult short story included in the US-published anthology For Women – In Tribute to Nina Simone (ed Debra Powell-Wright). Her latest books, all published by Tamarind/Random House include Baby Ruby Bawled, Miss Bubble’s Troubles (2010 World Book Day Recommended Read), Spike and Ali Enson (2010 Book of the Year in The Independent national newspaper) and, most recently, the sequel Spike in Space. Skin Deep, the first novel in her Sugar and Spice series was published in 2011 and the second, Dance Dreams, is due to be published in the USA on 26 March 2013.

Malaika has been a Royal Literary Fund Fellow at London Metropolitan University and the London College of Fashion, a British Council Crossing Borders mentor for writers in Africa and a visiting author and workshop leader at various children’s literature festivals, Black History Month, World Book Day and other events. She has compiled a list of books featuring bi-racial characters published in the UK and the USA, which is available on her blog site.

It is truly a pleasure to kick off this year’s campaign with the very versatile Malaika Rose Stanley!

The Journey:

I first started writing for children when my two grown-up sons were young and I felt that there were too few children’s books with black protagonists published in the UK – especially those that featured and/or appealed to black boys. I have always loved writing, but I only thought about trying to write for children after I went to enroll for an adult education class in French! I was so impressed by a display of covers from books published by authors who had previously attended the Writing for Children class – including Malorie Blackman - that I signed up for both courses (although I have to admit that I ditched French after just one semester).

I progressed from the basic course to a follow-up writing workshop where the one criteria for joining was to have a ‘work-in-progress’. During that time, I wrote my first published book, Man Hunt, very slowly and carefully. My editor did not demand any revisions and made only a few, small editorial changes. It left me with a very distorted and unrealistic view of the publication process. My writing journey since then has been much rockier. After my first three books, I returned to teaching and had a ten-year break from publishing, so I have only been a full-time author for the past four years.

The Inspiration:

I’m giving my age away here, but my favourite books from childhood include
A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Heidi by Johanna Spyri and the Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton. The love of reading that these authors fostered in me continues to be an inspiration in my own writing.

As an adult, I have always admired and been inspired by the Australian children’s author, Morris Gleitzman, ever since I read one of his early books, Two Weeks with the Queen. I was impressed by his ability to write honestly about serious, challenging subjects but with humour and a lightness of touch. A couple of years ago, I heard him speak to about 6 adults and 60+ teenagers and he told us that the starting point for any story is to identify the biggest problem in the character’s life. He signed my copy of Now with the words, ‘G’day Malaika’ – which confirmed me as a die-hard fan.

All my own books start off based in reality, even when they stretch it to the limits and extend into fantasy, which is exactly what happens in Spike in Space:

Want a story that’s full of ALIENS and MONSTERS, and horrible, out-of-this-world smelly POO?

Then meet Spike! His adoptive family are from another planet, and now they’re taking him to live with them in SPACE!

Background:
I wrote the first draft of Spike and Ali Enson many years before it was actually published. My manuscript went through many re-writes but I believe that tastes and trends within the publishing industry also changed. When I first started writing, the demand seemed to be almost exclusively for ‘issue-based’ books rather than stories that just happened to feature black characters – and there seemed to be little room for ‘genre’ books such as sci-fi or historical fiction. My experiences have certainly helped to cement my belief that authors should write what they know and love, rather than trying to write for the demands of the market which are likely to be inconsistent and difficult to predict.

I have been incredibly lucky to have secured deals directly with the publishers for all my books so far, but just over a year ago, I finally signed up with my first-ever agent, Catherine Pellegrino. The advantages were immediate in terms of the size of my admittedly still-small advance and meagre royalties for Spike in Space, but it’s a complete relief to be able to focus on my writing without diverting my creative energies into negotiations about money or foreign rights.

The Buzz:

“This fast-paced action adventure… designed to appeal to those who like their stories to be tinged with fantasy, thrills and spills, all the drama unfolds in shortish chapters, with a range of galactic vocab and cartoon-like illustrations to add zing.” (Junior Magazine)

“In a hilarious sequel to Spike and Ali Enson, Spike is off to live with his adoptive family on another planet… The combination of everyday things with which all kids are familiar and the excitement of life in space make this a fascinating and enjoyable series, which also carries a strong message about the importance of families and the reassurance they give.” (Parents in Touch)

“This touching story of changes, new beginnings and dealing with difference is ideal for sharing with young children facing new experiences or beginning a new school year.” (The Book Trust)

My Brief Thoughts on the Industry:
I strongly believe that the children’s book publishing industry needs to actively challenge and reject the idea that books about black and ethnic minority characters will only appeal to readers from the same background. This view leads to the misconception that their commercial potential is limited and in turn makes it difficult for authors and others from diverse backgrounds to break into publishing.

The industry needs to accept that not all books by or about black people have to focus on the so-called gritty reality of racism or discrimination or identity – but that they should not ignore ‘issues’ if and when they arise in ‘slice of life’ stories – and have a wider approach in terms of ‘genre’, eg magic, sci-fi, thrillers, etc.
To find out more:
Visit Malaika Rose Stanley online at her Web home and on her blog.

Wonderful and inspiring words — thank you so much, Ms. Rose Stanley!

Wow, participating in the special celebration that is 28 Days Later has been such a wonderful honour for me. I am floored by how much I learn from the campaign every year, and it breaks my heart too — I should be hearing about these amazing authors and illustrators more often!

DAILY INSPIRATION: My debut novel, 8th GRADE SUPERZERO (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic, 2010), has brought so many opportunities my way. I’ve loved meeting (in person and in the digital world) readers of all ages who have their own precious stories to tell, who are exquisite reminders of one of my biggest WHYs for this work: writing, telling stories, brings new opportunities to listen, to step outside of myself and my affinities into unknown people and worlds. I’m so grateful for your stories that make mine richer.

One of the challenges I think we face in today’s culture is a directing away from nuance, from complexity, from in-depth exploration and discomfort. I’m glad that we still hold on the stories. Stories give us room to ask the questions that have more than one answer, or don’t have any answers at all. The poet Wendell Berry wrote “In the dark of the moon, in flying snow, in the dead of winter, war spreading, families dying, the world in danger, I walk the rocky hillside, sowing clover.” That’s what I want to do with my writing: sow clover. I write to honour the particular, and embrace the universal. To listen between the lines to your story, and mine. I write because I cherish the magic and mystery of life, and I want to imagine, and remember, and share. And even when I’m beyond frustrated, completely flummoxed, or bored to tears with my efforts — I love this work deeply. All my life, I’ve been grateful for the stories.

The Journey

I still remember the book that called me to write for children — Something Beautiful by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, illustrated by Chris Soentpiet. Looking at that sweet cover of a smiling girl with the same kind of pigtails I used to wear moved me. I was an adult and that was my first time seeing a picture book featuring an African-American child.

Right then, I knew that I wanted to create stories that shared every-day moments and history that put African-American children in the center instead of the margins. I’m so grateful for editors at Just Us Books believing in me. They guided me and published my first two books, NEATE: Eddie’s Ordeal and One Million Men and Me.

I wasn’t looking for a story when I came across the cohabitation register that inspired my latest picture book, Ellen’s Broom (G.P. Putnam’s Sons), illustrated by Daniel Minter. I was researching family history in a North Carolina library. But maybe the story was looking for me.

I don’t believe it was chance that after telling a mentor at the Writers Workshop at Chautauqua about the record I found and the jumping the broom tradition, he encouraged me to find the story within. I think some stories are waiting to be told. I feel so blessed that this story chose me.  

Like Just Us Books, agents at Dwyer & O’Grady and then editors at G.P. Putnam’s Sons believed in me too. Putnam published Ellen’s Broom and bought two more of my stories. In December, Tea Cakes for Tosh, illustrated by E.B. Lewis, will debut. Shortly after, my picture book with BBS member Don Tate will hit shelves. So grateful for everyone who has helped me along this journey.

Being part of The Brown Bookshelf is one way I give back. I love shining a light on the wonderful authors and illustrators of color creating stories for kids. They inspire me to keep writing and pushing.

The Buzz on Ellen’s Broom

A Junior Library Guild selection

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By: Gwendolyn Hooks, on 2/29/2012
Blog: The Brown Bookshelf Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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This is me, graduating from high school. I'm off to college to become a math teacher--my first passion. Years later, I discovered my second passion--writing for children.

WOW! I finished my first stint as a 28 Days Later blogger. After researching and emailing back and forth with five authors, I feel like I made lifelong friends.  Just reading about their accomplishments made me scurry back to my office and hit the laptop keys.

2011 was a great year for me. I had 10 early readers published, 11 if you count the Spanish translation of The Best Shoes. My Pet Club series of eight books was published by Stone Arch Books. They featured me on their website. I love writing early readers and kids seem to love reading them. I was ecstatic when a Lee Elementary teacher in Tulsa, Oklahoma told me “Thank you for writing books my second graders can read successfully.” That’s when I knew I had done a good job.

Because of my early readers, I was invited to the Humboldt County Authors Festival in Eureka, California last October. I had an amazing time visiting with students, sharing my writing life, and learning about theirs. I visited three schools and one had only eight students! An apple orchard surrounded the school. Students picked apples and the teachers baked a pie for me. I can still taste the warm apples and smell the cinnamon. Delicious!

So far this year, I’ve finished a picture book biography and have sent it out to find the perfect publisher. I have lots of ideas for other books I need to start researching. That reminds me that I need to head back to my office and laptop and start thinking about the next 28 Days Later.

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By: rcpjallen, on 2/28/2012
Blog: The Brown Bookshelf Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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The New Journey When my debut novel, How Lamar’s Bad Prank Won A Bubba-Sized Trophy came out in February of 2011, I thought that was the biggest moment of my life in the world of publishing.  I now had a book that would hit the shelves of many bookstores and libraries around the world.

But that wasn’t my biggest moment.

It happened during my very first author’s visit.  I was so scared but I wanted to share the news to all children that they, too, could grow up to be a writer.  As I looked into the bright eyes of those children, some being introduced to a library for the first time (their library had been closed for five years because they didn’t have a librarian) it changed my motive from “Publish as many books as I can” to “Reach them,” especially when two African American fourth grade girls approached me and said, “We’ve decided we want to be writers.  We didn’t know Black people could write books.  We love to make up stories.”

The New Inspiration

My new inspiration is anchored in reaching reluctant readers.  I was one, but I didn’t know it.  Maybe back in the day it was called something else.  But a book was the last thing I was interested in picking up.  Now, as I do school visits and presentations, I get so fired up when a child approaches me and says, “After listening to you, I’m excited about writing.”

So I’ve created a spot on my website for them to write stories, show their talent and represent their school.  It’s called STRIKEWRITERS.  I’m inspired because they’re inspired.

The New Back Story

Even though I had the concept, I didn’t know how to get the word out.  But then I got an email, asking me to speak at a librarian’s conference in my area.  (I’ve just got to say ‘Thank You, Lord’)

I explained my idea to the librarians and how I wanted to reach reluctant readers and give students an opportunity to display their work on an actual author’s website.

I began to get emails like crazy.  Requests for full days, half days, career days, it was amazing.  But the most fulfilling piece came through the children.  During my visits, when I announced the opportunity to have a story displayed on my website, the response was phenomenal.

Now I know, beyond any doubt, that this is what I’m supposed to do.  As long as I can, I’ll write, just so that I can remind those children who had never thought of writing as a career, that they, too, can do what I do.

THE BUZZ

http://crystalallenbooks.com/strikewriters.php

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By: Gwendolyn Hooks, on 2/25/2012
Blog: The Brown Bookshelf Blog (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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By: kelstar71, on 2/23/2012
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By: rcpjallen, on 2/20/2012
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By: rcpjallen, on 2/18/2012
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By: adventuregirl008, on 2/14/2012
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By: rcpjallen, on 2/8/2012
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