The Brown Bookshelf is a family of creatives, genuinely focused on knowing other creatives of color, and making their works known. Being a committee member has strengthened my commitment to our community. It has helped me form strong relationships with other writers, illustrators, editors, and organizations that I may not have been a part of [ Read the full article… ]
Crystal Allen is the author of middle grade novels, HOW LAMAR’S BAD PRANK WON A BUBBA-SIZED TROPHY (Balzer and Bray 2011), THE LAURA LINE (Balzer and Bray 2013), and THE MAGNIFICENT MYA TIBBS series of which Book 3, MYA IN THE MIDDLE, will launch on October 18, 2018. Crystal is the recipient of the 2018 [ Read the full article… ]
Oh Mylanta…She’s back! We are pleased as peanut brittle to celebrate the latest, greatest release from author and BBS contributor, Crystal Allen, also known as The Magnificent Mya Tibbs: Spirit Week Showdown (Balzer and Bray). We asked Crystal for some inside scoop on the creation of her new chapter book series. Our conversation went as follows: BBS: [ Read the full article… ]
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 [ Read the full article… ]
Crystal Allen has one of the best author bios ever: I was born in a military hospital in Germany because my dad was in the Army. I’m the youngest of five children. I spent lots of my young years in New Albany, Indiana where I was corn-shucking and multiplication queen of my third grade class. [ Read the full article… ]
Like the trailblazers in her picture books, Crystal Hubbard knows what it means to beat the odds. As a child, she struggled with chronic asthma. That could have meant sports were out of reach. But Crystal went on to overcome that challenge and not only excel at sports, but develop a passion for them. Her determination and desire to share the [ Read the full article… ]
I met future Brown Bookshelf sisters Gwendolyn Hooks and Crystal Allen in 2005 at the Highlights Writers Workshop at Chautauqua. We were all early in our children’s book writing journeys. At Chautauqua, we found mentoring, lessons on the art and craft of writing for kids and each other. The three of us became friends. Seemed [ Read the full article… ]
Happy 2024, Friends! We were on hiatus most of last year. Happy to be back celebrating outstanding Black children’s book creators. This time, we’re doing something new. We’re collaborating with our Amplify Black Stories fellows to salute their work and give you an update on the members of The Brown Bookshelf team. Not familiar with Amplify [ Read the full article… ]
