Author: Kelly Starling Lyons

  Any time a new book enters the world is a great day. But it’s even more thrilling when the book comes from one of our own. The Brown Bookshelf co-founder Varian Johnson celebrated the birthday of his new stand-out middle-grade novel, The Great Greene Heist (Arthur Levine Books), on Tuesday. It’s already winning raves. Today, Varian is featured [ Read the full article… ]

This week, we’ve shared books by three stand-out children’s book creators who have chosen to publish their own work, Zetta Elliott, Jerry Craft and Kathleen M. Wainwright. We know there are more great authors and illustrators our readers should check out. Please post your self-published titles, link and a one or two line summary in the comments. We can’t [ Read the full article… ]

When I read Summer in the City written by teacher and blogger Kathleen M. Wainwright, I was taken back in time. I remembered playing hide-and-seek and freeze tag with my neighbors and cousins, sailing on the swing at the playground, chasing fireflies under a quilt of stars. With illustrations by Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor winner Nancy Devard, [ Read the full article… ]

Syndicated cartoonist, illustrator, author, nice guy.  That’s the tagline for Jerry Craft’s website. Love that last part. Jerry is one of those special people who makes a difference wherever he goes. With more than a dozen books to his credit, he has made the dreams of many self-published authors come true. From alphabet book A is for [ Read the full article… ]

An important part of the conversation of Making Our Own Market is opening the door to quality, independently-created books. Self-publishing has long empowered African-American children’s book authors to tell our stories and blaze a new path. Wade and Cheryl Hudson self-published their AFRO-BETS ABC Book when they found few children’s books that reflected African-American culture and history. Their [ Read the full article… ]

On Saturday, February 1, literary consultant and multicultural children’s literature advocate Vanesse Lloyd-Sgambati will host the 22nd African American Children’s Book Fair at the Community College of Philadelphia. It’s a stand-out event that attracts thousands of readers who want to celebrate black children’s book creators and purchase books for their schools, libraries and homes. We [ Read the full article… ]

Have an idea for a YA novel? Have a finished manuscript, but you’re not sure how to craft a pitch? Here’s a chance to get it seen. In honor of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), Serendipity Literary Agency and Sourcebooks Inc. have teamed up to host their 5th annual Young Adult Novel Discovery Contest. All you have [ Read the full article… ]

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, a horrific event which became a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement. Award-winning author Carole Boston Weatherford pays homage to the four girls who lost their lives in her powerful book, Birmingham, 1963. Here, Carole talks about the history and the inspiration for her acclaimed book as part of [ Read the full article… ]