I am HBCU proud. In 1992, I graduated with a Business Administration degree from Florida A&M University’s School of Business and Industry. (Go Rattlers!) While my oldest daughter did not attend an HBCU, she is more in love with her Hillman paraphernalia than the stuff from her actual alma mater and may (from time to [ Read the full article… ]
Blog
Blog
Making Our Own Market: Tonya Duncan Ellis
We are delighted to welcome Tonya Duncan Ellis to The Brown Bookshelf. Author of the independently-published Sophie Washington chapter book series, she has worked hard to build her audience and stand out in the market. Grit, consistency and innovation are just a few of the qualities she brings to promoting her work. Here, she shares [ Read the full article… ]
Making Our Own Market: Troy Johnson On Partnerships & Indie Booksellers
Happy Children’s Book Week! Today, we’re reviving our occasional series, Making Our Own Market. All week, we’ll showcase guest posts by children’s book bloggers, independently-published authors and more with inspiring testimonies and tips to raise awareness of work by Black children’s book creators. Our series will explore questions like these: How can we do a [ Read the full article… ]
Mother’s Day Reads
Mother’s Day is around the corner. It’s a great time to share picture books by Black children’s book creators that celebrate moms, grandmas, mother figures and family bonds. Here’s a list to get you started. Click each cover to learn more. Please share your favorite books saluting moms in the comments. Mommy’s Khimar by Jamilah [ Read the full article… ]
BBS Proudly Supports Everywhere Book Fest
Tomorrow, the power of collaboration will manifest itself in Everywhere Book Fest, a multi-cultural virtual book fest put together by authors: Ellen Oh, Melanie Conklin and Christina Soontornvat. The virtual fest came together, over a 45-day period, in answer to the loss of festivals due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Though created to fill the void [ Read the full article… ]
Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie on “Layla’s Happiness”
Last year, I had the pleasure of serving on the jury for the Ezra Jack Keats Book Awards. Throughout the year, hundreds of books sent by publishers, piled on my doorsteps. Sometimes, I’d let the books build up in my studio and then take an afternoon just to savor new voices. Other times, I’d tear [ Read the full article… ]
Standing Strong Together
“As people of color, we can turn what the dominant culture deems our weaknesses into sources of strength for our art. We know different kinds of fear than they do, which gives us a different understanding of true courage. Write that. We’ve been hated on more than they have, so we have a different understanding [ Read the full article… ]
Brave. Black. First: Guest Post by Cheryl Willis Hudson
Co-founder of Just Us Books, Diversity Jedi, artist, quilter and award-winning author, Cheryl Willis Hudson brings intention, meaning and magic to everything she touches. Her latest book, Brave. Black. First.: 50+ African American Women Who Changed the World (Crown, 2020), is her latest outstanding project. Beautifully illustrated by Erin K. Robinson and published in collaboration [ Read the full article… ]