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… ]
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MAKING OUR OWN MARKET: Cake Literary on Writing Diversity and Spicing Up High Concept Fiction
Honoured to welcome Cake Literary to The Brown Bookshelf today! Writers, activists and entrepreneurs who “believe that crafting a good read is like baking a great cake — rich, fresh, delectable flavor with a healthy dose of heart”, the founders of Cake have already transformed the publishing landscape with a mission to engage readers and [ Read the full article… ]
MAKING OUR OWN MARKET: Creating Our Own Publishing Houses
The kidlit world is currently abuzz with many loud, strong, and unified voices crying out, “WE NEED DIVERSE BOOKS!” The cry has been made before, but this time there appears to be an organized activism accompanying the noise. In that same activist spirit, we at The Brown Bookshelf reached out to a variety of experienced individuals involved in the [ Read the full article… ]
We Need Diverse Books diversity campaign goes viral
For a few years now, The Brown Bookshelf has talked about the need for more diversity in children’s and YA books. Our focus here has been books by and/or about African Americans. Our voices are strongest during the month of February, when we host our 28 Days Later campaign. Thankfully within recent months — and [ Read the full article… ]
Shining the Spotlight: 28 Days Later 2014 Honorees
Today, we are proud to announce the honorees for our seventh annual 28 Days Later campaign, a Black History Month celebration of emerging and established children’s book creators of color. As is tradition, a stand-out author or illustrator will be saluted each day during February. The month-long submissions window for our campaign opened in October. [ 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… ]
YA Discovery Contest
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… ]