The Brown Bookshelf will once again be accepting submissions for our flagship initiative, 28 Days Later, starting September 28th through November 1st. We are looking for submissions of African American children’s authors who are flying under the radar of teachers, librarians, parents and anyone who considers themselves a gatekeeper to a child’s reading choices. Submissions [ Read the full article… ]

Sharon G. Flake tweeted that people should run out and get Black Angels (Putnam Juvenile, 2009) when it debuts. She said: “U won’t want 2 put it down.” Sheila P. Moses said: “This novel and the character Luke will move readers like Huckleberry Finn moved us on the Mississippi River 100 years ago.” Nikki Giovanni described it this way: [ Read the full article… ]

Some people wring their hands over an issue, more worried about how things may never change versus how they can be part of the solution. Others, like Publisher Weekly’s Elizabeth Bluemle, dive in head first ready to arm wrestle the problem to the floor. Two weeks ago, Bluemle, a children’s author herself and the incoming [ Read the full article… ]

Charisse Carney-Nunes wanted her daughter to see the strength and heritage of her hair. So she wrote a poem of celebration called “Nappy.” She included that poem in her first book, Songs of a Sistermom (Brand Nu Words, 2004). But she had no idea that it would begin her journey as a children’s book author too. Then she read [ Read the full article… ]

The Brown Bookshelf’s Don Tate talks with Amy Bowllan about the impact of racism on him, his work and more in School Library Journal’s ongoing (and excellent) Writers Against Racism series. Quotable to live by: “Were human, and were not always comfortable with what we don’t know.”

Be sure to check out Paula Chase-Hyman’s interview in The Examiner about why YA is the new hotness. From the article: Reason #5. YA novels enable their young readers to process problems and situations from a safe distance. They show how someone the reader’s age would deal with problems that are typical for that reader’s [ Read the full article… ]

Do you blog about children’s and young adult books? Are you interested in blogging about children’s and YA books? Maybe you should attend the 3rd Annual KidLitosphere Conference. From the website: The Kidlitosphere Conference is an annual gathering of the Society of Bloggers in Children’s and Young Adult Literature. The 2009 conference will take place [ Read the full article… ]

Lee & Low Books, an award-winning publisher of quality multicultural books for children, is looking for skilled artists of color who can bring picture book stories to life with originality and authenticity. Their books feature children/people of color and fall within a range of genres including contemporary and historical fiction, biography, poetry, nonfiction, and more. [ Read the full article… ]