Book News

Michelle Obama, First Lady of Fashion, Celebrated in New Book
nydailynews.com

As Michelle Obama nears her first 100 days as First Lady, a new book celebrates her fabulous fashion choices. “It’s her journey to the White House through the filter of her style,” says former fashion mag editor-in-chief Mandi Norwood, author of “Michelle Style: Celebrating the First Lady of Fashion” (William Morrow, $19.99) out May 5, which chronicles Mrs. O’s signature looks — from the belted purple sheath dress she wore on the night her husband got the nomination, to the $148 White House/Black Market black-and-white print dress she bought off the rack.

“Each outfit has a story around it,” says Norwood, who recalls the yellow J.Crew ensemble the First Lady wore on Jay Leno — which she purchased online for under $340. MORE

»»  read more

Book News

Ualbany Criminal Justice Professor Brings Reality To Her Crime Fiction

Timesunion.com

Frankie Bailey knows a thing or two about crime writing. As a criminal justice professor at the University at Albany and an avid crime fiction author — she writes the Lizzie Stuart Mystery series — she knows both the realities and fantasies of the genre.

Her 2008 book, "African American Mystery Writers," is an overview produced after reading 139 books, surveying readers online and interviewing authors and scholars. The historical survey begins with the first crime African-Americans wrote about — slavery — and continues to contemporary writers such as Walter Mosley. MORE

»»  read more

The Author Speaks: Colson Whitehead on Sag Harbor

Colson Whitehead Talks About His New Book " Sag Harbor"
 When an Author speaks about their book, it's a voice full of reasoning as they explain how it was to write the book that they once  lived. Join us as we enjoy the voice of Colson Whitehead as he takes on a leisurely stroll around the Long Island Town of Sag Harbor.

»»  read more

Book News

Celebs Set to Visit the 2009 African American Pavillion at the BEA
blacknews.com
National (BlackNews.com) - Starring Wesley Snipes, "Blade" and the new film "Zulu Mech 1"; Zane, New York Times Bestselling Author; Omarosa, (The Apprentice), "The Bitch Switch: Knowing How to Turn It On and Off"; Sybil Wilkes, The Tom Joyner Show, Sybil's Book Club (Live Interviews) in The Pavilion, Saturday, May 30, 12:00 Noon -1:00PM; The Tom Joyner Foundation, Thomas Joyner, Jr.; Mary B. Morrison, New York Times Bestselling Author; Omar Tyree, New York Times Bestselling Author; Nikki Turner, New York Times Bestselling Author; Brenda L. Thomas, Essence Bestselling Author; Carol Mackey, Black Expressions Book Club; Terrie Williams, Essence Bestselling Author; Wade and Cheryl Hudson, Just Us Books; George Fraser; Max Rodriguez; Irene Smalls; Dante Lee, along with Brother G., The Shades of Memnon Book Series and Co-Creator of "Zulu Mech 1"; Mshindo Kuumba 1, Co-Creator of "Charles the Chef" and Co-Creator of "Zulu Mech 1."

Featuring Buffie The Body, Vixon Icon; Mildred Muhammad, Scared Silent-The DC Sniper; Dana Dane, Numbers; The Street Life Series By Kevin Weeks; Bruce George - West Coast Biz; Peggy Brooks - Bertram & Barbara Seals Nevergold; The Latin Temptress; The Divine Expressions Book Club; Helen L. Edwards; Freedom Speaks Diaspora; Kevin Weeks; Dawayne Williams; Raji Cooler; Sherri Glover; Shayla Price; Robin Ayele; Kamau & Aquila Butler. MORE

»»  read more

Book News

New Book Gives Voice To Last Surviving Children Of Slaves

baystatebanner.com

Many books and films over the last 150 years have explored the social impact that slavery has had on race relations in America. In “Sugar of the Crop: My Journey to Find the Children of Slaves,” author Sana Butler makes an important contribution to the topic by looking at how the lives of the last surviving children born to slaves evolved after the abolition of slavery.
The recently released book chronicles Butler’s 10-year journey to conduct interviews with these survivors and record their stories. Most were in their 90s at the time of their interviews. All have since passed away. MORE

»»  read more

Book News

74th Annual Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards Winners Announced
Works Address Issues of Race and Culture, Opening and Challenging Minds
au.sys-con.com

The Cleveland Foundation today announced the winners of the 2009 Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards. They are:
-- Louise Erdrich, "The Plague of Doves" (Harper Collins)
-- Nam Le, "The Boat" (Knopf)
-- Annette Gordon-Reed, "The Hemingses of Monticello" (W.W. Norton)
-- Paule Marshall - Lifetime Achievement Award
"These 2009 Anisfield-Wolf winners are notable for the thoughtful way each author addresses the provocative and complex issues of race and cultural diversity. Each work is distinct, yet collectively they share an unyielding faith in the essential humanity of their subjects," said Henry Louis Gates Jr., the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research at Harvard University, who serves as jury chair. "The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards continue to be internationally recognized for shining a light on the many layers of ethnicity and identity in an increasingly cosmopolitan world." MORE

»»  read more

Book News

Africa’s First Female President Shares Life Story

msnbc.com

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the 23rd elected president of Liberia, is Africa's first female elected president. In her political and personal memoir, “This Child Will Be Great,” Sirleaf shows her determination and courage through stories about her happy childhood and unhappy marriage, and gives an inside look at a country that is working to rebuild itself. MORE

»»  read more

Book News

At 38, Ford Jr. Pens Memoir
                                       memphisdailynews.com

When Harold Ford Jr. delivered the keynote address at the 2000 Democratic Party convention, the young, charismatic African-American congressman from Memphis was seen as the party’s next rising star.

People began to mention him as a contender to become the country’s first black president.

Ford will describe the lessons he learned from that episode and everything that came next in his 320-page memoir, “More Davids Than Goliaths,” slated for publication in December. He’ll be 39 when his book is published by Crown, a division of Random House. Ford will describe the lessons he learned from that episode and everything that came next in his 320-page memoir, “More Davids Than Goliaths,” slated for publication in December. He’ll be 39 when his book is published by Crown, a division of Random House.More

»»  read more

Pulitzer Prize Winners Announced

Drama of Congolese, Story of Hemingses Win Pulitzers
bloomberg.com
April 20 (Bloomberg) -- Lynn Nottage’s “Ruined,” a brutal drama about the plight of Congolese women, won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama today, while two books of African-American history were awarded prizes.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 'Ruined' by Lynn Nottage wins Pulitzer; Chicago Play Again Snags Top Honor (ChicagoTribune.com)MORE

Brooklyn writer Lynn Nottage wins Pulitzer MORE nydailynews.com

Annette Gordon-Reed’s “The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family” (Norton), a history of the family of Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson’s slave and the mother of several of his children, won the history prize, having already won the National Book Award for nonfiction. The award for general nonfiction went to “Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans From the Civil War to World War II,” by Douglas A. Blackmon (Doubleday). More
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:Rutgers University, Newark, Professor Annette Gordon-Reed Receives 2009 Pulitizer Prize in History for The Hemingses Of Monticello: An American Family More

»»  read more