|
|
African American Literature Book Club - The #1 Site for "Readers of Black Literature" |
|
|
|
|
2008 ESSENCE LITERARY AWARD WINNING BOOKS & FINALISTS
Winning titles, announced February 7, 2008, are highlighted in yellow below.
AALBC.com's Troy Johnson was a member of the blue-ribbon panel which voted on the winning books from the nominees below:
FICTION | MEMOIR | INSPIRATION | NON-FICTION | CURRENT AFFAIRS | PHOTOGRAPHY | CHILDREN’S BOOKS | POETRY | STORYTELLER OF THE YEAR
 Red
River
Click to order via Amazon
Hardcover: 432 pages Hailed as "powerful," "accomplished," and "spellbinding," Lalita Tademy's first novel Cane River was a New York Times bestseller and the 2001 Oprah Book Club Summer Selection. Now with her evocative, luminous style and painstaking research, she takes her family's story even further, back to a little-chronicled, deliberately-forgotten time...and the struggle of three extraordinary generations of African-American men to forge brutal injustice and shattered promise into a limitless future for their children... RED RIVER For the newly-freed black residents of Colfax, Louisiana, the beginning of Reconstruction promised them the right to vote, own property-and at last control their own lives. |
 Casanegra:
A Tennyson Hardwick Novel
Click to order via Amazon by Blair Underwood, Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due Hardcover: 320 pages Casanegra follows the adventures of Tennyson Hardwick, a gorgeous, sexy actor and former gigolo, living on the fringes of the good life in Hollywood. This story, which chronicles the redemption of a prodigal son, combines the glamour of Hollywood with the seedy hopelessness of the inner city. In this hot and steamy mystery, Tennyson struggles to hang on to his acting career and redeem his sex-for-pay history, which estranged him from his family -- especially his father, a decorated LAPD captain who raised Tennyson to call him "sir." Now, in the wake of his father's sudden stroke, Tennyson has to save himself from taking the fall for the first murder of a female rapper. In the process he discovers his hidden talents -- the hard way. |
 The
Pirate's Daughter - Winner FictionClick to order via Amazon Hardcover: 432 pages In 1946, a storm-wrecked boat carrying Hollywood’s most
famous swashbuckler shored up on the coast of Jamaica, and
the glamorous world of 1940’s Hollywood converged with that
of a small West Indian society. After a long and storied
career on the silver screen, Errol Flynn spent much of the
last years of his life on a small island off of Jamaica,
throwing parties and sleeping with increasingly younger
teenaged girls. Based on those years, The Pirate’s Daughter
is the story of Ida, a local girl who has an affair with
Flynn that produces a daughter, May, who meets her father
but once. |
 New
England White
Click to order via Amazon Hardcover: 576 pages When The Emperor of Ocean Park was published, Time Out declared: “Carter does for members of the contemporary black upper class what Henry James did for Washington Square society, taking us into their drawing rooms and laying their motives bare.” Now, with the same powers of observation, and the same richness of plot and character, Stephen L. Carter returns to the New England university town of Elm Harbor, where a murder begins to crack the veneer that has hidden the racial complications of the town’s past, the secrets of a prominent family, and the most hidden bastions of African-American political influence. |
 Knots
Click to order via Amazon Hardcover: 432 pages A new novel from one of the
world's great writers-an extraordinary work set in
Mogadiscio, Somalia-that both breaks new ground and brings
him back to his literary roots. |
 Brother,
I’m Dying - Winner MemoirClick to order via Amazon
Hardcover: 288 pages From the best-selling author of
The Dew Breaker, a major work of nonfiction: a powerfully
moving family story that centers around the men closest to
her heart—her father, Mira, and his older brother, Joseph. |
 The
Women Who Raised Me: A MemoirClick to order via Amazon Hardcover: 352 pages The story of a remarkable woman's rise out of the foster-care system to attain the American dream—and of the unlikely series of women who lifted her up in marvelous and distinctive ways Born as a ward of the state of Maine—the child of an unmarried Yankee blueblood mother and an unknown black father—Victoria Rowell beat the odds. Unlike so many other children who fall through the cracks of our overburdened foster-care system, her experience was nothing short of miraculous, thanks to several extraordinary women who stepped forward to love, nurture, guide, teach, and challenge her to become the accomplished actress, philanthropist, and mother that she is today. |
 Alek
Click to order via Amazon by Alek Wek Hardcover: 224 pages Since the day she was scouted by a modeling agent while shopping at a London street fair when she was just nineteen, Alek Wek's life has been nothing short of a fantasy. When she's not the featured model in print campaigns for hip companies, or gracing the cover of Elle, she is working the runways of Paris, New York, and Milan to model for the world's leading designers, including Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel. But nothing in her early years prepared her for the life of a model. Born in Wau, in the southern Sudan, Alek knew only a few years of peace with her family before they were caught up in a ruthless civil war that pitted outlaw militias, the Muslim-dominated government, and southern rebels against each other in a brutal conflict that killed nearly two million people. Here is her daring story of fleeing the war on foot and her escape to London, where her rise from young model to supermodel was all the more notable because of Alek's non-European looks. A probe into the Sudanese conflict and an inside look into the life of a most unique supermodel, Alek is a book that will inspire as well as inform. |
 One
Drop: My Father's Hidden Life—A Story of Race and Family
SecretsClick to order via Amazon Hardcover: 528 pages Two months before he died of cancer, renowned literary critic Anatole Broyard called his grown son and daughter to his side, intending to reveal a secret he'd kept all their lives and most of his own: he was black. Born in the French Quarter in 1920, Anatole began to conceal his racial identity after the family moved from New Orleans to the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn and his parents resorted to "passing" in order to get work. From his bohemian days in the cafés of Greenwich Village in the 1940s to his ascension in the ranks of the literary elite, he continued to maintain the façade. |
 A
Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy SoldierClick to order via Amazon by Ishmael Beah Hardcover: 240 pages In A LONG WAY GONE: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Beah, now
twenty-six years old, tells a powerfully gripping story: At
the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a
land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d
been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a
gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible
acts. At sixteen, he was removed from fighting by UNICEF,
and through the help of the staff at his rehabilitation
center, he learned how to forgive himself, to regain his
humanity, and, finally, to heal. |
 Reposition
Yourself: Living Life Without Limits Click to order via Amazon by TD Jakes Hardcover: 288 pages
"If you don't like the way your life is going, redesign it.
Redeem the years you lost. Restore your vision, revive your
passion for living, and reclaim what was dormant inside of
you. I cannot give you the dream but I can give you the
tools to reach the dreams you have inside. I have seen what
successful people do over and over again. I want to show you
how to Reposition Yourself so you can do it, too. I have
learned that minor adjustments make a big difference." |
||||||||
 From
the Heart: Seven Rules to Live By Click to order via Amazon by Robin Roberts Hardcover: 192 pages The first-ever book from popular and respected Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts, filled with her own hard-won insights into what makes success. While most people will say that the key to success is a willingness to break the rules, to think outside the box, to ignore boundaries, Robin Roberts -- whose own spectacular success as a college basketball star, ESPN commentator, and co-anchor on Good Morning America is undisputed -- is here to tell readers differently. In her considerable experience, there are seven rules whose importance cannot be ignored, and which must never be broken if true, meaningful success is the goal. In the tradition of bestsellers like Maria Shriver's And One More Thing Before You Go, Anna Quindlen's A Short Guide to a Happy Life, and Marlo Thomas' The Right Words at the Right Time, From the Heart is the perfect gift for new grads, and an inspiring read for anyone searching for the path to success. |
||||||||
 Quiet
Strength: The Principles, Practices, & Priorities of a
Winning Life
- Winner
InspirationClick to order via Amazon by Tony Dungy Hardcover: 301 pages
Tony Dungy's words and example have intrigued millions of people, particularly following his victory in Super Bowl XLI, the first for an African American coach. How is it possible for a coach--especially a football coach--to win the respect of his players and lead them to the Super Bowl without the screaming histrionics, the profanities, the demand that the sport come before anything else? How is it possible for anyone to be successful without compromising faith and family? In this inspiring and reflective memoir, Coach Dungy tells the story of a life lived for God and family--and challenges us all to redefine our ideas of what it means to succeed. Includes a foreword by Denzel Washington and a 16-page color photo insert. |
||||||||
 Do
You!: 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve
Happiness and SuccessClick to order via Amazon Hardcover: 320 pages Since rising out of the New York City streets over 25 years ago, Russell Simmons has helped create such ground breaking ventures as Def Jam Records, Phat Farm and Def Comedy Jam, in the process becoming known the world over as “The CEO of Hip Hop.” Russell might have helped introduce hip-hop to the world, but he credits his success to his belief in a strong set of principles-or laws--which he shares for the first time in this book. In 12 straight forward steps, Russell reveals a path towards success that can be followed not only by those looking to duplicate his professional success, but anyone struggling to realize their dreams. |
||||||||
 How
Strong Women Pray Click to order via Amazon by Bonnie St. John Hardcover: 304 pages Bonnie's amazing life story is interwoven with intimate reflections on prayer by inspiring women, given in interviews expressly for this book. Barbara Bush, Maya Angelou, Kathie Lee Gifford, Amy Grant, Kathy Ireland, Edie Falco, and Susan Taylor are among the 25 powerful women who share how they communicate with God and reveal to readers how they can do the same. The prayer lives of these strong women are supplemented by compelling stories about how they have, through prayer, faced extraordinary challenges. Each answers these questions:
Bonnie St. John lyrically reveals her own life experiences— how prayer helped her overcome the amputation of her leg as a child, her triumph as an international ski champion, and childhood sexual abuse. |
 The
Bond: Three Young Men Learn to Forgive and Reconnect with
Their Fathers
Click to order via Amazon by Sampson Davis, George Jenkins and Rameck Hunt Hardcover: 272 pages The Three Doctors-Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt-discovered early in their friendship that they shared one disturbing trait: As children, they had to navigate life in inner-city Newark without a father's support and guidance. While each young man dealt with the turmoil caused by an absent father, with no male role model to turn to for advice, each veered dangerously close to a life of delinquency, drugs, and crime. But despite great odds, the three overcame the statistics. In high school, they formed the Pact, a promise to one another that they would become doctors, and it kept them dedicated to one another and to their dream, and helped to put them on the road to successful careers as physicians. |
 Friends:
A Love Story
Click to order via Amazon by Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance Hardcover: 404 pages Courtney B. Vance met Angela Bassett… They ran for years as friends in the same small circles. They had some hits, but mostly misses with other partners, and they shared one spectacularly dreadful first date together. And then, Courtney and Angela connected. Experience the up-close-and-personal, real-life love story of this inspirational African-American celebrity couple. Learn how they navigate the fickle tides of fame, while keeping their relationship fresh and true. See how they've carved a meaningful life together in spite of humble beginnings, family tragedy and the ups and downs of stardom with love, faith and determination. |
 I
Got Your Back: A Father and Son Keep it Real About Love,
Fatherhood, Family, and FriendshipClick to order via Amazon by Eddie and Gerald Levert Hardcover: 224 pages The final collaboration from Eddie and Gerald Levert: an intimate glimpse into their lives, their passions, and their musical legacy. But most important, I Got Your Back gets inside the special and rare father-son bond that these two R&B legends shared. Eddie and Gerald put their hearts and souls on the line and talk about their failures, concerns, fears, and triumphs as father and son. With a powerful message of reconciliation for broken families, Eddie and Gerald explore the themes of fatherhood, male bonding and male-female relationships. The book includes moving tributes from Eddie, Patti LaBelle, Steve Harvey and others, as well as treasured family photographs. |
 Foreigners
Click to order via Amazon Hardcover: 256 pages From "one of the literary giants of our times" (The New York Times)—a brilliant hybrid of reportage, fiction, and historical fact that tells the stories of three black men whose tragic lives speak resoundingly to the place and role of the foreigner in English society. Francis Barber, "given" to the great l8th century writer Samuel Johnson, afforded an unusual depth of freedom, which, after Johnson's death, would help hasten his wretched demise....Randolph Turpin, Britain's first black world champion boxer, who made history in 1951 by defeating Sugar Ray Robinson, and who ended his life in debt and despair...David Oluwale, a Nigerian stowaway who arrived in Leeds in 1949, the events of whose life called into question the reality of English justice, and whose death at the hands of police in 1969 served as a wake up call for the entire nation. Each of these men's stories is told in a different, perfectly realized voice. Each illuminates the complexity and drama that lie behind the simple notions of haplessness that have been used to explain the tragedy of their lives. And each explores, in entirely new ways, the themes—at once timeless and urgent—that have been at the heart of all of Caryl Phillips' work: belonging, identity, and race. |
 Supreme
Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas
- Winner
Non-FictionClick to order via Amazon by Michael Fletcher and Kevin Merida Hardcover: 432 pages SUPREME DISCOMFORT originated from a much-commented-upon profile of Clarence Thomas that appeared in an August 2002 issue of The Washington Post Magazine. In it, Kevin Merida and Michael Fletcher, both Post staffers, both black, crafted a haunting portrait of an isolated and bitter man, savagely reviled by much of the black community, not entirely comfortable in white society, internally wounded by his passage from a broken family and rural poverty in Georgia to elite educational institutions to the pinnacle of judicial power. He has clearly never recovered from the searing experience of his Senate confirmation hearings and the "he said/she said" drama of the accusations of sexual harassment by Anita Hill. SUPREME DISCOMFORT tracks the personal odyssey of perhaps the least understood man in Washington, from his poor childhood in Pin Point and Savannah, Georgia, to his educational experiences in a Catholic seminary and Holy Cross, to his law school years at Yale during the black power era, to his rise within the Republican political establishment. It offers a window into a man who straddles two different worlds and is uneasy in both—and whose divided personality and conservative political philosophy will deeply influence American life for years to come. |
CURRENT AFFAIRS:
(back to top)
 Come
On People: On the Path from Victims to Victors
Click to order via Amazon by Bill Cosby Hardcover: 288 pages Bill Cosby and Alvin F. Poussaint have a powerful message for families and communities as they lay out their visions for strengthening America, or for that matter the world. They address the crises of people who are stuck because of feelings of low self-esteem, abandonment, anger, fearfulness, sadness, and feelings of being used, undefended and unprotected. These feelings often impede their ability to move forward. The authors aim to help empower people make the daunting transition from victims to victors. Come On, People! is always engaging, and loaded with heart-piercing stories of the problems facing many communities. |
 The
Covenant in Action
Click to order via Amazon by Tavis Smiley (Intro) Paperback: 216 pages The Covenant in Action was developed to continue the inspirational spirit of the Covenant With Black America and to empower people to take effective action to achieve THE Covenant goals. The information, tools, and ideas presented in The Covenant in Action will enable and inspire people to become agents of change in their respective communities and to become partners in a larger Covenant movement. The Covenant in Action is organized into three parts: (1) stories about the projects and actions that everyday people have undertaken over the past year that were inspired by the Covenant With Black America; (2) motivational essays from young Black activists who are on the ground impacting their environments; and (3) a toolkit outlining steps you can take to organize, connect, and act. The toolkit contains not only traditional action strategies, but includes innovative approaches to organizing and community building that will result in stronger, more bonded communities that are reflective of their history and past experiences. The Covenant With Black America was only the first step. The Covenant in Action toolkit will prime and prepare individuals and communities to actually move the Covenant book into action. |
 An
Unbroken Agony: Haiti, From Revolution to the Kidnapping of
a President
- Winner
Current AffairsClick to order via Amazon Hardcover: 288 pages In An Unbroken Agony, bestselling author and social justice advocate Randall Robinson explores the heroic and tragic history of Haiti. He traces the history of a people forced across the Atlantic in chains; recounting their spectacularly successful slave revolt against France and the two hundred years of reprisals that would follow. The fate of Aristide’s presidency is tied to this people’s century-long quest for self-determination and his removal from power exposes the apartheid-like forces that frustrate these aspirations even today. Robinson majestically chronicles the convulsive history of this island nation—from Columbus’s arrival to the fearlessness of the slave revolutionaries who defeated the armies of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804, wresting from France the most valuable colony of any European power anywhere in the world; from the ideals of the young republic, to the foreign backed dictators who corrupted those ideals, culminating in the American led operation removing from power Haiti’s first democratically elected president and his entire government in 2004. Robinson captures the pride and courage of the Haitian people in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. With his passionate prose, Robinson brings alive the powerful memory of the Haitian revolution in the souls of ordinary citizens and shows the boundless desire of all Haitians to chart their own destiny—free of foreign interference. |
 Know
What I Mean?
Click to order via Amazon Hardcover: 170 pages Whether along race, class or generational lines, hip-hop music has been a source of controversy since the beats got too big and the voices too loud for the block parties that spawned them. America has condemned and commended this music and the culture that inspires it. Dubbed “the Hip-Hop Intellectual” by critics and fans for his pioneering explorations of rap music in the academy and beyond, Michael Eric Dyson is uniquely situated to probe the most compelling and controversial dimensions of hip-hop culture. Know What I Mean? addresses salient issues within hip hop: the creative expression of degraded youth that has garnered them global exposure; the vexed gender relations that have made rap music a lightning rod for pundits; the commercial explosion that has made an art form a victim of its success; the political elements that have been submerged in the most popular form of hip hop; and the intellectual engagement with some of hip hop’s most influential figures. In spite of changing trends, both in the music industry and among the intelligentsia, Dyson has always supported and interpreted this art that bloomed unwatered, and in many cases, unwanted from our inner cities. For those who wondered what all the fuss is about in hip hop, Dyson’s bracing and brilliant book breaks it all down. |
 Twice
As Good: Condoleezza Rice and Her Path to PowerClick to order via Amazon by Marcus Mabry Hardcover: 360 pages In this study of Condoleezza Rice, journalist Marcus Mabry provides a full account of her life and career, beginning with her early years, growing up in the South where her middle class parents emphasized achievement, and Condoleezza pursued ice skating and piano. Mabry traces her education and subsequent career in academia, as well as her service in government, first in the administration of President George H. W. Bush, and then, most prominently, that of George W. Bush. Her tenure as National Security Advisor and then Secretary of State takes up about half the book, and Mabry provides perceptive accounts of her decision-making process and leadership. Mabry strives to capture the essence of Rice's personality, and the qualities that made her persevere, even when her friends did not agree. Her relationship with George W. Bush is analyzed, as well as her handling of a difficult relationship with the media after the invasion of Iraq. In all, Mabry provides a generally positive portrait, with telling insight into what makes Condoleezza run. Photographs. |
 Daufuskie
Island: A Photographic Essay
- Winner
PhotographyClick to order via Amazon by Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe Hardcover When Moutoussamy-Ashe first came to Daufuskie in 1977, about eighty permanent African American residents lived on the island in fewer than fifty homes. Many of the people still spoke their native Gullah dialect. They had only one store, a two-room school, a nursery, and one active church. This represented all that remained of a once-thriving black society which developed after the original plantation owners left and the land was bought by freed slaves. After the boll weevil caused cotton crop failures and pollution ruined oyster beds, more and more residents sold their land to commercial developers. It became clear that Daufuskie would soon be transformed into a coastal resort like neighboring Hilton Head, changing forever the unique island culture that survived largely unchanged for the preceding half-century. Moustoussamy-Ashe's photographs show family gatherings, crabbing and fishing, children at play, spiritual life, and the toils of everyday existence. With the utmost respect for her notoriously shy subjects, she captured a powerful vision of their rough-hewn but rewarding life independent from many modern conveniences. Moutoussamy-Ashe's photographs document what daily life was like for the last inhabitants to occupy the land prior to the onset of tourist developments. |
 Pop:
A Celebration of Black FatherhoodClick to order via Amazon by Carol Ross Hardcover: 144 pages In 51 visually stunning, emotionally compelling portraits, acclaimed photographer Carol Ross presents a hopeful, heartwarming, and caring view of black fatherhood in the United States. In an era that pays little positive attention to black fathers, Ross’s inspirational perspective on the relationships between black men and their children is vitally important—and long overdue. Ross’s richly textured duotone photographs reveal a group of devoted fathers whose common bond is their profound love for their children. For her subjects, Ross has selected men from all walks of life—college professors, filmmakers, technicians, construction workers, and corporate executives—along with well-known music executives, directors, entertainers, and actors, such as Antonio L. A. Reid, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Funk Master Flex, Doug E. Doug, and Melvin Van Peebles. Film star Samuel L. Jackson, photographed with his daughter, provides the book’s foreword, and each portrait is accompanied by a poignant personal recollection by the father depicted. |
 Jimi
Hendrix: An Illustrated Experience
Click to order via Amazon Hardcover: 64 pages Jimi Hendrix: An Illustrated Experience illuminates the life of the musical icon who pioneered a new generation in rock and roll with his explosive electric style. With exclusive access to the private family archives, co-authors Janie Hendrix and John McDermott tell the vibrant and unique story of Jimi's life, from his formative years in hardscrabble Seattle through his short-lived days in the eye of a fanatic and dedicated public, to the aftermath of his sudden death and the wake of his legacy. An indispensable addition to any music lover's library, the book is a truly interactive experience, featuring reproductions of drawings from Jimi's childhood, his rare handwritten song lyrics, and never-before-seen archival photographs. In addition to 30 interactive features, the book includes a 70-minute audio CD with interviews and commercially unreleased recordings of live convert music and a Record Plant jam session. While listening to Jimi work out musical riffs, while holding pieces of the ephemera that chronicle his life, you will experience Jimi Hendrix the way you were meant to: in full color. |
 Let
Your Motto Be Resistance: African American PortraitsClick to order via Amazon edited by Deborah Willis Hardcover: 176 pages Throughout American history, most black Americans embraced Garnet's plea. The photographs reveal and illuminate the variety of creative and courageous ways that African Americans resisted, redefined and accommodated in an America that needed but rarely accepted its black citizens. Some black Americans thought the lack of racial justice needed to be challenged by any means necessary, including violence. Other black Americans felt that the best form of resistance was to confront discrimination whenever possible. Many believed that resistance could be the highest form of patriotism. In their beauty and power, the featured portraits resist the stereotypic depictions that fueled racism in America.The exhibition was organized in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery, and the International Center of Photography. The photographs offer all Americans an opportunity to embrace the rich heritage we share. (description Smithsonian exhibition) |
 Jewels:
50 Phenomenal Black Women Over 50
Click to order via Amazon by Michael Cunningham and Connie Briscoe Hardcover: 224 pages ISBN: 9780316113045 Photographer Michael Cunningham (co-author of Crowns) and author Connie Briscoe, a New York Times best-selling novelist, profile 50 women over the age of 50 who have been remarkably successful--whether in reaching the top of the corporate ladder or raising a son to be proud of a single mother—and reveal the ways that they have prevailed despite daunting obstacles. JEWELS will include well-known and little-known women alike--from teachers and executives to artists, authors, and entertainers. Among the celebrities profiled in the book are Ruby Dee, Eleanor Holmes Norton, S. Epatha Merkerson, and Marion Wright Edelman. |
CHILDREN’S BOOKS:
(back to top)
 Henry’s
Freedom Box
Click to order via Amazon by Ellen Levine illustrated by Kadir Nelson Reading level: Ages 4-8 Henry Brown doesn't know how old he is. Nobody keeps
records of slaves' birthdays. All the time he dreams about
freedom, but that dream seems farther away than ever when he
is torn from his family and put to work in a warehouse.
Henry grows up and marries, but he is again devastated when
his family is sold at the slave market. Then one day, as he
lifts a crate at the warehouse, he knows exactly what he
must do: He will mail himself to the North. After an arduous
journey in the crate, Henry finally has a birthday — his
first day of freedom |
 Sugar Cane: A Caribbean Rapunzel
Click to order via Amazon by Patricia Storace and Raul Colon Reading level: Ages 4-8 Stolen away from her parents on
her first birthday by island sorceress, Madame Fate,
beautiful Sugar Cane grows up in a tower overlooking the
sea. With only a pet green monkey named Callaloo for
company, Sugar Cane is lonely -- her sole consolation is her
love of music. Often she stands at her window and sings,
imagining that the echo of her voice is someone answering
her. Then one night, someone does hear her song. Could this
young man with a gift for music break the spell of Madame
Fate and help Sugar Cane set herself free? |
 Marvelous
World (Book One
The Marvelous Effect)
- Winner Children's
BooksClick to order via Amazon by Troy Cle Reading level: Ages 9-12 Louis Proof is an ordinary kid. He loves listening to hip-hop, racing radio-controlled cars, and hanging out with his best friend, Brandon. Then a mysterious letter invites him to visit the local junkyard. There he finds a secret, underground amusement park like no other in existence. This is the best day of Louis's life. The park even has the most amazing race course for radio-controlled cars. Louis starts racing right away. It's a close contest; he's about to activate his nitro boost to take the lead, when... This is the worst day of Louis's life. Without warning or reason, thirteen-year-old Louis Proof falls into a coma due to a virus of a mysterious, celestial origin. When he awakens three months later, the world that he once knew and loved is totally out of control. He will learn that his illness is connected to everything that is wrong, and that it's not only his responsibility but his destiny to set things right. This story is a megadramatic, remarkably true, super action fantasy. Get ready! |
 The
Shadow Speaker
Click to order via Amazon Hardcover: 352 pages When fifteen-year old Ejii
witnesses her father’s beheading, her world shatters. In an
era of mind-blowing technology and tantalizing magic, she
embarks on a mystical journey to track down her father’s
killer. With a newfound friend by her side, Ejii comes
face-to-face with an earth turned inside out -- and with her
own magical powers. |
 Salli Gal and the Wall-a-Kee
Man
Click to order via Amazon Reading level: Ages 9-12 Sallie Gal admires cousin Wild Cat's hair ribbons that fly in the wind when she jumps double Dutch. More than anything, Sallie Gal wants a set of her very own. But country folks can't get to town so easily. And even though Mama and Sallie Gal work hard in the cotton fields, money is hard to come by. Especially for things they don't need. But one day, the Wall-a-kee Man comes through. He has a whole general store -- right in the back of his station wagon! |
 Duende
- Winner PoetryClick to order via Amazon Paperback: 80 pages Duende, that dark and elusive force described by Federico
García Lorca, is the creative and ecstatic power an artist
seeks to channel from within. It can lead the artist toward
revelation, but it must also, Lorca says, accept and even
serenade the possibility of death. |
 Acolytes
Click to order via Amazon Hardcover: 144 pages A collection
of eighty all new poems, ACOLYTES is distinctly Nikki
Giovanni, but different. Not softened, but more inspired by
love, celebration, memories and even nostalgia. She aims her
intimate and sparing words at family and friends, the deaths
of heroes and friends, favorite meals and candy, nature,
libraries, and theatre. But in between, the deep and edgy
conscience that has defined her for decades shines through
when she writes about Rosa Parks, hurricane Katrina, and
Emmett Till's disappearance, leaving no doubt that Nikki has
not traded one approach for another, but simply made room
for both. |
 Totem
Click to order via Amazon Paperback: 87 pages "Gregory Pardlo . . . wants to explore the druidic
function of art, the works of jazz musicians, painters,
poets, and others who live imaginatively, expand reality,
and make imagination free." Totem, winner of the APR/Honickman First Book Prize, is the debut of a poet who has been listening for decades. In his youth, Gregory Pardlo heard stories of factory hours and picket lines from his father; in the bars, clubs, and on the radio he listens to jazz and blues, the rhythms, beats, and aspirations of which all of which seep into his poems. A former Cave Canem fellow, Pardlo creates work that is deeply autobiographical, drifting between childhood and adult life. He speaks a language simultaneously urban and highbrow, seamlessly switching from art analysis to sneakers hung over the telephone lines. Deeply rooted in a blue-collar world, he produces snapshots of a life that is so specific it becomes universal. |
STORYTELLER OF THE YEAR:
(back to top)
 Eric
Jerome DickeyEric Jerome Dickey, originally from Memphis, Tennessee, is the national best-selling author of Chasing Destiny, Genevieve, Drive Me Crazy, Naughty or Nice, The Other Woman, Thieves' Paradise, Between Lovers, Liar's Game, Cheaters, Milk in My Coffee, Friends and Lovers, and Sister Sister, as well as a contributor to Got to Be Real and NAL's Mothers & Sons. He worked as a computer programmer, a middle school teacher, actor, and stand up comic before becoming a full-time novelist. Author Photograph: Troy Johnson |
 Lori
Bryant-WoolridgeLori Bryant-Woolridge is the author of the best-selling novel, Read Between the Lies, published by Doubleday (1999) and in paperback by Warner Books (2000). The book was nominated for a Golden Pen Award in 2000. She is a contributing author to several top anthologies including: Best Black Women's Erotica (Cleis Press, 2001), the award-winning Gumbo: A Celebration of African-American Writing, edited by best-selling authors, E. Lynn Harris and Marita Golden (Harlem Moon, 2002), and Brown Sugar 3: Opposites Attract (Washington Square, 2004). Author Photograph: Marshall Norstein |
 Trisha
R. Thomas
Author of the highly acclaimed novel, Nappily Ever After
(Random House) a finalist for the 32nd NAACP Image Award for
Outstanding Literary Work. Her novels have been well
regarded in Essence, Oprah Magazine, Entertainment Weekly,
and the Washington Post. This summer the much anticipated Nappily Married will be released by St. Martins Press to kick off the official Nappily series. Savvy character Venus Johnston will continue her trek to hair-freedom with wit, humor, and nonstop truth telling. Author Photograph: Kristen Mary Potts |
 L.A.
Banks -
Winner Story Teller of the YearL.A. Banks, the author of The Vampire Huntress Legends series, has written over 30 novels and contributed to 10 novellas, thus far, in multiple genres under various pseudonyms. She mysteriously shape-shifts between the genres of romance, women’s fiction, crime/suspense thrillers, and of course, dark vampire huntress lore. A graduate of The University of Pennsylvania Wharton undergraduate program with a Master’s in Fine Arts from Temple University, one never knows how or when this enigma will appear… her forms are many, her secrets of crossing genres vast, and she does this with her teenaged daughter and a dog from some remote, undisclosed lair in Philadelphia. Author Photograph: Keith Major |
 Tananarive
DueTananarive Due has written seven books ranging from supernatural thrillers to science fiction to a civil rights memoir, making the American Book Award-winning author among the nation’s most versatile voices. Due has a B.S. in journalism from Northwestern University and an M.A. in English literature from the University of Leeds, England, where she specialized in Nigerian literature as a Rotary Foundation Scholar. She is a former feature writer and columnist for The Miami Herald. Due lives in Southern California with her husband, novelist and screenwriter Steven Barnes. Author Photograph: Troy Johnson |
Related Links
Read Press Release for Essence Literary Awards
http://books.aalbc.com/essence_literary_awards.htm
Subscribe to Essence Magazine
Essence [1-year]
(Magazine Subscription)
Click to order 1 year
subscription via Amazon
Format: Magazine
Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
Publisher: The Time Inc. Magazine Company
The editorial focus of this magazine is on today s career-minded,
independent, sophisticated African American woman. The magazine is
dedicated to helping its readers meet their maximum potential through
articles stressing career and educational opportunities, investing and
money management tips, fashion and beauty ideas and health and fitness
trends. In addition, it features information on parenting, home
decorating, cultural reviews and profiles of celebrities and achievers.
AALBC.com
Home |
Advertise |
Discussion |
Chat |
Books |
Fun Stuff | About AALBC.com |
Writer's Resources |
Get on the AALBC.com |
Reviews |
Events |
Send us Feedback |
Privacy Policy |
Buy Any Book]
|
|
|
|||||||
Copyright © 1997-2008 AALBC.com, LLC - http://aalbc.com