28 Days Later - 2009

A little over a year ago, I, along with four of my colleagues in the kid-lit industry, joined together to form The Brown Bookshelf – an online community charged with highlighting both established and up-and-coming African-American children’s and YA authors and illustrators. Our 2008 - 28 Days Later Campaign was a huge success, and I’m happy to announce that we’re now accepting submissions and nominations for 28 Days Later – 2009.

As our new campaign began to ramp up, I found myself thinking a lot about the role of The Brown Bookshelf. Were we making enough of an impact? What additional programs should we be pushing? Had we outgrown our usefulness?

As I contemplated these and many other questions, I was directed to a Publishers Weekly essay by Denene Millner, co-author of the “Hotlanta” series. In the essay, Millner notes the dearth of books for African-American teens, stating, “Very few prolific authors have enjoyed consistent, successful careers writing about black teen life, and only a handful of publishing houses have dedicated their resources to publishing black teen books. And once those books are released, good luck finding them in bookstores or reviewed in the media.” Specifically, Millner points out the gluttony of “street fiction” on bookshelves, and implores publishing houses to publish “more books about and for African-American teens, and not tomes about slavery, the ghetto and growing up in impossible conditions. I'm talking books with modern, hip stylings and everyday stories that address teen issues in a way that speaks to the audience in their own language.”

I’ve stated before my surprise, and disappointment, when teens shout out that their favorite authors are Zane and Eric Jerome Dickey. Truthfully, Zane and Eric Jerome Dickey may be okay for some students. However, I’d love to go into a school one day and hear a teen say that his or her favorite author is Coe Booth or Rita Williams-Garcia or L. Divine.

And, I think this can happen, because teens that read novels by these authors love their books. The key is—how do we get these books into the hands of the readers? Libraries are our primary lifeline to these students, but is there another way to reach these readers? Can we—authors, publishers, booksellers, and parents—do more?

But as Millner’s essay reminded me, sometimes it’s not just the end reader that we need to support. Milliner states:

“…I'm not as confident about what can be done to improve the morale of authors like me, who are weary from the mess that has become black fiction. I can't tell you how painful it is to have my books—particularly a teen book—dismissed as street fiction because the cover features black girls.”

African-American authors are a dying breed, a breed which I fear may become extinct if we don’t do a better job of supporting both established and emerging talent. That’s why 28 Days Later is so important. We need books not just for African-American children and teens, but we need books—well-written, diverse books— written and illustrated by African Americans.

So please, drop by the site today and nominate an author or illustrator. And remember: well-written, entertaining books aren’t just a benefit for certain ethnic groups. They’re a benefit to the entire industry. And most importantly, good, well-written, diverse books provide the greatest benefits to our end users—children and teens all across the world.

The Brown Bookshelf and 28 Days Later

Attention all librarians, book sellers, editors, authors, readers and bloggers: We need your help.

After months of hard work, Co-Chair Paula Chase-Hyman and I are pleased to formally introduce The Brown Bookshelf. We're a group of authors and illustrators brought together to push and promote African-American authors in the Children's Lit community.

Along with the African-American Read-In Chain, the Black Caucus of NCTE, and AACBWI, we're proud to launch our first initiative, 28 Days Later, where we'll be profiling a different author on our website for the first 28 days of Black History Month. We'll have some great giveaways sprinkled throughout the month, and on February 29th, we'll give out our grand prize--a gift basket featuring every book profiled during the month, donated to the library of your choice!

Excited? So are we. But to pull this off, we need your help. We're looking for the best new and unnoticed works by African-American authors. From picture books to novels, books fresh off the presses to treasured classics--whatever books you like, we want to know. We're specifically looking for new books and books that have "flown under the radar," but you can nominate any book, as long as it's a children's or YA book written by an African-American author.

We'll be taking nominations from November 1st to December 1st. Just post a comment at the 28 Days Later page, or email us at email@thebrownbookshelf.com. You can nominate as many books as you like. And be sure to leave your email address, as each nominator automatically has the chance to win one of our great giveaways.

Also, be sure to check the website often, as we'll have regular updates and blog posts by the members of the Brown Bookshelf, and maybe even a post or two by some special guests.
So what are you waiting for? Nominate an author! And spread the word!

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Edit: I neglected to mention that all of our logos are available for download on the site. They were all design by author, illustrator, team member (and my friend) Don Tate.