African American

This week, BTW shines a spotlight on Thursday, June 2, programming at this year's BookExpo America (BEA) for children's booksellers, for African-American booksellers, and for college stores. BEA will be held from June 2 - 5, at New York City's Jacob Javits Convention Center.

Has your store commemorated Black History Month with a special event? An author appearance? A celebration involving children?

If you have done something special to celebrate this month, BTW would like to hear from you for an upcoming story. Please send an e-mail to [email protected]; include a description of your special event and/or contact information.

Karibu Books, an African-American specialty store, now includes five locations in the Washington, D.C. area, with a sixth opening in Baltimore later in 2005. The company's philosophy is to empower and educate people by providing complete access to books by and about people of African descent.

On Thursday, June 3, at BookExpo America, African-American booksellers and publishers convened for the annual African American Booksellers Conference (AABC). Throughout the daylong program, publishers, authors, and booksellers demonstrated the strength, diversity, and challenges of the African-American market. Expectations were high for the opening of the first African-American Pavilion on the BEA show floor. Participants were not disappointed the next day when the pavilion hosted 17 publishers, representing over a hundred African-American authors.

In April, Emma Rodgers and Ashira Tosihwe, owners of Black Images Book Bazaar in Dallas, announced that the bookstore would close in 2005. However, now Black Images is the focus of a widespread effort to keep its doors open, and Rodgers and Tosihwe are reconsidering their plans. Rodgers had cited high rents and the economy as among the reasons the store would not renew its lease, but the pair intentionally announced their plans well in advance.

"A Wealth of Wisdom: Legendary African American Elders Speak is like having your grandmother in the room with you," said Renee Poussaint, executive director and co-founder of the National Visionary Leadership Project (NVLP) and co-editor of the collection of oral histories that tell the first-person stories of African-American elders, both the nationally notable and

BlackBoard African-American Bestsellers, Inc. has announced its 2003 Books of the Year. The awards, presented at this year's BookExpo America in Los Angeles and hosted by Cee Cee Michaela of the UPN series Girlfriends, recognize outstanding African-American writers of fiction, nonfiction, and children's books.

On Thursday, May 29, over 300 independent booksellers from around the U.S. converged in Los Angeles for the ABA Education Day, which included ABA's first annual "What Are You Reading Lunch." The day's numerous sessions were packed with prospective, novice, and veteran booksellers alike, each looking to enhance their bookselling skills. According to comments from a number of booksellers, the programming did not disappoint.

Booksellers with an interest in hearing about the newest offerings from publishers of African American, children's, and Latin American/Latino books will have the opportunity at Book Buzz Workshops at BookExpo America on Thursday, May 29, in Los Angeles. The workshops, new this year, are similar in concept to BEA's popular Editor and Bookseller Buzz Forum.