I’ve received enough responses for the Faith Evans book giveaway.

Thanks for participating, everyone!

Folks, just a couple of copies left of ‘Keep the Faith.’ See details in the entry below about how to get one for yourself.

The singer Faith Evans has a new memoir.

In Keep the Faith, she tells all about her relationship with the Notorious B.I.G., talks about her (sorely, sorely underrated) career and finally, finally explains what really went down between her and Tupac Shakur.

You know you want to read it.

And now you can.

Hachette Book Group USA has said it will give five copies of Faith’s book to WriteBlack.com readers.

Want one?

The first five folks to e-mail me at writeblack[at]writeblack[dot]com will get the copies.

So get to e-mailin’!

Today’s Washington Post has an excellent piece on the rise of the graphic novel — or rather, an explanation of the genre, such as it is.

An excerpt:

What about those still-numerous naysayers, he [Scott McCloud, author of Understanding Comics] is asked, who resist the idea that books filled with word balloons should be taken as seriously as pure prose? Isn’t there a way to educate those annoying old fogies — perhaps through some kind of “adult literacy campaign for comics”?

Sounds good to me. After all, isn’t education what I’m here for?

McCloud offers a different perspective. Some people will never get it, he says.

“And it’s okay. They’ll die.”

Keep reading.

Then Go Girl: The Black Woman’s Guide to Travel and Adventure may be for you.

It’s a collection of travel essays by black women.

What can black women add to the travel writing genre? Well, apparently the book will offer advice on traveling internationally by yourself, dealing with racism, choosing a place to go and saving money on your trip.

I can’t tell you how disconcerting it can be to travel internationally and deal with racism. About nine years ago, I traveled to rural England with my now-husband. On that trip, he was called ‘n—-r’ for the very first time in his life — by a blue-eyed, yellow-haired pixie who couldn’t have been more than six years old. It was a particular shock to him because he’d never been called that word during his childhood in Alabama, the Heart of Dixie.

We’ve since traveled to other countries and had no problems, but yeah, I may have to check out this book.

[h/t Racialicious]

The Black Writers Reunion & Conference still is seeking proposals for seminars for its June 2009 event, but has released information about a few of the sessions it has already approved:

• Fundamentals of Writing Fiction (an intensive two-part workshop)- N. Kali Mincy
• Superior Book Marketing Strategies for Big Profits – William R. Patterson
• Making the First Sale (to Agents & Editors) – Gwynne Forster
• From Writer to Editor – N. Kali Mincy
• Writing a Nonfiction Book That Sells – William R. Patterson
• How to Self-Publish Your Book – Sara Freeman Smith & Mack Smith
• What You Need to Know About Literary Law – Tonya Marie Evans, Esq.

Maybe if I save enough pennies, I’ll be able to make the conference next year.

Have a proposal for a session? Contact the conference organizers.

Author ZZ Packer (Drinking Coffee Elsewhere) was in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit.

The National Book Critics Circle conducts an interview with her about her experiences before and after the storm, and how it has affected her writing. She’s writing a book about the Buffalo Soldiers (mayhaps she’s checked some of the bibliographies compiled by Ms. Beverly Jenkins as part of her research?). Read to the end of the interview for information about where Packer will appear next.

An excerpt:

Q. How did Katrina and aftermath affect your work? (And what are you working on now?)
A. To answer the second question, the novel I’m finishing (yes, finally, finishing!) concerns the Buffalo soldiers, and the regiment whose storyline I follow were mustered in just outside of New Orleans and the whole first third is set there, so I’ve been NOLA-centered for quite some time. I think it was only post-Katrina, though, that I think I began to have an understanding as to why New Orleanians feel so strongly about their hometown. Family is everything to people in New Orleans, and moving way from New Orleans is really moving away from ones roots. The poor, the rich, the middle-class, they all take pride in living in a problematic place and evincing some mastery of it. They are snake-handlers of dilemmas, and one’s family is often an encyclopedic resource, often inducting you into the business with their own myriad problems. It is a baffling, charming, addictive place.

[h/t Jacket Copy, photo from Critical Mass]

The home of author Dorothy West (The Wedding, which is better than the tedious adaptation starring acting-challenged Halle Berry would lead you to believe) is the newest addition to the  African American Heritage Trail in Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard.

[h/t Negrophile]

The Darker Mask: Heroes from the Shadows

Editors: Gary Phillips and Christopher Chambers

Tor/Tom Doherty Associates

2008

The Dark Knight and Iron Man (even though the much-anticipated scene between Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark and Ghostface Killah’s Tony Starks was cut) have made 2008 pretty much the best year ever for superhero flicks, and like many other folks, I’ve been a little nutty about crimefighters in costumes this summer.

And don’t forget that Heroes is one of the top-ranked shows on television and superhero comics still are selling way more than you think.

So The Darker Mask, an anthology of noir-ish stories featuring mostly nonwhite superheroes, is right on time.

(more…)

Passing for Black

Linda Villarosa

Kensington Publishing Corp.

2008

Can a romance novel work if the black heroine’s perfect love is…a white woman?

Linda Villarosa gives it a try.

Before we begin, I should explain that it’s possible that I haven’t read a book with overtly lesbian themes since I read The Well of Loneliness 14 or 15 years ago for a college English class (none come immediately to mind). And also that because there are so many out-and-proud gays and lesbians in my life, I tend to find tortured coming-out narratives almost…quaint.

So this is a niche in black literature with which I’ve not spent much time. This, even though I’ve joked for a while that black lesbians needed their own E. Lynn Harris.

Villarosa, who is best known for writing about health issues for Essence, may just be it.

(more…)