Tag: macmillan

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deep lit

‘Wildblood’ Writer Lauren Blackwood Brings Magic to the Jamaican Jungle in Historical Fantasy Novel

⚠️ Trigger warning! The story and the post below mention sexual assault.

Following the success of Within These Wicked Walls, Lauren Blackwood returns with another vibrant story, this time set in a magical Jamaican jungle.

Wildblood, which is out now from Macmillan’s Wednesday Books, takes us to the late 19th century and builds a unique story that serves as an extraordinary sophomore novel after weaving the thread of the Charlotte Brontë classic Jane Eyre into an Ethiopian retelling with her debut novel. Within These Wicked Walls earned the recognition of being a Reese’s Book Club Fall 2021 YA Pick.

The new young adult book centers on Victoria, an 18-year-old woman who was kidnapped at a young age and forced to serve as a guide within a tourist company that specializes in venturing into the jungle. Except the jungle has creatures that could be dangerous to mortals such as spirits that can snatch souls without remorse. Victoria is a Wildblood, meaning she has the magic to communicate with the creatures and, in her professional standing, can ensure the safety of tourists.

When a well-known Black gold miner named Laertes Thorn becomes a client with his rather large party, Victoria is tasked with her fellow Wildbloods to bring these foreigners to a mountain allegedly full of gold. The gold is a legend since survivors have never exited the jungle to tell the story of reaching the treasures.

On the trip like back at home, Victoria tries to remain a motherly figure to Bunny, a young Wildblood who cannot control his magic, and a girlfriend to Samson, a Wildblood who was kidnapped by the company after her. But new emotions arise as she finds herself falling for Thorn and battling her former love Dean, the main Wildblood in charge who seems like he’ll do anything to keep their abusive boss happy like saying yes to such a dangerous trip.

The fight for survival underlies the story that places Victoria in a spot where she’s trying to understand love from different angles and trust in her inherent magic.

Author Lauren Blackwood talks to she lit about how she came up with the story and the art of making sure the characters, the plot, and the tension remain engaging until the very end. Check out the conversation below:

she lit: The story’s main character, Victoria, is a Wildblood who possesses the magic to communicate with the precarious jungle. Her touring company kidnapped her at a young age to take advantage of her magic. How did you come up with this story and figure out how to convey the difficult subject of abuse?

Lauren Blackwood: I wanted to write a book about a girl finding her strength. Anytime I portray an issue or trauma I want it to be done sensitively and respectfully, but also honestly. I don’t think showing SA* on page is ever necessary—there are ways to get the message across without that type of triggering imagery. So with that in mind, I then let Victoria guide her own journey on the path that felt right for her. 

she lit: While on the dangerous tour, Victoria finds herself tangled in a love cube with her partner Samson, her ex Dean, and her new client Thorn. Can you describe your writing experience with creating the tension between these characters?

Lauren Blackwood: You’re the first one to ever describe their situation as a love cube, haha! Writing relationships is my favorite thing, and I purposely wanted to use this book to explore different kinds of love. But I think the issue is that all three boys have different intentions for Victoria, which puts them in conflict with each other and with Victoria herself, who’s really just learning to live her life on her own terms.

Photo Credit: Terri LaShae

she lit: Victoria takes it upon herself to be a mother figure to Bunny, a younger Wildblood who rages with his magic. How would you describe this source of love for Victoria as a counterbalance to the love she’s getting from Samson and Thorn?

Lauren Blackwood: Victoria’s relationship with Bunny is more of that of a mother and child—she’s extremely protective of him, which is a love he doesn’t necessarily appreciate. It’s the opposite of her relationship with Samson, who in his own loving way tries to look out for her but ends up being a bit overbearing. So you have those two opposites of the spectrum, and then you have Thorn, who sits right in the middle. They have mutual respect and love for each other, and they don’t doubt each others’ abilities but look out for each other equally.

she lit: Greed is an overwhelming theme with Thorn and his team endangering their lives to mine gold in the Gilded Orchard that has never been mined by survivors. Can you explain the historical significance of making the team members Black and their desire to gain riches before the turn of the 20th century?

Lauren Blackwood: If you’ve read my debut Within These Wicked Walls, you’ll know I love writing about wealthy Black guys who have the freedom to do as they please. I suppose the historical significance is that when Black people owned business, all the staff would be Black because they weren’t welcome in white spaces—whatever business ventures white people were up to, Black people were usually doing it too and just not getting any credit for it. But honestly, I just wanted to write about Black people, regardless of history.

she lit: The book’s cover is vibrant, featuring Victoria in the jungle. Victoria looks a lot like you. How much input did you have in the cover design and the way the character is portrayed on the cover?

Lauren Blackwood: I wanted to write a character who looks like me (who’s Jamaican like me) because growing up there were never any fantasy novels about girls who shared my heritage. So, the only thing I really requested was to feature the Jamaican flag colors—black, green, and gold. The rest of the genius design was handled by my amazing cover designer Kerri Resnick and brilliant artist Colin Verdi. They interpreted Victoria perfectly, so I really didn’t have to say much.

*SA is an acronym for sexual assault.

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Investing in the Success of Black Authors

SHE LIT: Investing in the Success of Black Authors💰

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Searching for books by Black female authors this month? Take a look at authors we’ve featured

Black woman writing on a pad in front of a computer.

Lower financial investment remains a hurdle in publishing industry’s diversity pledges

We are in our third Black History Month since June 2020 when the Black Lives Matter movement ignited over the murder of George Floyd on the streets of Minneapolis by a police officer. The publishing industry responded, like many other industries, by examining the statistics of their employees as well as the contributors including the authors, illustrators, and translators.

Three years ago, publishers hired nearly 75% White employees and represented 75% White authors. Those numbers are still about the same because of money.

The percentage of White employees hasn’t changed much since publishers have revealed their diversity statistics, according to PEN America, the nonprofit dedicated to speech freedom. Its latest report finds Penguin Random House’s employees are 74% White, Macmillan’s 70.5% White, and Hachette’s 64.6% White. They lead the Big Five alongside Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins.

The nonprofit ultimately blames the historical practice of having an overwhelming White employment and how it correlates to an overwhelming amount of White authors being signed to publishing contracts. Though more Black authors are getting publishing contracts since 2020, the cracks in shattering this glass ceiling are not yet visible.

Shortly after the Black Lives Matter movement boomed in 2020, young adult author L.L. McKinney started the #PublishingPaidMe campaign that set Twitter on fire. She asked White authors to share the advances. Some Black authors shared their advances. The discrepancy in thousands of dollars surprised readers. The White authors made tons more money, even hundreds of thousands of dollars more, when Black authors who seemed as well-known as them barely received a fraction of their advances.

In the report that was released last fall, Black publishing employees and executives expressed their concerns of obtaining titles by Black authors and being pigeonholed into a marketing ploy to sell “Black books.” And sometimes those Black authors are expected to just produce books about race and ethnicity when they may have ideas outside of those subjects.

“Such typecasting is not only presumptuous but also creatively limiting,” the report reads. “What if, say, a Black editor wants to work on books about cats, or cars, or science, or electoral politics? Or a Hispanic publicist wants to promote a book about classical music?”

That means a Black author’s earning potential could be diminished over the expectation of what a publisher thinks they should write compared to what they want to write. After all, the publisher has the power to reject a project on any basis it chooses.

Every book needs money to make money. The marketing and publicity budgets are calculated based on the viability of a book’s shelf life upon release. The books that have more promise receive more money, and most of the time that means books by celebrities. They are considered an automatic cash cow, especially when they have thousands and millions of social media followers expected to buy the books.

Now that the celebrity has built-in power to sell a book, the publisher invests more to make sure even more money could be made. So, the average author at an imprint may not receive what they need for proper marketing and publicity when competing with celebrity authors. And if that author is Black, then they may be shortchanged the most.

Advances, which are payments to signed authors in advance of their books being published, are tied to the marketing and publicity budgets. An advance is paid against future royalties. That means for every dollar an author receives in an advance, they must earn a dollar from book sales before they receive any additional royalties. Black authors could take longer to earn out their advances. If it takes too long, then their chances of being published again could be impacted.

“A budget is a moral document… When we talk about diversity, we need to understand what that means financially and in terms of decision-making power,” says Elizabeth Méndez Berry, vice president and executive editor at One World, in the report.

In the last year, we saw a cyberattack cripple Macmillan’s ability to sell books and a still-unresolved union strike rock HarperCollins. The authors who didn’t have the best resources in place are suffering the most with these unfortunate events in publishing. HarperCollins’ union is striking over alleged failure by the publisher to pay cost-of-living salaries and focus on diversity and inclusion. They are fighting for investment in their talents as well as in the talents of authors of color and LGBTQIA+ authors.

This Black History Month we must examine and appreciate Black literature but also think about the literature we’re missing because the publishing industry is early in the process of dismantling its historical structure to mainly uplift and invest in the literary talents of White people.

shelit.com blogger Kibby Araya.
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What we’re highlighting

Penguin Random House U.S. CEO steps down

After the failed attempt to acquire competitor Simon & Schuster for $2 billion last year, Madeline McIntosh plans to leave her position as the U.S. chief executive of Penguin Random House. She served in the position at the largest U.S. publisher since 2018. A departure date was not shared.

Her former boss and global Penguin Random House CEO, Markus Dohle, left the publisher in December. Nihar Malaviya has since assumed the position of interim global CEO.

HarperCollins announces layoffs amid union strike

The largest unionized book publisher will lay off 5% of its staff in North America by June, according to HarperCollins CEO Brian Murray. Some workers were laid off this week as well as last fall. Since November, the HarperCollins Union has been on strike, taking to social media and to the streets of New York to protest mostly low wages.

The publisher started mediation with the union this week after the announcement of the rolling layoffs.

Phenomenal Media partners with Hachette to diversify books

A year after launching its book club, Phenomenal Media recently announced its partnership with Hachette Book Group to create Phenomenal Media Books. The partnership will contribute to the development and acquisition of literary works written by underrepresented authors in the nonfiction and fiction genres.

The media company that started as a political and cultural merch brand by Meena Harris, the niece of Vice President Kamala Harris, will have its book division publish works across Hachette imprints Grand Central Publishing and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

“We were thrilled to see the positive reaction to our launch of Phenomenal Book Club — clearly people are looking for more stories from authors who, too often, do not receive the spotlight from the publishing industry,” said Meena, Phenomenal’s founder and CEO. “Phenomenal Media Books will provide new avenues for discovering those authors and positioning their works for success.”

New York town seeks to be a literary destination spot

Hobart, New York has eight indie bookstores on its Main Street and hosts several book festivals a year, according to a story by The New York Times. One of those bookstores is unstaffed and depends on the honor system for cash from customers. With a population of 400, the town in the Catskills of upstate New York has been known as Hobart Book Village since 2005. Beside book festivals, the town also holds semiannual book sale events each year, making it a place perfect for literary tourists.

February book club selections illuminate Black stories

What we’re reviewing

Brandy and Maya Angelou in Moesha.

When Maya Angelou Shared Her Wisdom on Moesha

The Vanishing Act by Brit Bennett

The Vanishing Half Dominates the Charts Amid #BlackStoriesMatter Movement

What we’re watching

The 1619 Project on Hulu

The 1619 Project on Hulu

The award-winning literary journalism project brought to us by Pulitzer Prize winner Nikole Hannah-Jones and The New York Times is a must-see docuseries on Hulu. The 1619 Project has six episodes with four streaming available now. Oprah Winfrey also serves as an executive producer.

Want your book and bookish news to be featured? Write us at shewrites@shelit.com.

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Book Review: ‘The Black Girls Left Standing’ by Juliana Goodman

The Black Girls Left Standing by Juliana Goodman leans on the grittiness to tell the story of a Black girl living in the Chicago projects searching for why her unarmed sister was killed outside the home of a police officer. 

Sixteen-year-old Beau Willet is trying to overcome the disbelief of attending her older sister Katia’s funeral. She wears a memorial sweatshirt in honor of her 22-year-old sister, who was killed by a single gunshot wound to the face fired by an off-duty police officer outside of his home in the middle of the night. Katia was accused of planning to rob the home, but Beau doesn’t accept that narrative. She depends on her friend Deja to help her figure out what happened to Katia, who was with her boyfriend Jordan at the time of the killing. Except Jordan has been missing since Katia’s death, and he is the only person who could clear Katia’s name. 

I should be crying, too, but I can’t for some reason. It’s like my ducts are all blocked up and the tears are dripping down my insides instead of my cheeks. Katia, why didn’t you just stay home with me instead? 

Beau knows the police department and the city will not investigate her sister’s killing fairly because she’s Black, her sister was Black, and they’re from the impoverished Grady Park neighborhood where Black people get killed all the time. Katia’s death is in the news cycle for what feels like a second until the rest of the city moves on and feels sympathy for the police officer and his family instead of Beau and her family. To get the answers she needs, Beau is determined to find Jordan. She feels alone in her quest when it comes to her family, her parents too depressed to push for more answers while trying to keep the roof over their heads. Deja seems occupied in a new relationship to help Beau solve the crime, and Beau feels guilty pulling Deja into her web of grief. While she’s looking for Jordan, Beau finds herself falling for Champion, a boy she goes to school with though he lives in a McMansion in the affluent Purple Hills neighborhood.

Everything’s all screwed up between me and Champion because I’m the girl with the murdered sister. Neither of us says it, but if he asked me to be his girl now, everyone would think it’s because he feels sorry for me. 

As Beau and Champion become more than friends, Beau finds herself and her friends engaging in petty fights with girls and guys in Grady Park who may or may not know what really happened to Katia. Nobody is snitching. Then Beau gets an anonymous tip that Jordan is in her apartment building complex. At first, she doesn’t believe that rumor because she knows everyone in the complex and hasn’t seen anything amiss; she swears she would’ve noticed Jordan by now, better yet someone would’ve been loyal to her and told her about his whereabouts.

While Deja seems to fade into her relationship, Beau taps Sonnet, another friend who uses her Pretty Little Liars knowledge to play detective. Sonnet lives a life more similar to Champion’s, so Beau feels immense pressure to protect Sonnet and herself. The guilt of Beau’s grief ebbs and flows as she leans on the friends not used to the atmosphere of the projects she lives in. The deeper they get into their investigation, the higher the stakes are. Blindly, Beau follows every clue until she finds herself in trouble to the point she may meet the same fate Katia did. 

Being inside Beau’s mind from the first-person perspective is incredible as she pushes aside the grief and depression of losing her sister while looking for answers for why her sister died at the hands of a gun fired by an off-duty police officer. Why was Katia outside this officer’s home at 4 a.m. with Jordan? Why did Jordan disappear? The questions resound throughout the pages as Beau tries to unwrap the mystery in her crime-ridden neighborhood where asking such questions about why someone was killed could get you killed. When Beau is in the bedroom she shared with Katia, the gloom overwhelms her as she looks through her sister’s belongings for any clues, but she only finds what could’ve been Katia’s destiny. The plans for the future seem to be the only clues Katia left behind, and it strengthens Beau more in doing the work the police won’t do. 

Overall, this young adult novel stands out with the reality of being a Black kid in the inner city and feeling like you, anyone who looks like you, and anyone you love doesn’t matter. Beau knows her sister’s killing will never get a fair investigation because Katia was accused of burglarizing a police officer’s home. But she knows her sister wouldn’t commit such an act, so she’s the only one who could stand up for Katia. Beau and her friends are the Black girls left standing who have to stand up for the Black girls who don’t make it out of places like Grady Park. In the audiobook version, narrator Ariel Blake does a fantastic job of conveying the sadness and determination in Beau’s voice. Out of similar works such as Angie Thomas’ books set in the similar fictional neighborhood of Garden Heights in The Hate U Give, On the Come Up, and Concrete Rose, Juliana Goodman’s debut novel makes a splash in the subgenre of social justice YA with digging into the mental health aspect of showing the tumultuous journey of the teenage main character struggling with how society paints girls like her, including her dead sister, and trying to prove that they deserve to be seen like any other girls.

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she lit newsletter

In Female-Dominated Publishing Industry, Pay Gaps Persist

SHE LIT: In Female-Dominated Publishing Industry, Pay Gaps Persist

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📚 Join the #shelitbookclub on July 31 as we discuss the novel Red Clocks by Leni Zumas amid the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Details can be found here.

Photo by Lara Jameson: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-riding-a-train-8898911/

HarperCollins employees say diversity and inclusion is not prioritized at publisher

Unionized employees of HarperCollins Publishers voted to strike earlier this week, citing concerns with low pay as a result of the book industry leader not promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion the way it promised.

Returning from the three-day July 4 holiday weekend, the Local 2110 of the UAW union said its 250+ members voted to authorize a strike as it negotiates a “fair contract” with the publisher.

Members include employees in editorial, sales, publicity, design, legal, and marketing departments. They say they want higher pay, better family leave benefits, stronger union protection, and a real commitment to staff diversity and inclusion.

The average female employee at HarperCollins earns an annual $55,000 with a starting salary of $45,000, according to the union’s press release announcing the potential strike. That doesn’t cover the cost of living in New York City, the release notes.

“Our compensation doesn’t reflect our education and skills, or our contributions to the financial success of the company,” said union chairperson Laura Harshberger, a senior production editor in children’s books, in the release.

Not only is the gender pay gap in the spotlight with this news, but so is the racial pay gap with the union saying the lack of racial and ethnic diversity at HarperCollins has contributed to the “historically low wages.” The publisher had “record profits” in 2021, parent company News Corp. mentions in a press release last August.

The union says HarperCollins is the only major book publisher in the U.S. to be unionized. The contract negotiations with HarperCollins management have been ongoing since December 2021.

The publishing industry is about 74% cisgender women and 23% cisgender men, according to a survey released in 2020 by Lee & Low Books, a family-run, minority-owned, independent publisher.

Women may dominate the industry, but men tend to better rise in the ranks with 38% of cisgender men holding executive and board member positions.

For the race and ethnicity breakdown, the industry is 76% White. “The field is overwhelmingly White women,” the survey says.

No date has been set for the strike since negotiations are still not done. Whether they strike or not, the publishing industry as a whole has a long way to go with closing the gender and racial pay gap. If a strike happens, we may see more major publishers dealing with employees wanting to unionize in an effort to not only raise wages but to diversify the industry.

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What we’re highlighting

Macmillan still recovering from cybersecurity attack

Macmillan Publishers is back up and running after a debilitating data breach that slowed down operations for at least a week. The publisher announced it was functional again on July 4. Media reports say the publisher is working through a backlog of orders from booksellers.

Scholastic recalls kid’s book over choking hazard

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall of Scholastic’s “Shake Look Touch” books. The books have pom poms attached, and Scholastic received two reports of the pom poms detaching, causing a choking concern for young children. The federal agency says roughly 185,700 books are on the market with an additional 1,500 sold in Canada. Scholastic is offering $10 gift cards to consumers who show a photo of removed pom poms and affirm they will be thrown away. The books are still usable without the pom poms.

Book club picks highlight Black female experience

Reese Witherspoon’s book club and Meena Harris’ book club selected two titles by Black women about Black women. Reese’s Book Club will read Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola this month that features a college radio talk show host who questions her love life after telling listeners to avoid situationships. The Phenomenal Book Club chose Big Girl by Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, a semi-autobiographical debut novel first set in 1990s Harlem focused on a “morbidly obese” girl who moves through life with that diagnosis.

What we’re reviewing

Both these authors have new books out now. Check out these book reviews on their previous best-sellers!

What we’re reading

What we’re watching

What’s lit around the web

With Rising Book Bans, Librarians Have Come Under Attack

‘There’s Obviously a Market’: Why Are There So Many Children’s Books About Anxiety?

‘Disgusted’: Parents Slammed for Donating Daughter’s Books As Punishment

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A Discussion on Banned Books Looks at Disinformation

<![CDATA[SHE LIT: A Discussion on Banned Books Looks at Disinformation]]> https://mailchi.mp/729f922e52fe/a-discussion-on-banned-books-looks-at-disinformation https://mailchi.mp/729f922e52fe/a-discussion-on-banned-books-looks-at-disinformation SHE LIT: A Discussion on Banned Books Looks at Disinformation

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📚 Join the #shelitbookclub on July 31 as we discuss the novel Red Clocks by Leni Zumas amid the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Details can be found here.

Words get twisted after an author and librarian discuss banned books at event

Over the last week, the American Library Association hosted its 2022 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C., and a panel about banned books became a hot topic on #BookTwitter with numerous authors and librarians alike sharing their opinions.

From the social media comments, young adult best-selling author and banned books ambassador Jason Reynolds was attacked over the assumption he supported Holocaust denial books being made available at libraries. Nancy Pearl, an author dubbed “Seattle’s most famous librarian” by The Seattle Times who was sitting on the Unite Against Book Bans panel last Saturday, implied she felt bad for keeping Holocaust denial books on library shelves because they’re “needed.”

So, should books that promote disinformation and misinformation like Holocaust denial books be banned from libraries?

What sparked the firestorm is a tweet that went viral on #BookTwitter from librarian Kelsey Bogan who said the panel seemed to have a “sentiment” that Holocaust denial books should stay on library shelves.

“What did I not want to add in the collection? Personally, I did not want to add Holocaust-denying books. That was offensive to me. Did I think we needed them? Sad to say, yes,” said Nancy, who is Jewish, as quoted in the panel’s livestream viewed by Jewish Insider. “But we talk about — we’re anti, we shouldn’t ban books. It’s much more nuanced and it’s much more difficult than one often tends to think that it is.”

As the Black male author on the panel, Jason seemed to be more in the crossfire than Nancy when it came to social media commentary.

Further in her Twitter thread, Kelsey says Jason “did not initiate the comment but did verbally agree/state it too, sort of against his better judgement?” Jason tweeted in response to Kelsey that he may have been “inarticulately trying to say” his thoughts on the subject of Holocaust denial books in reference to banned books.

But the main Black Twitterverse authors Dhonielle Clayton, Bethany C. Morrow, and LL McKinney said the barrage of negative comments about Jason over the panel is an example of anti-Blackness since the author never made the original comment, but due to his proximity to Nancy the commenter, he became more than fair game on social media. They and other supporters of Jason noted that the apologies and clarifications from Nancy and Kelsey came days later, enough time for more tweets to be written up against Jason.

For a bit of background, books that deny the Holocaust, promote gay conversion, claim abortion is murder, or recommend vaccines kill people, for example, usually are not under the umbrella of banned books. They tend to stay on shelves, if libraries allow them, unless an individual or group advocate for their removal from a library.

Most books are banned from libraries after concerns have been brought up about the books being read by children. The books that usually see bans center on the diversity of experiences dealing with race, religion, gender, and sexual orientation.

The conversation was really about library collection development policies, according to Unite Against Book Bans, a national initiative supporting the fight against censorship and the panel sponsor. Nancy, in her words, tried to say she has put Holocaust denial books on library shelves because it’s still literature that should be accessible.

She said the same thing in a 2017 article for The World. Here’s a snippet from the article:

Pearl says there have been times where she’s come across a book she doesn’t agree with or finds offensive. This is a time where she says she has to give herself a “stern talking to.”

Books promoting Holocaust denial have come to Pearl’s library. She puts them on the shelf, regardless of her opinion.

“It wouldn’t be a library if there weren’t books that annoyed people.”

Ultimately, she says, reading makes people more compassionate. “It makes us get outside ourselves.” Something she feels people need to do more and more in today’s political and cultural climate.

The banned books movement is to ensure books covering different experiences are made available to readers, especially children depending on the reading level and genre. The fate of books that could be classified as misinformation — defined as incorrect or misleading information, or disinformation — defined as false information deliberately and often covertly spread in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth, is still up in the air.

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Jenny Han Talks Asian Representation in Books on ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Tour

What we’re highlighting

Macmillan sees book sales impacted by cybersecurity attack

Publishing giant Macmillan Publishers saw its computer systems become compromised by a data breach this week. Industry news outlet Publishers Lunch reported the “security incident” on Monday and said Macmillan noticed the incident on Saturday and had to close its offices for most of the week.

Staffers took to Twitter to say they were slowly gaining access back into their Google Suite tools, including Gmail.

Bookstores said they weren’t able to place orders with Macmillan, which ultimately is impacting book sales, reported the Wall Street Journal. As of today, orders can be placed in the U.S. but not processed, according to Publishers Lunch.

Third book in Tomi Adeyemi’s best-selling series announced

The third novel from Tomi Adeyemi’s Legacy of Orisha fantasy YA series is titled Children of Anguish and Anarchy, according to the author’s Instagram post on Monday. In two photos featuring blue sticky notes, one photo shows the title while the next one reads “Destruction is a form of creation.” The book follows the record-breaking Children of Blood and Bone and the 2019 follow-up Children of Virtue and Vengeance.

On the Come Up film trailer debuts at BET Awards

Angie Thomas of The Hate U Give fame will see her sophomore novel on the big screen. On the Come Up features Bri, an up-and-coming teen rapper trying to follow in her late father’s footsteps. The trailer was first seen on the BET Awards last Sunday. Set to be released on Paramount+, the movie will be actress Sanaa Lathan’s directorial debut. Sanaa has been involved in book-to-TV projects such as the 2000 film Disappearing Acts based on Terry McMillan’s novel of the same name.

What we’re reviewing

What we’re reading

What we’re watching

What’s lit around the web

Unsurprisingly, Books About Abortion and Reproductive Freedom Are in High Demand

The Novels About Abortion That Everyone Should Read

16 Books on the Past, Present, and Future of Abortion

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‘Adventures of Qai Qai’ by Serena Williams Has the Power to Elevate Black Doll Sales

Tennis superstar Serena Williams recently announced that she is releasing a children’s book next year based on the adventures of her daughter Olympia’s doll Qai Qai. Black doll sales have the potential to be positively impacted by this news alone as we approach another pandemic holiday season.

What started as cute photos of Olympia playing with her real-life version of Qai Qai, pronounced kway-kway, has evolved into an empire that digitally animates the milk chocolate-skinned, doe-eyed doll on social media and replicates the doll for buyers online. Now, the moneymaking doll will be featured in The Adventures of Qai Qai written by Serena, illustrated by Yesenia Moises, and co-edited by Foyinsi Adegbonmire at Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group imprint Feiwel and Friends. The book will go on sale in September 2022.

“Since realizing @RealQaiQai’s ability to spread joy to our own family and also millions of others around the world, we’ve wanted to tell her story in every way possible,” Serena posted on Instagram. “We are so proud to announce Qai Qai’s first book, ‘The Adventures of Qai Qai,’ a story about the power of friendship and imagination.” The book is a story about the power of friendship and imagination, she adds in the caption.

Technology brings doll alive

Qai Qai has 3.2 million followers on TikTok, 353,000 followers on Instagram, and 25,500 followers on Twitter. Her interactive website sells merch from mugs to T-shirts and the reproduction of Olympia’s doll retailing for $30 exclusively on Amazon.com. She recreates your favorite memes and TikToks and roots for Serena on the sidelines of tennis matches.

Joining social media in 2018 a year after Olympia’s birth, Qai Qai was your average plastic doll abandoned in such places as on the sidewalk and between couch cushions, even sporting a purple cast for a broken leg. In November 2018, the doll became digitized and started to make more appearances than the real doll.

Alexis Ohanian, Serena’s husband and Olympia’s father, co-founded Reddit. His internet business connections have brought Qai Qai alive in a way we’ve never seen an independent Black doll be portrayed before.

The Black doll evolution

The doll industry in 2020 raked in $3.64 billion in the U.S., according to data from NPD Group, with nearly 11% growth from 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the toy industry overall since more families stayed at home and had to find more ways to entertain the kids.

Though data focused on the sale of Black dolls and other non-White dolls are hard to find, Black dolls have had a long history of being seen in a negative light.

In the 1930s, Black psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark handed Black children four dolls of varying light and dark complexions to choose which one was “nice” and which one was “bad.” Most of the children said the Black dolls were “bad,” and they saw themselves more in the White dolls. The infamous experiment showed that Black children were aware of the segregation and perceived inferiority impacting their communities.

The legacy of the experiment shows how racism in America affects girls who simply want to play with dolls. Today, Black dolls continue to evolve with more realistic Afrocentric features and accessories from Mattel implanting kinky hair into its Black Barbie dolls to the 1990s favorite Kenya doll that’s still available with her Kente outfits and hair lotion.

Serena’s family made the statement to not only have their biracial daughter play with a Black doll and share the fun with millions via social media but to create a character that’s building its own metaverse that now includes literature.

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book reviews

Book Review: ‘Misfits’ by Michaela Coel

Misfits: A Personal Manifesto by Michaela Coel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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Misfits by Michaela Coel is a smart quick read where the actress, screenwriter, and producer narrates her rise in entertainment by recognizing the people she classifies as misfits while also noticing how moths always seem to make an appearance on her journey.

How many other potential artists with stories we want and need have we lost for the sake of financial profit; have we lost to thoughtless education systems, thoughtless nurturing, thoughtlessness? Why are we platforming misfits, heralding them as newly rich successes while they balance on creaking ladders with little chance of social mobility? I can’t help usher them into this house if there are doors within it they can’t open.

The hourlong book starts with Michaela ready to kill a moth interrupting an informal Stranger Things screening in her flat with her friends. Instinctively, she sprays moth killer. Once her friends gag at the odor, she realizes her sense of smell is gone. That same year in 2018, she’s invited to the MacTaggart Lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival where she not only vocalizes her story but analyzes the elements that propelled her to unexpected stardom.

The author intersects lepidopterology throughout the key moments that contribute to her career in entertainment from dropping out of college a few times to taking a chance on a virtually White theater school, then writing her own play and performing it, and seeing that play become her first TV show, Chewing Gum.

The term “misfit” can be cross-generational and crosses concepts of gender or culture, simply by a desire for transparency, a desire to see another’s point of view. Misfits who visibly fit in will sometimes find themselves merging with the mainstream, for a feeling of safety.

Race and class define the story. The daughter of an immigrant single mother, Michaela attends a youth theater for free. She’s the only Black girl there. As an adult, the lack of diversity remains the same at her theater school. But when she writes the play that becomes the U.K. Netflix series Chewing Gum, she realizes the pattern continues on the industry level where she had to make sure the majority Black cast received the same treatment as the White actors.

During that show, she admits her business dealings weren’t clear to her. She eventually declines that newsworthy million-dollar offer from Netflix for her next show that evolves into HBO’s I May Destroy You. While working long hours on her second show, a night out for a break becomes the impetus for the future award-winning series as she is accosted by a flashback that makes her realize she had been raped. It’s then she finds herself leaning on the misfits she met inside and outside the industry to help her in the healing process and the storytelling process.

Overall, the personal manifesto highlights the author’s most meaningful memories describing where she is now and uses interesting symbolism from misfits to moths. Because of the length and substance, it’s a good choice for readers trying to stick to their annual reading goals or looking for something short and sweet.

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book reviews

Book Review: ‘Dominicana’ by Angie Cruz

Dominicana by Angie Cruz

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Read more book reviews like this on my blog shelit.com

Dominicana by Angie Cruz is a coming-of-age literary fiction novel about a Dominican girl in the 1960s who’s forced into a marriage to get her chance to live in the United States, but the American dream comes with more sacrifices than she expected.

Ana Canción is growing into her own. She loves her family composed of her parents, three siblings, and two cousins, and helps them on their dying farm in the Los Guayacanes area of the Dominican Republic. Except her family needs to sell some land to the entrepreneurial Ruiz brothers, who mostly live in New York City. Ana’s mother convinces Ana to marry middle brother Juan to seal the business deal and have an opportunity to live in the U.S. As the obedient daughter who witnessed her older sister Teresa suffer the downfall of having a child with a no-good man, Ana says yes to a marriage proposal that’s been on the table since she was eleven years old, even though she’s falling for Gabriel, her first crush:

One kiss and suddenly I’m una mujer. Not a niña or jovencita but a woman. I touch the mirror to understand how it happened without warning, but with the hot-pink dress on, the girl who had never been kissed is gone. I am Ana, about to be married and to travel to America. Juan Ruiz is expected before noon.

On the way to New York, Juan buys Ana a ceramic doll at the airport she calls Dominicana. By the time they get to their apartment in Manhattan on 168th Street and Broadway, Ana realizes that the doll is the only constant. Juan works most of the day in the garment business and comes home smelling like another woman’s perfume. He becomes violent when Ana isn’t the perfect homemaker, always cooking, cleaning, helping with Juan’s side hustle, and staying home as an undocumented immigrant who doesn’t know English. Juan’s side hustle is selling men’s suits out of their apartment. Ana figures out a way to overcharge and keep some of the profits for herself, hidden in Dominicana. But upon expanding her world, she loses her money and feels desperate about starting over again.

To make matters worse, Ana discovers she’s pregnant. She needs her own money. Juan’s younger brother César comes to her rescue. While Juan sorts out business affairs in the Dominican Republic, César, who also works all day and comes home smelling like another woman’s perfume, takes it upon himself to be the husband he knows Ana doesn’t have. They form a bond that seems indestructible until Juan returns home.

Every detail of a regular life juts out in a way that’s still interesting in this historical fiction novel reflecting the journeys of Dominican women coming to the United States in the 1960s when the island was on the brink of civil war. Seeing the world unfold from her window, Ana even witnesses Malcolm X’s assassination at the Audubon Ballroom next to her building.

It’s a snapshot of immigrant life in American history that’s rarely told in American literature. The story follows a pattern from other novels such as Monica Ali’s Brick Lane, which takes place in London with a woman from Bangladesh brought there by a much older husband, of the teen bride-turned-housewife dedicated to serving the husband who works all day while she doesn’t get the love she deserves until she finds it elsewhere. But the story also features domestic violence and rape as Ana is fifteen and Juan thirty-two, more than double her age. Ana feels stuck in a new country and in a promise to financially support her family. The weight is heavy of being the chosen daughter of a poor family from a poor country where she has the chance to make life easier for everyone by sacrificing herself for the cause.

Overall, the reader sees Ana’s growth from shy teenage girl to determined mother-to-be looking for ways to escape her marriage without causing harm to her family. Throughout the book, Ana thinks about her family as tragedy strikes amid her home country sinking into war. Her dedication to her family is strong as she depends on one Ruiz brother to save her from another.

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what's lit

Can You Tell Your Story Your Way? Mariah Carey Faces Lawsuits From Siblings Over Her Memoir

Songstress Mariah Carey enjoyed debut author success when her long-awaited memoir hit bookshelves last September. But the memoir that dives deep into how she found her voice in what she calls an abusive family environment has led to lawsuits from her siblings.

While promoting The Meaning of Mariah Carey with Oprah Winfrey on an Apple TV+ special last fall, Mariah said after years of therapy she calls Alison her “ex-sister” and Morgan her “ex-brother.” Her so-called former siblings now are suing her in New York Supreme Court over allegedly false and defamatory claims.

News broke this week that Morgan Carey, Mariah’s older brother, filed a lawsuit on March 3 against Mariah, co-author Michaela Angela Davis, Andy Cohen of Bravo fame whose imprint published the book, and Macmillan Publishers that owns Andy Cohen Books. Mariah’s older sister, Alison Carey, also had filed her own lawsuit on Feb. 3 solely against Mariah.

In the memoir, the singer describes several alleged violent interactions with her siblings. From the descriptions, lawsuits were expected, but it begs the question of how a memoirist can write her own story and portray real-life characters the way she interpreted their behavior and personality.

What Are the Allegations?

First, in Alison’s two-page complaint, she is representing herself and asking the court to have her sister pay $1.25 million in damages plus money for legal costs. She has issue with the chapter in Mariah’s memoir called “Dandelion Tea,” which is dedicated to Mariah’s allegedly dangerous experiences with her sister, who she claims tossed boiling hot water on her when she was 12 years old that made her black out and develop third-degree burns.

Alison says she was a troubled preteen, but she blames their mother, Patricia Carey, for allegedly forcing her to “attend terrifying middle-of-the-night satanic worship meetings that included ritual sacrifices and sexual activity.” Alison goes on to write that she has been diagnosed with a series of mental and physical health diseases. She says Mariah “used her status to attack her penniless sister” and “callously dismisses” her as an ex-sister.

Morgan also references in his lawsuit about being called publicly by Mariah as her ex-brother. He claims Mariah falsely depicted him as a “physically violent man.” In his own words, he alleges their father, Alfred Roy Carey, was the abuser and the reason he was placed in a children’s psychiatric center, a revelation Morgan says is an invasion of privacy. He says he believes he was portrayed as a stereotypical violent Black male for Mariah to “play the victim card and curry favor with the Black Lives Matter movement.” As part of the lawsuit, he attached a page of photos from over Mariah’s career of them together appearing happy to dispute his sister’s allegations.

Memory or Mismemory?

Memoirists have to reach for memories and describe those memories and the meaning behind what happened and how it impacted their lives. But as humans our minds may misinterpret an old memory and transform it. That’s a concern that impacts any writer writing their own true story.

“This is because memory is not just about retrieving stored information,” reads a Scientific American article on the unintentional phenomenon of misremembering, or the act of remembering incorrectly. “Our minds normally construct memories using a blend of remembered experiences and knowledge about the world. Our memories can be frazzled, though, by new experiences that end up tangling the past and the present.”

Should a writer discuss what they plan to tell in their story with people who will have a major appearance? It’s a question about how much to reveal about someone and how similar are the memories you share with that someone to ensure the right description makes it into the book. But if you’re not close to that particular someone, then reaching out can get murky. Also, reaching out could mean that someone wants their name and any reference to the event they’re mentioned in to be out of the book, subtracting some of the author’s freedom to express their story.

Your Truth or Their Truth?

Both of Mariah’s siblings say they weren’t contacted by the press for their sides of the story nor were given a copy of the unpublished book to verify any information.

There are memoirs, especially celebrity ones, that share private information about others without substituting names. Actress Demi Moore in her 2019 memoir Inside Out, for example, wrote she had taken actor Jon Cryer’s virginity. This aspect, of course, exploded in the media, but Jon issued a correction on Twitter saying he lost his virginity in high school before meeting Demi.

For Demi, her mismemory was forgiven though it involved sexual information that’s usually preferred to remain private.

Mariah hints at the alleged situation with her family in “Petals” off her 1999 Rainbow album.

Who Will Win?

When the lawsuits spill in claiming false and defamatory statements after a memoir is published, it’s hard to say how the court battle will go down. Most lawsuits head toward settlement as in we may never hear the result of the settlement if Mariah and her siblings believe that’s the best route to resolution.

In 2003, Augusten Burroughs published his memoir, Running with Scissors, that mentioned his time living with a family that he gave a fictional name. In the family’s chapter, he recounts abuse, drug use, and overall dysfunction. The real family filed a defamation and invasion of privacy lawsuit against the author and his publisher St. Martin’s Press. The author argued his memories were as accurate as he remembered, therefore what he wrote was true. The $2 million lawsuit settled outside of court with the author saying in his apology that the family’s memories were “different from my own,” The New York Times reported in 2007. The memoir became a movie starring Alec Baldwin and Annette Bening.

Mariah told The Hollywood Reporter in December amid her Apple TV+ Christmas special that she’s in talks to adapt her memoir for the screen. This is before the lawsuits were filed that may or may not impact any future projects, especially around the division of profits if that becomes part of the probable settlements.

If you are working on a memoir and worried about your memories sparking lawsuits, here are some resources to check out:

A Writer’s Guide to Defamation and Invasion of Privacy, Writer’s Digest

How Not to Get Sued for Your Memoir, HuffPost

Writing Memoirs—What You Need to Know to Avoid Being Sued, Self Publishing School 

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what's lit

‘Paper Gods’ Author Goldie Taylor Shares Inspiring Words After Book Picked Up for TV

The Daily Beast editor-at-large Goldie Taylor will have her 2018 best-selling sexy thriller Paper Gods turned into a series produced by John Legend.

John’s production company is teaming up with actress/producer Nia Long to bring the novel to the silver screen. Nia will also star in the ABC series.

Once the news broke, Goldie tweeted her gratitude about the project but also inspired writers to begin their careers.

Paper Gods surrounds the life of a fictional Atlanta mayor who seems to be living the perfect life with her Ivy League credentials, heart surgeon husband, and twin daughters. Then her world is turned upside down when her congressman friend is gunned down. In the congressman’s Bible, she finds a “paper god,” an origami marker that turns up at the sight of other murders across the city. She has to solve the mystery before her own potential murder.

The novel is published under the All Points Books and St. Martin’s Publishing Group imprints with Macmillan Publishers.

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music reviews

Reading a Singer’s Memoir? Choose the Audiobook

Mariah Carey is the latest singer to tell her life story in a book that will be formatted into an audiobook she narrates. With singers using their actual voices in their memoirs, the audiobook has become the best format in this booming genre.

Last week, the five-octave diva revealed the title of her memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey. The book will be coming out via Henry Holt & Company’s Andy Cohen Books in the U.S., Pan Macmillan in the U.K., and Audible. The release date is Sept. 29 with Michaela Angela Davis, a well-known Black culture insider, as the co-writer.

 

The next day, as fans chimed on social media about the fate of an audiobook, Mariah confirmed her memoir will be in an audio format, linking to the Audible pre-order page. On Friday, in celebration of the 30th year of her career, she released a new album featuring one of her first concerts at the Tatou Club in New York during her 1990 debut.

Between new music and the audiobook, songstress memoirs are more entertaining to read, as evidenced by Jessica Simpson and Alicia Keys, the other major female artists who also released memoirs this year.

In Harper Collins’ Open Book, Jessica’s voice not only breaks with emotion at the emotional parts, but it also includes six new songs she wrote while writing the book. Her new music is still not available on streaming services as an exclusive for audiobook readers.

More Myself from Macmillan Audio has Alicia expressly telling her story with every chapter guest-starring family and friends from her mother, husband Swizz Beatz, and even ex-boyfriend and collaborator Kerry “Krucial” Brothers Jr. with of course Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and Jay-Z. She also has spurts of singing to describe how albums or singles came together.

Jessica and Alicia have been promoting their books the best way they can amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but with cases rising in many states, even Mariah may have to deal with the same fate of not meeting fans in public who want their books signed, or their audiobook covers.

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music reviews

The Songstresses Who Have Memoirs Coming Out This Year

JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! Ð ÒJimmy Kimmel Live!Ó airs every weeknight at 11:35 p.m. EST and features a diverse lineup of guests that include celebrities, athletes, musical acts, comedians and human interest subjects, along with comedy bits and a house band. The guests for Wednesday, January 29, included Jessica Simpson (ÒOpen BookÓ), Lakeith Stanfield (ÒThe PhotographÓ), and musical guest Orville Peck. (ABC/Randy Holmes) JESSICA SIMPSON

2020 is looking to be a momentous year for three divas who’ve grown into multihyphenates. After pursuing extraordinary careers with the media capturing the highlights and lowlights, the singers plan to tell their stories, from rocky childhood moments to failed romantic relationships.

Jessica Simpson

The 2000s teenage pop star turned fashion designer has written her memoir, Open Book. According to her book’s official page, she had originally been approached to write a motivational guidebook but felt like she would be lying to her fans.

“I promise to be totally honest with you, so you can feel safe to be honest with yourself, too,” Jessica says in a HarperCollins Publishers promo video for the book.

With the book going on sale last week, the press has focused on the newsmaking details such as Jessica surviving child sex abuse; having an emotional affair with Johnny Knoxville while married to 98 Degrees frontman Nick Lachey; and developing a yearslong diet pill addiction after Tommy Mottola, former Sony Music CEO and Mariah Carey’s ex-husband (see below for her pending memoir), told her to lose 15 pounds when she was 17 years old.

Music note: Jessica’s best album, 2003’s In This Skin, was written while she was in the throes of love with Nick Lachey. It produced some of her best hits: “With You,” “Sweetest Sin,” and the cover of Robbie Williams’ “Angels.” Unreleased gems include “Everyday See You” and “Be.”

Alicia Keys

Fresh off from hosting the Grammy Awards, Alicia plans to soon debut her memoir, More Myself: A Journey. Macmillan Publishers says in the book’s synopsis that Alicia will detail her experiences such as the “challenging and complex relationship with her father, the people-pleasing nature that characterized her early career, the loss of privacy surrounding her romantic relationships, and the oppressive expectations of female perfection.”

The book, co-written by celebrity memoir collaborator Michelle Burford, is under Macmillan’s imprints Flatiron Books and An Oprah Book from Oprah Winfrey. The press around Alicia’s memoir hasn’t started yet for its March 31 release, but it may be due to Flatiron and Macmillan dealing with the firestorm of their literary partner Oprah choosing their best-selling debut novel American Dirt as her book club pick. That book has been criticized for perpetuating stereotypes about Mexico and Mexicans.

Music note: The Diary of Alicia Keys solidified Alicia’s budding career in 2002 after her debut hit, “Fallin’.” This album produced even more hits such as “You Don’t Know My Name,” “Karma,” and the reality TV audition favorite, “If I Ain’t Got You.” Unreleased gems include “Diary” and “If I Was Your Woman.”

Mariah Carey debuts the “mixed-ish” theme song to partygoers in September 2019. (ABC/Image Group LA)

Mariah Carey

Mariah’s highly anticipated memoir will be released under Andy Cohen Books, the Henry Holt and Company imprint by the eponymous Bravo personality.

The singer, who just attained her 19th No. 1 hit with holiday classic “All I Want For Christmas Is With You,” has not revealed a name for her memoir.

“I did not feel like I was being treated the same as some male artists when I was coming out with my first album,” she told Variety in October. Though she didn’t add details about the industry misogyny from her interview, Mariah may save it for her memoir, along with her tumultuous marriage to Tommy Mottola and her relationship with her estranged father while growing up biracial in New York in the 1970s and 1980s.

Music note: Mariah Carey’s eponymous album from 1990 launched her unbelievable career with her first single, “Vision of Love,” hitting No. 1. It is rumored the title of this song may be the title of her memoir. Other No. 1 hits on this album are “I Don’t Wanna Cry”, “Love Takes Time,” and “Someday.” Unreleased gems include the rest of the album.

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what's lit

February 2020 Celebrity Book Club Picks

AMERIE’S BOOK CLUB

Little Gods by Meng Jin

Singer-turned-book YouTuber Amerie plans to host the author at the end of the month on Instagram Live to discuss the novel.

“Quantum physics meets motherhood, love, and identity in this haunting portrayal of a daughter’s desperation to be seen and a mother’s desperation to disappear,” she wrote in the book club’s post. “@mengjinwrites creates characters who are at once vulnerable, caring, self-absorbed, and despicable, and through it all, utterly real. I rooted for them just as I was repelled by them; always, though, Ms. Jin put me so firmly in their heads, I couldn’t help but feel empathetic, even as I cringed.”

BELLETRIST BOOK CLUB

We Wish You Luck by Caroline Zancan

“An exhilarating novel about a group of students who take revenge on a wunderkind professor after she destroys one of their own—a story of collective drive to create, sabotage, and ultimately, to love,” the book club copied from publisher Penguin Random House in its announcement email and on Instagram.  ⠀

GMA BOOK CLUB

Good Morning America’s book club hasn’t named its February title yet. It’s celebrating Black History Month with a Feb. 19 appearance by Tomi Adeyemi of Children of Blood and Bone and Children of Virtue and Vengeance fame; Kiley Reid of Such a Fun Age; and award-winning young adult novelist Jason Reynolds.

NONAME’S BOOK CLUB

Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

Magical Negro by Morgan Parker

“I’m so excited to start black history month by honoring two incredible black women. trust me you definitely want to read with us for the month of february!” rapper Noname tweeted when quote tweeting her book club’s two picks. She also reminded her followers to shop local bookstores, preferably black-owned, and avoid Amazon.com.

OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB

The book club is finishing its controversial January book, American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins, which added a spark to the conversation around diversity in publishing.

READ WITH JENNA – TODAY SHOW BOOK CLUB

The Girl With The Louding Voice by Abi Daré

“It’s about this young girl, Adunni, whose voice, from the time she is born, is strong, loud and clear but because of where she is born and the circumstances of her life, she doesn’t yet know how to use it,” said Today Show correspondent Jenna Bush Hager in an article.

REESE’S BOOK CLUB

The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister

“The story centers around Emmeline, a young girl who lives on a remote island with her father and uncovers secrets of the natural world through her senses,” Hollywood bookwoman Reese Witherspoon’s book club explained on Instagram. “As she gets older, she becomes even more curious about the scents in the drawers of their cabin.”

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what's lit

Why the Latinx Literary Community Is Warning Us About ‘American Dirt’

While American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins was being officially named the monthly pick for Oprah’s Book Club and the Barnes & Noble February 2020 National Book Club Selection Tuesday morning, Latinx writers and book bloggers and their supporters had already launched a social media campaign warning readers of the alleged egregious stereotypes about Mexico and Mexican-Americans within the book.

Oprah joined the CBS This Morning crew, including her BFF Gayle King, with Jeanine to share the highly anticipated book selection.

“You already have a little bit of haterade people are drinking about you,” Gayle said about the controversy. “Even you were first worried you had no business writing this book. You felt compelled yet unqualified because it’s a migrant story. In Mexico.”

“I always knew I wanted to write about immigration,” Jeanine responded. “I was interested in that topic and I resisted for a very long time, telling the story from a migrant’s point of view because I was worried I didn’t know enough. That my privilege would make me bind to certain truths.

“I felt very compelled. It was five years of research and two failed drafts that convinced me that I needed to go into Lydia’s point of view,” she said. She added during her early research she spoke to a former Chicano studies professor chair at San Diego State University who told her: “‘Jeanine, we need every voice we can get telling this story.'”

Oprah ended the interview by saying she and Jeanine will travel to the U.S.-Mexico border to the real places mentioned in the book to videotape the book club special for Apple TV+.

On Instagram, book bloggers and writers posted several photos starting with a neon blue screen, matching the blue hue in the book cover, followed by a pile of books by Mexican-American writers. Book blogger Lupita @lupita.reads said the book is “filled with harmful stereotypes of my culture for the sake of representation.”

Especially not at this time when all we are fed in the media is “Mexico = bad”. I can’t and I won’t accept books that dehumanize immigrants. The thing is, I am not a “brown faceless mass”, as the author noted, I have had a face for a very long time and so have writers like me that have written about our struggles beyond our initial journey here.

The messages ask readers to educate themselves on the stereotypes in the book and support books actually written by Mexican and Mexican-American authors who depict more accurate immigrant stories but didn’t get the same marketing budget as American Dirt. Book bloggers a part of the “own voices” community posted they felt their concerns about the book have been drowned out by the good reviews by the publisher, Oprah, and their affiliates.

The book is under the Flatiron Books imprint with MacMillan Publishers. Its website has a quote from trailblazing Mexican-American poet Sandra Cisneros saying, “This book is not simply the great American novel; it’s the great novel of las Americas. It’s the great world novel! This is the international story of our times. Masterful.”

“This book is not simply the great American novel; it’s the great novel of las Americas. It’s the great world novel! This is the international story of our times. Masterful.”

American Dirt follows Lydia, a bookseller in Mexico, who is married to a journalist. Once her husband publishes a profile of a drug cartel leader, Lydia must flee her home with her son Luca. Their journey leads to the border where they know the cartel leader won’t find them in the U.S. The book’s description ends: “As they join the countless people trying to reach el norte, Lydia soon sees that everyone is running from something. But what exactly are they running to?”

https://twitter.com/SassyMamainLA/status/1219701834454949888

Though Oprah received the bulk of the backlash, Barnes & Noble also announced its bookstores will hold a book club discussion on March 10 at 7 p.m. No word yet on any counter-discussions scheduled at that time.
 
 
“With Jeanine Cummins’ American Dirt, we have selected a book that will resonate with our customers and stay with them long after they turn the final page,” said Liz Harwell, senior director of merchandising, trade books at Barnes & Noble, in the announcement. “American Dirt is a heart-racing page turner that takes readers into the heart of the migrant crisis.”
 
 
Barnes & Noble Book Club conversation will be at #BNBookClub on social media while Oprah’s Book Club can be found at @OprahsBookClub on Instagram.