British Vogue | August 3, 2020

“On a Saturday in early June, I found myself blinking into the summer light as I emerged from London Underground’s Vauxhall station with two little girls beside me, witnessing something new. It was not the first major protest that month, not even the first Black Lives Matter protest, but as I stepped up on to that street, I felt an outpouring of raw, ancestral anger and outrage against racism on a scale I’ve never experienced before.

We had come to march because of the May killing of George Floyd; an act so callous and brazen his family described it as a ‘modern-day lynching’. The pain gathered after his death in Minnesota like an ocean swell, then rolled over the planet like a tsunami of Black rebellion, while injustices against Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Belly Mujinga, Shukri Abdi and so many more took centre stage. In London, we found ourselves surrounded by people of all races and ages, motorists beeping ‘Black. Lives. Matter’ in unison with the march and bus drivers throwing Black Power fists from behind their windscreens. As the veteran Black liberation activist Professor Angela Davis remarked about the protests in America, and the same was true of Britain, ‘We’ve never witnessed sustained demonstrations of this size that are so diverse.’”

Follow the link above to read the full article.

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Gary Shapiro’s “From the Bookshelf” | August 3, 2020

“From the Bookshelf is heard on radio station KSCO in Santa Cruz California.  Host Gary Shapiro brings you interviews with best selling authors of fiction and non-fiction, graphic novelists, actors, photographers, and singer-songwriters discussing their works.”

Historian Jill Watts spoke with Gary Shapiro about her latest book: The Black Cabinet. Follow the link above to listen!

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Parade | August 3, 2020

“As one can only expect from a Karin Slaughter crime thriller, her latest book The Silent Wife (William Morrow) comes with just the right amount of twists, turns, shocks, surprises and domestic thrill and shrill that will keep longtime fans of her Will Trent series on their toes—and welcome new readers to the party.

In The Silent Wife, Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Will Trent (and everyone’s favorite pediatrician-coroner Sara Linton) look into the murder of a young woman. When a prisoner recognizes the method of the attack (identical to the one for which he insists he’s been framed), they begin to dig into both crimes before it’s clear the original case is going to have to be solved first. But a decade has passed, and so have memories, witnesses and evidence, but a ruthless murderer must be tracked down nonetheless.

‘At the very core of it, I always want my readers to get a really good story,’ she says. Since Slaughter began writing, she’s been focused on introducing a different voice to stories about domestic violence, many of which are told through a predominantly male voice. ‘I wanted to bring a female perspective to it and talk about how complex it is. As great as men are at writing about some things, there’s just an undeniable perspective that women bring to this. And I’m proud that I’ve held to the choice to write about recovery and the kind of expectations that women tie themselves in knots over when they become victims of violence.’

Ahead of the release of her 20th book, Slaughter reflects on some of the best thrillers she’s ever read and why the authors and stories are deserving of their place at the top of her list.”

Follow the link at the top of the page to see Karin Slaughter’s full list!

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New York Magazine | July 31, 2020

“At the beginning of my writing career, I bought all kinds of notebooks (from Moleskines to fancy journals with handmade paper) to keep handy for jotting down ideas, but none of them ever really worked for me. I always went back to using stray pieces of paper, hotel stationery, and the back of a CVS receipts. My one issue with those? They don’t really work when wet, which would seem like a weird complaint were it not for the fact that about 70 percent of my good ideas — including several of my book titles — have come to me while in the shower.

My father always taught me to make sure I have the right tools for every job, so whenever there’s a task to do, I look for the best, most efficient way to do it. I first found AquaNotes by doing a Google search for ‘notepads that can get wet.’ I’ve also used similar notepads from a company called Rite in the Rain, but the paper felt icky and it had a metal spiral binding and I’m not getting a tetanus shot for a notebook. The AquaNotes website’s testimonials had me rooting for the product before the shipment I ordered even arrived. The one that sold me read, ‘The writing stayed intact even when I … hit it hard with the shower hose!’”

Follow the link above to read the rest of this amazing article from Karin Slaughter!

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Vulture | July 31, 2020

“Speaking of things that deserve our collective attention, this week on The Daily Show, Trevor Noah devoted a segment to highlighting and celebrating Black women. In the latest installment of ‘If You Don’t Know, Now You Know,’ Noah detailed the history of the erasure of Black women as leaders of social-justice movements, from Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, and Mary Church Terrell in the women’s suffrage movement all the way to the Black Lives Matter movement founded by Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi, and Patrisse Cullors. The segment was such a great example of how whitewashed history is. I clearly remember learning about Susan B. Anthony (she’s on a coin) and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (Seneca Falls Convention, let’s go) in grade school, but I absolutely didn’t hear the names Ida B. Wells or Mary Church Terrell uttered in an academic context until my junior year of college, and that is an example of academic misogynoir. Merci beaucoup to Trevor Noah et. al for educating the masses and centering Black women in the narrative, while also serving an incredible example of Black French New Wave Cinema.”

Follow the link above to read the full article.

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Entertainment Weekly | July 29, 2020

“As she readies her landmark 20th novel, prolific murder mystery novelist Karin Slaughter is taking EW through the inspiration behind some of her most memorable tomes.”

Follow the link above to learn more about Karin Slaughter’s inspiration behind some of her novels, including her forthcoming book, The Silent Wife.

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Rhode Island Monthly | July 29, 2020

“Normally when you’re at your local bookstore, you’re expecting to walk out with only the book you’re dying to read. But now, Ink Fish Books in Warren has gone one step further to make your next purchase even more meaningful. The book shop has come up with a new and exciting way to incorporate a community love of reading and celebrate local businesses in Rhode Island. Ink Fish Books owner Lisa Valentino and local author Vanessa Lillie are teaming up to introduce the first Rhody Reader Box, including a selection of handcrafted gifts paired with a signed book by a bestselling author. Ten percent of the sales will be donated to the Rhode Island Writers Colony, a local nonprofit supporting writers of color through residency programs founded in Warren.”

Follow the link above to learn more!

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The Little Black Book of Discrimination | Book Publishing Insiders’ Secret Battles with Systemic Racism

“Her voice still gets choked up when she talks about it. After working her way from an assistant position to a senior level publicist at a major publishing imprint, Robin* (who chose to withhold her identity for fear of retaliation) was proud to have worked her way into a competitive field as a black woman in an overwhelmingly white field. 

She worked tirelessly, sacrificing personal relationships for the company, traveling mercilessly at a breakneck speed—giving everything to her job.  Even as a debilitating illness painfully ravaged her body, and she went into the office under the effects of the medical treatment, Robin dedicated herself to the book publishing company, telling herself that if she had their backs in turn, they would have hers. And then, at what should have been the height of her career, her position was eliminated. 

‘After many years of stellar performance reviews, all of a sudden I was having performance issues that were never fully explained and there was NO plan for how I could improve. When I was also denied a cost of living raise, something I had gotten every year, I knew the writing was on the wall. I wasn’t surprised when I was told my position was eliminated. It was a “business decision” which I came to understand to mean that they were no longer going to publish as many books by authors of color. How could they? Many of the editors of color who acquired those books had moved on and the list became more and more white which reflected the staff that was left. The imprint no longer felt like home and in many ways they freed me to pursue my passion elsewhere.’

It was a painful reminder of how far the industry needs to go in terms of creating true equality for people of color who work in book publishing.

[…]

This systemic challenge has not gone oblivious to those outside of the community. There are white colleagues who have gone above and beyond to fight for different voices to be heard in publishing, both authors as well as editors and agents. Multiple professionals who are people of color have mentioned the late Carolyn Reidy, Publisher Judith Curr, literary agents, Victoria Sanders, Theresa Park and Celeste Fine and others who give hope that impactful change is possible by partnering with others.”

Follow the link above to read this important article about the systemic racism present inside the publishing industry.

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The Washington Post | July 29, 2020

“On the surface, La La seems stable and driven: She’s in veterinary school and engaged to a chiropractor named Clem. No one would guess that her father, Zev, a lifelong thief, began teaching his daughter how to pick locks when she was still in elementary school. When one of Zev’s burglaries goes so badly that a homeowner winds up in a coma, La La finds herself torn between the life she has built in Denver and the life Zev gave her after her feckless mother left them.

[…]

Other People’s Pets, with its lively voice and unexpected characters, makes a perfect addition to anyone’s summer reading pile, but it is required for those who understand that coming of age has absolutely nothing to do with age.”

Follow the link above to read the entire review!

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DNC Platform Committee Meeting | July 27, 2020

Patrisse Cullors delivered a powerful speech at the DNC platform committee meeting on July 27. Her speech was modeled after John Lewis’ remarks at the 1963 March on Washington. Follow the link above to hear her full speech, which begins around the 1 hour and 42 minute mark.

More information can be found on her Instagram page: @osopepatrisse.

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Hollywood Reporter | July 24, 2020

“Alfre Woodard has a date with Patrisse Cullors on July 29.

The veteran actress and producer will join the Black Lives Matter co-founder for a SAG-AFTRA Foundation conversation at 1 p.m. PST on the organization's YouTube channel. Viewers will have an opportunity to pose questions during the conversation, which will be recorded and archived in the SAG-AFTRA Foundation video gallery.

Using the story of Woodard's recent film Clemency and death row executions as a jumping-off point, the two are expected to discuss race, criminal justice and incarceration, speaking to actionable steps that can be taken to promote racial justice in the U.S. 

News of the chat comes on the heels of Neon's announcement that it is offering Clemency free to stream until July 31. Directed by Chinonye Chukwu, Woodard stars alongside Aldis Hodge, Richard Schiff, Wendell Pierce, Richard Gunn and Danielle Brooks. The story follows Woodard's character, a prison warden, as she prepares to execute another inmate. In doing so, she must confront the psychological and emotional demons her job creates, ultimately connecting her to the man she is sanctioned to kill.

More information about the event can be found here.”

Be sure to tune in to this conversation on July 29!

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O Magazine | July 22, 2020

“I was 34 when my mother changed her face. Too old for tantrums, but that didn’t stop me from having one. Not in front of her—even I wasn’t that self-centered—but among my friends. The softness around her eyes and cheeks was gone, replaced by taut skin and sculpted cheekbones. Looking at pictures, my friends declared her beautiful, but I couldn’t get past that she looked different.

The face I had loved since childhood, that I had gazed at during story and meal times, and that had calmed me when I was anxious about a test or later a job interview, was gone. Just looking at my mother’s face had conjured lullabies and the kisses she bestowed nightly until I moved out of the house. But now that she had altered it, I mourned what was gone. Rightly or wrongly, I felt it had belonged partly to me.”

Follow the link above to read the entire essay in O Magazine!

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Literary Hub | July 22, 2020

“Long before I had a regular writing practice, a friend told me he had hired a local author to give him feedback on a short story. ‘They do that?’ I said. I had never heard of a developmental editor. I filed the information away, not realizing developmental editors would one day become my most important teachers.

When I first began writing, I attended craft classes and workshops. I learned to read other writers’ manuscripts critically, to articulate what was working and what wasn’t, which taught me to read my own manuscripts critically, too. Listening to teachers read their work, I was inspired by the range of literary notes they hit.

But I was never comfortable in a classroom. I sweated through the give and take of workshops, craving the attention that came with holding the floor, afraid of looking foolish when I did. Beneath the tables around which we gathered, I would wring my hands. Perhaps my anxiety was linked to introversion. Or maybe it was the result of having an impatient and unkind father.”

Follow the link above to read the rest of the article.

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CBS News | July 20, 2020

“Congressman John Lewis' legacy has inspired a new generation of civil rights activists, including those in the Black Lives Matter movement. Jericka Duncan spoke with two co-founders of the movement, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, and Dr. Bernice King, the daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. about Lewis' fight for equality and how it can be carried on.”

Click the link above to watch the video.

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Star Tribune | July 19, 2020

“Of all the ways that John Lewis influenced American life and politics, his indelible impact on young people may be among the most enduring. From student activist to elder statesman, Lewis continually encouraged the nation's youth to start ‘good trouble’ — and modeled just how to do that.

He was arrested alongside millennial activists pushing for comprehensive reform of U.S. immigration laws in 2013. He led a sit-in in the House of Representatives over gun control following a mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando in 2016. And when he was not protesting, he was helping young people understand history, as when he cosplayed as his younger self at San Diego's Comic-Con to celebrate the release of his Selma, Alabama-themed graphic novel series in 2015.

Lewis, the Black civil rights icon who some called the ‘conscience of Congress,’ died Friday.

In one of his last public appearances, he posed for a picture in June, standing on the Black Lives Matter Plaza mural painted just outside of the White House amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd.

For the Black Lives Matter generation, the connection to Lewis is deeper than many may realize. As a young man, through clouds of teargas and a hail of billy clubs, Lewis nearly lost his life marching against segregation and for voting rights. As a Georgia congressman, Lewis was generous with his time, taking meetings and sharing stages with activists who, from Sanford, Florida, to Ferguson, Missouri, Baltimore to Minneapolis, also withstood teargas — as well as rubber bullets, pepper spray and arrests — in their own protests against racism.

‘He didn't have to stand with us, he chose to,’ Malkia Devich Cyril, the founder and senior fellow of MediaJustice, which advocates for open and democratic media and technology platforms, told The Associated Press. ‘That's real leadership.’

In exclusive interviews with the AP, prominent organizers from the Black Lives Matter movement reflected on Lewis' example and his kinship with their generation.”

Follow the link above for the full article and to read Patrisse Cullors’ reflections on John Lewis.

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USA Today | July 17, 2020

“Expressing support for the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement isn't political or partisan, an independent federal agency has said in an opinion addressing questions from federal employees on the topic.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel cleared the way for federal employees to support the Black Lives Matter movement and the Black Lives Matter Global Network while on duty, including wearing or displaying materials related to the cause, according to an advisory opinion obtained by USA TODAY. The opinion was first issued July 10 and updated Tuesday.

[…]

The Black Lives Matter Global Network traces its roots to both a hashtag and a political project after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin. Founders of the organization include Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tomet.

The most important directive of Black Lives Matter, Cullors has said, is to deal with anti-black racism, to ‘push for black people’s right to live with dignity and respect’ and be included in the American democracy that they helped create.”

Follow the link above to read the full article.

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Heated | July 17, 2020

“In the middle of a global shutdown, Meals, Music, and Muses: Recipes From My African American Kitchen debuted — the third book from opera singer and longtime restaurateur Alexander Smalls. The New York resident and partner in The Cecil and Minton’s in Harlem with JJ Johnson (now closed), Smalls has lived a remarkable life: Born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, he traveled the world singing, then returned to New York, eventually opening a catering company and his first restaurant, Cafe Beulah, in the mid-1990s. Read on for more on his fascinating journey and advice to young Black chefs at this moment. This interview was edited for clarity and length.”

Follow the link above to read the rest of the interview.

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LibraryReads | July 15, 2020

The Silent Wife by Karin Slaughter is one of the top ten books of August 2020 that librarians love! Follow the link above to see the full list.

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