In a season marred by terrorism, fear and grief, the book industry seeks to rebound from an economic recession that threatens to stymie sales, distribution and book tours. Despite the challenges presented by the September 11 tragedy, editors, agents and authors remain optimistic that the booming African-American segment of the book trade will continue to offer a flood of new works in many genres.
Editors and agents contacted by PW suggest that in spite of concerns about the economy, the steady growth in the number of titles and consumer interest in black-oriented books continues. In addition, since September 11, many retailers indicate that black consumers, like most American readers, have expressed a newfound interest in certain serious nonfiction titles to go along with the celebrity memoirs and books on spirituality and personal uplift they have long favored—without necessarily abandoning the guilty pleasures of a steady stream of sexy, self-published potboilers.
Indeed, a boom in black-oriented titles is the best way to describe the growth in the range and number of titles aimed at African-American readers over the last 10 years. At least three new publishing imprints were launched in the last year for a total of seven imprints devoted to black titles at major New York publishing houses. And that's not counting African-American titles published as part of the publishers' normal lists. The Black Expressions Book club, a division of Bookspan devoted to African-American titles, boasts 500,000 members less than two years after being launched. This growth is supported by a network of consumer venues, online chatrooms, author Web sites and online magazines catering to black readers and readers of any background who happen to be interested in African-American life.
In addition to the titles from mainstream publishers, there's a burgeoning publishing subculture of popular self-published titles—romance, erotica, general fiction and even a little nonfiction—often characterized by bad book jackets and bad prose, but championed by tireless authors and the many black independent bookstores that seem to sell them by the basketful.
Self-published African-American titles, usually novels, continue to show up in new editions on the lists of mainstream publishing houses, even though their quality can vary widely. Self-published authors often manage to sell impressive numbers, which can be greatly improved—for the right titles—with the marketing, promotional and distribution clout of a mainstream publisher.
Pocket Books has signed Zane, the single-named self-publishing sensation of the moment, to a "lucrative, multibook contract," according to Tracy Sherrod, senior editor at S&S's Pocket Books. Sherrod calls Zane "one of the true phenomenons of the season." Zane has self-published three novels, the Sex Chronicles and Shame on It All, and most notably Addicted, the story of a young woman's addiction to sex, which Pocket has acquired and republished. Addicted sold nearly 60,000 copies as a self-published novel, while Sex Chronicles and Shame on It All sold 20,000 and 38,000 copies respectively, according to Sherrod. Released in a Pocket Book edition in October, Addicted has already sold more than 35,000 copies. "It is breaking all records for a book of its type," Sherrod says, adding, "Word of mouth has propelled Zane's work to the bestseller status." And the mysterious Zane doesn't even make in-store appearances (she tells PW, however, she may do so in the future) as most self-published authors do. She began publishing erotica after friends read her work through e-mail and wanted more. She published online (www.eroticanoir.com) and after attracting thousands of hits, she decided to publish the work in book form herself. "I tried to go the traditional route, you know, get an agent and a publisher," Zane says in a phone interview, "but I was told no one would buy my writing." Now, the author tells PW, she gets calls from black indie stores as well as buyers at Barnes & Noble, wanting to know when (next year) her next book, The Heat Seekers, is due from Pocket Books.
And that's just one of Sherrod's authors. She can also point to more conventionally acquired titles such as the late rapper Tupac Shakur's 2000 poetry collection The Rose That Grew, which has sold more than 250,000 copies, and Sister Souljah's The Coldest Winter Ever (her next book will published by Crown sometime next year), which has sold more than 500,000 copies since it was published in 1999. "Readers are responding to the story lines in these books. We must trust the readers."
Despite these successes, Janet Hill, Harlem Moon imprint director and Doubleday v-p and executive editor, cautions that the slowdown in the economy may put a chill on the long surging African-American book market. "The World Trade Center tragedy seriously affected sales and marketing in this industry," says Hill, "causing a widespread halt of new releases and author tours. Many authors put their tours on hold, feeling it was inappropriate to be out promoting books." But Hill also invokes the traditional publishing viewpoint that books are recession-proof. "Some consumers may weigh how much they spend on discretionary items," Hill says, "but sales will pick up during the holiday season." Hill says that during economic downturns, books have always "offered consumers low-cost entertainment value, and much-needed distraction, escape and pleasure."
Hill's Harlem Moon imprint focuses on trade paper editions, so it's no surprise that she emphasizes softcover publishing as "a reasonably priced alternative to pricey hardcovers. There was a time when people viewed hardcovers as a necessity for their libraries, but with the financial squeeze, they are proud of their new trade paperback libraries," Hill adds. "Now consumers are saving their hardcover purchases for special occasions as gifts." But Harlem Moon and Doubleday are also offering consumers new hardcover titles such as Zora Neale Hurston: A Life in Letters, collected and edited by Carla Kaplan, to be published next year; Free and Other Stories by Anika Nailah, short fiction coming in January; and The Queen of Harlem by Brian Keith Jackson, a new novel due in April.
"This is a community that reads according to their occupations, social and personal concerns," says freelance editorial consultant and former Amistad executive editor, Maliaka Adero, emphasizing the importance of timely, topical nonfiction and the impact of recent events on the reading habits of black consumers. "This market hungers for memoirs, biographies and books that bear witness to history, books that help them understand their place in society."
Carole Hall, Wiley's editor-in-chief of African-American books, calls it "heritage publishing," serious nonfiction works on history and culture. Wiley is publishing Charles Cerami's Benjamin Banneker, a new biography of the black colonial polymath, and Gregory Bell's In the Black: A History of African Americans on Wall Street, a history of the black presence in high finance, both slated for January. If this newfound consumer interest in nonfiction is for real, university presses, eager to attract trade book readers, will certainly be well positioned. This year, there are strong offers from Harvard University Press: Glenn Loury's The Anatomy of Racial Inequality (Nov.) and The Cold War and the Color Line by Thomas Borstelmann (Jan.). Oxford University Press is releasing a new biography of a little-known but legendary 18th-century freeman, A Gentleman of Color: The Life of James Forten by Julie Winch (Jan.) and is also issuing a new edition of superstar black biographer Arnold Rampersad's two-volume biography of poet Langston Hughes (The Life of Langston Hughes) in new hard and softcover editions in February to commemorate Hughes's 100th birthday.
Karen Thomas, editor of Kensington's Dafina imprint, says, "People returned to bookstores during October, and sales have picked up once more." She dismissed concerns about a glut of African-American titles. "That fear has proven unfounded," says Thomas, pointing out that there are "enough black readers and plenty of new writing voices to meet the needs of each imprint." Her optimism is supported by the success of last fall's release of the motivational anthology Souls of My Sisters, edited by Dawn Marie Daniels and Candace Sandy, which has sold over 50,000 copies, and Mary Monroe's God Don't Like Ugly, a novel about betrayal and sexual abuse, which has sold more than 80,000 copies since it was published last year; Monroe's 1985 debut novel, The Upper Room, a troubling story of an obese woman of indomitable character, has more than 50,000 copies in print after being reissued this fall.
Thomas insists that Dafina's list, noted for its emphasis on commercial fiction, is still well positioned to take advantage of recent claims of a shift in taste among readers to more serious or at least more topical nonfiction. In the coming months, Dafina will reissue the autobiography Adam by Adam by the late and legendary Harlem congressman Adam Clayton Powell in January, and a new edition of former maverick judge Bruce Wright's memoir, Black Robes, White Justice, coming in March. The house is also offering new fiction from Gwynne Forster, When Twilight Comes, the story of one family's journey through crisis and healing, coming in February, and new novels by veteran novelist Felicia Mason and newcomer Daaimah Poole later in 2002.
Melody Guy, the former Villard associate editor now overseeing Random House's Strivers Row imprint, is also upbeat about the market for black titles. "Our line has used strong dramatic stories to capture a respectable share of the prime adult market, as well as the young college book buyer," Guy says, adding that three of the nine books released last year by her imprint became Essence magazine bestsellers. She says, "It was a banner year," and notes three popular novels—Travis Hunter's The Hearts of Men, Gloria Mallette's Shades of Jade and Parry Brown's The Shirt off His Back—that led the way.
Starting with this fall season, Strivers Row has or will publish C. Kelly Robinson's first novel, Between Brothers (Oct.), a story of the bond between four young men attending a historically black college; inspirational speaker Valorie Burton's Rich Minds, Rich Rewards: 52 Ways to Enhance, Enrich and Empower Your Life (Oct.); and NPR Chicago correspondent Rita Coburn Whack's debut novel, Meant to Be (Mar. 2002), the story of a young woman struggling to accept her family.
There is the usual bounty of fiction, commercial and literary, coming in the next few months. Look for Norman Kelley's second Nina Halligan mystery, A Phat Death, where the academically oriented Nina investigates the serial murders of hip-hop artists, coming from Amistad (Feb.); Kim McLarin's Meeting of the Waters, a story of interracial love in contemporary America, from Morrow (Nov.); Gary Hardwick's Color of Justice, in which a white cop tracks a killer of prominent black people, also from Morrow (Jan.); Martha Southgate's The Fall of Rome, a story of an African-American teacher at an elite white boarding school, from Scribners (Feb.); James McBride's Miracle at St. Anna, a story about four black soldiers, coming from Riverhead (Feb.); Bernice McFadden's This Bitter Earth, the sequel to her acclaimed debut novel, Sugar, from Dutton (Feb.); and Colin Channer's Satisfy My Soul, the story of a young playwright and a mystical singer, from One World/ Ballantine (Feb.).
Warner Books is looking to offer readers new works in genres where there was previously a meager black presence. There's golf from Master's champion Tiger Woods (How I Play Golf, Oct.); motivation and inspiration from pop diva Patti LaBelle (Patti's Pearls, Oct.); short works of science fiction from acclaimed novelist Walter Mosley (Futureland, Nov.); and an epic science fiction tale from Steven Barnes (Lion's Blood, Feb. 2002); and African-American erotica from editor Retha Powers's anthology Black Silk (Feb.).
St. Martin's Press editor Monique Patterson admits to PW that publishers inevitably rely on literary formulas—like "girlfriend fiction," stories about getting, keeping and dumping a man—that just seem to work for consumers. But, says Patterson, change is also inevitable: "While relationship books will continue to sell, because black people love the drama of love, there are new, more experimental voices coming on line and there is a market for them." Patterson is publishing a forthcoming literary anthology, Making Callaloo: 25 Years of Black Literature, edited by Charles Henry Rowell. "Nobody wants to read the same thing all the time," Patterson adds. "But when you introduce something new, it takes some time to convince the reader to take a risk."
Although there are optimistic projections for the African-American market, the economic recession is real and deepening, and publishers large and small will be keeping a more vigilant eye on sales and profits. Agent and publishing veteran Marie Brown says that the economy "will have a far-reaching effect on the industry, causing book buyers to be choosy about their discretionary spending." She says, "Veteran authors with loyal readers will find the going less tough, while newer authors, without an established readership, will feel it more profoundly."
And the current preference in the media for hard news over soft book topics means fewer outlets for author publicity. Besides those on social and political issues, Brown thinks that books most likely to succeed will deal with "cultural traditions, family, church, comfort and the more positive side of black life." And there are more than a few books just like that coming. Look for Oh God! — A Black Woman's Guide to Sex and Spirituality by Rev. Susan Newman from Ballantine in March. Journalist and NPR correspondent Juan Williams will offer This Far by Faith: Stories from the African-American Religious Experience, a companion volume to an upcoming PBS series next February, and Brenda Rhodes Miller's down-home cookbook, The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts, from Putnam in October.
In an uncertain time, books may offer consumers a sense of stability, a way to get a handle on things. Most of the publishers contacted by PW, while expressing caution over the economy, remain impressively optimistic and expect the market for titles by and about African-Americans to continue its formidable growth. Carol Mackey, editor of the Black Expressions Book Club, says that despite the recession and an ongoing war, readers continue to clamor for books and book events and services. "We do a lot of author interviews, giving our members added value and enabling them to make informed choices," she says. "We promote talented authors who are often overlooked, as well as the classics and works by young authors."
"Christian fiction is really taking off and so are self-published books and anthologies," says Mackey. "We offer a great service for readers who cannot attend the book fairs, expos, signings and readings. Our growth is a barometer of growing black reader interest. This is a very good time for both readers and writers."
