The Brown Bookshelf honors BIRD!

Hurray!  BIRD has been selected for 28 Days Later.  Here’s part of the letter I received from The Brown Bookshelf; for more information on this campaign (and other issues relevant to black-authored books), check out their website.  My interview, conducted by Don Tate, will be posted on February 7.

Dear Zetta:

Congratulations! You have been selected for an author spotlight during The Brown Bookshelf’s 28 Days Later campaign. Set to launch during Black History Month, the Brown Bookshelf was created to push awareness of the many African-American voices writing for young readers. The Brown Bookshelf has quickly become a resource for teachers and librarians looking for suggestions of books for African-American children and teens.

28 Days Later is our much-anticipated initiative that will celebrate vanguard Black children’s book authors and emerging and established African-American authors who are flying under-the-radar of teachers, librarians and parents. We will also feature four illustrators in a special spotlight.

Through a highly-competitive selection process, we scoured the shelves to find top author contenders in picture books, middle-grade and YA.  We also received more than 100 nominations from librarians, teachers, publishers, authors, children’s book lovers and others in the kidlit field. Then came the hard part, cutting those names down to the 24 stand-outs we would feature in the campaign. We’re happy to say you’re part of that elite group.

Every day, during the month of February, we will feature a different author via an interview or book review.  The interviews will be posted at our web site: www.thebrownbookshelf.com. We’ll also feature our top 24 authors and four illustrators in a color poster designed by The Brown Bookshelf team member, illustrator Don Tate. It will be available for download.  We hope it becomes a valued part of libraries and classrooms.

To make sure our 28 Days Later campaign reaches our intended audience, we have partnered with the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) and African American Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (AACBWI) to spread the good news.

Congratulations again! And thank you for your important contributions to children’s literature. Happy New Year!

Sincerely,
The Brown Bookshelf Team