The Brown Bookshelf Promotes YA Fiction by African-American Writers

By Debra Lau WHelan -- School Library Journal, 11/13/2007 6:00:00 AM

If your students like Readergirlz, try introducing them to the Brown Bookshelf, a new online community devoted to promoting young adult fiction by African-American authors and illustrators.

Launched on November 1, the Web site is the brainchild of Paula Chase-Hyman and Varian Johnson—who’ve never met in person. The two YA authors kept running into each other on various message boards for children’s writers and quickly realized that the same issue kept popping up: no one really knew much about the new crop of black authors who write for kids.

“If I hear ‘There’s no YA out there for African American teens’ one more time, I’m going to scream,” says Chase-Hyman, author of the Del Rio Bay Clique (Dafina) series. “Granted, it may not be publicized like some of the flashier mainstream YA fiction, but it’s out there.”

Based on the popularity of Readergirlz, an online community created earlier this year to get girls hooked on reading, Chase-Hyman and Johnson were determined to promote the many contemporary African-American YA authors nationwide.

Along with fellow writers Carla Sarratt and Kelly Starling Lyons, and illustrator Don Tate, the group will launch its first project, 28 Days Later, in February to coincide with Black History Month. Each day during February, a different book and author will be featured on www.thebrownbookshelf.com.

The five founders are currently taking nominations from publishers and others for the best in picture books, middle school, and young adult literature. They’re also partnering with the African American Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English to ensure that the campaign reaches its intended audience of librarians and educators.