2011 Street Lit Book Award Medal & Honor Book Winners for 2010 Publications

The Street Lit Book Award Medal Committee is comprised of a group of librarians and library workers from across the U.S. who work with Street Lit and it's readers in public and school libraries. The Committee collected, discussed, and nominated titles based on library patron popularity, book club interest, and overall reception of the story as a valuable addition to the Street Literature genre. Three rounds of nominations resulted in the following winners for 2010 publications:

Winner: Decoded by Jay-Z (publisher: Spiegel & Grau)

Honor Books (in order of scoring):
Damaged by Kia DuPree (publisher: Grand Central)
Welfare Wifeys by K'wan (publisher: St. Martin's Griffin)
The Streets Keep Calling by Chunichi (publisher: Urban Books)
Diary of a Young Girl by Mark Anthony (publisher: Urban Books)

A full write up of the awards with committee comments and committee member bios can be accessed at the Street Literature blog

For more information about the Street Lit Book Award Medal contact, Vanessa Irvin Morris at: vanirvinmorris@gmail.com.

2011 AAMBC Literary Awards Twitter party

Tune in on Sunday, April 11, 2011 for Twitter chats and interviews with authors of the 2011 AAMBC Literary Awards.

Chick Lit Challenge for literature about women of color

The challenge will run from January 1 - December 31, 2011.

Paper, e-books and audio books are all acceptable.

What qualifies as colorful chick lit
- Written by women of color about women of color
- Humorous, snarky or laugh out loud
- A tinge of romance, but not so much that it resembles a Harlequin
- A happy ending
- It's rom/com on paper!
Participants should try to read books from all four categories: Indian, Latina, Asian & African-American

Levels of participation
- Novice: 4 to 7 books
- Amateur: 8 to 11 books
- Queen of Chick Lit: 12 or more books

Coretta Scott King Review Books Donation Grant

If your organization needs books for a collection that brings books to under-served youth, the Coretta Scott King Review Books Donation Grant offers the opportunity to to do just that! Read on...

Urban Fiction on Kindle

ok, I know we are NOT trying to buy everything our little hearts desire in this season of unbridled consumerism (...um, I mean, the holidays). But, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the number of urban fiction and street lit ebooks available on Kindle. Check in with your public library as many of these titles are available for checkout via OverDrive media downloads. So, go ahead, indulge and get your Street Lit on!

Turf Dancing

...Since early 2005 (...even earlier, 'cause we remember the 80's Break Dancing phenomenon!) urban youth have been blazin' their creativity and claiming their piece of the world. Turf Dancing is the just the latest wave of self-proclamation rising out of the ghettos of the west coast (notably, Okland and LA) So, like Street Lit, these videos proclaim the exuberance of self expression that won't be contained

What's on my nightstand...

What am I reading? I'm in the midst of a few titles right now. The Evanston Public Library's African American Literature Book Discussion Group thatI facilitate on the second Tuesday of each month is reading, "Conception" by Kalisha Buckhanon as its December title. Buckhanon delivers this wonderfully written, urban fiction with a compelling plot and language that draws you to the characters like a magnet.
I'm also reading three riveting street fiction titles, "Alibi" and "Dutch III" by Teri Woods, and "Damaged" by Kia DuPree. I loved finishing Earl Sewell's latest Kimani Tru series title, "Myself and I", and was delighted to attend a book club reading at the Illinois Youth Center with the author, who wove stories for the young book-clubbers about the writing process that were as fascinating as any of his books. I'm enjoying these stories so much I'm falling asleep listening to Ntozake Shange's "Sassafras, Cypress & Indigo : a novel " via OverDrive Media e-audio books that I've downloaded to my Blackberry. So, until I purchase that eReader, I'll continue to stack favorites on my nightstand. Now, what are YOU reading...?