African American

This year's BookExpo America program for African-American book industry professionals, sponsored by the African-American Booksellers Committee, will be held on Thursday, May 31, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Registration for the program, which is open to all BEA attendees, is not required. Thursday May 31; The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center Opening Session and Luncheon 11:30 a.m.; Room 1E12 - 1E13

Esowon Books, the 18-year-old African-American bookstore, has moved to Leimert Park Village, a Los Angeles neighborhood favored by African-American businesses and cultural institutions. The store, founded and owned by James Fugate and Tom Hamilton, celebrated its grand reopening, in a 3,200-square-foot space, on October 14.

ABA's fourth annual Day of Education on Thursday, May 18, at BookExpo America will provide a wide array of seminars and panel discussions with one goal in mind: increasing sales.

Outside the Detroit Store. Inside the Atlanta Store.

This week, BTW shines a spotlight on Thursday, June 2, programming at this year's BookExpo America (BEA) for children's booksellers, for African-American booksellers, and for college stores. BEA will be held from June 2 - 5, at New York City's Jacob Javits Convention Center.

Has your store commemorated Black History Month with a special event? An author appearance? A celebration involving children? If you have done something special to celebrate this month, BTW would like to hear from you for an upcoming story. Please send an e-mail to editorial@bookweb.org; include a description of your special event and/or contact information.

Karibu Books, an African-American specialty store, now includes five locations in the Washington, D.C. area, with a sixth opening in Baltimore later in 2005. The company's philosophy is to empower and educate people by providing complete access to books by and about people of African descent.

On Thursday, June 3, at BookExpo America, African-American booksellers and publishers convened for the annual African American Booksellers Conference (AABC). Throughout the daylong program, publishers, authors, and booksellers demonstrated the strength, diversity, and challenges of the African-American market. Expectations were high for the opening of the first African-American Pavilion on the BEA show floor. Participants were not disappointed the next day when the pavilion hosted 17 publishers, representing over a hundred African-American authors.

In April, Emma Rodgers and Ashira Tosihwe, owners of Black Images Book Bazaar in Dallas, announced that the bookstore would close in 2005. However, now Black Images is the focus of a widespread effort to keep its doors open, and Rodgers and Tosihwe are reconsidering their plans. Rodgers had cited high rents and the economy as among the reasons the store would not renew its lease, but the pair intentionally announced their plans well in advance.

"A Wealth of Wisdom: Legendary African American Elders Speak is like having your grandmother in the room with you," said Renee Poussaint, executive director and co-founder of the National Visionary Leadership Project (NVLP) and co-editor of the collection of oral histories that tell the first-person stories of African-American elders, both the nationally notable and