A few years ago, I attended the Black Book Fair in Sacramento, California. One of the presentations I heard at the Alpha Kappa Alpha Chapter House was from Troy Johnson, the founder of the African American Literary Book Club. I was shocked to learn there were over 4,000 Black authors who sold their books on his website, AALBC.com. What? Why had I never heard of them?
Sure, I knew about the Underground Books bookstore in Sacramento, California. For about ten years "Mother Rose" welcomed us authors to share our books with the community. Her Black bookstore was located in the middle of the Triangle Arts District of Oak Park and the hub for the annual Black Book Fair, generally during the summer. Her bookstore is listed on Troy's Top Ten Bookstores list. It is certainly on the top of my list, Mother Rose having invited me to have book signings for my first three books there. They were not only successful financially, but also enjoyable. There is definitely a market for black-themed books.
Each year since I started publishing books, I intended to sign on with AALBC.com, but it just didn't happen. Just like I hadn't fully implemented my goal to send my books to the public and research libraries in the cities, counties, and states where my ancestors had lived. My ultimate goal is to ensure my family's stories become part of the American historical and literary record. Joining the august group of authors on AALBC.com would help reach that goal.
Finally, while on a camping trip in the redwoods, I signed up, becoming the 5763rd African American author to be profiled on the AALBC.com. It makes me feel good to support an indie (independent) black-owned business. Check out my page on AALBC.com and read about the men and women who have published all sorts of books on the site.
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