BLACK PEARLS MAGAZINE TOP 20 BOOKCLUBS

We Appreciate the Book Lovers of the World!



EDC Creations, The Sankofa Literary Society and The Black Authors Network are proud to announce the launch of the 2011-2012 "Give the Gift of Knowledge Campaign," bringing readers and authors together to help improve literacy. We encourage all readers to purchase books to give as gifts all year long. Each year thousands of people - educators, concerned parents, community leaders, authors, poets and publishers - devote their time and resources to presenting the reader with great books!

However, too many outstanding books do not get the attention and reader support that they deserve. It is our mission to connect readers with these hidden gems and bring them books that will change their lives. Let's "Give the Gift of Knowledge" and help to strengthen our future generations!

We would like to honor the men and women who are the force behind the "Give the Gift of Knowledge Campaign." The featured groups create the foundation of the literary world! They are the people who make bestsellers. Listed below are the bookclubs the SLS voted on as the Top Bookclubs of 2010 based on their community service and dedication to promoting quality literature!


January 2011 Keepsake Bookclub Showcase

Click the image to view full screen and click the menu for more options to print or download. Enjoy!




BLACK PEARLS TOP 20 BOOKCLUBS
We are proud to announce our list of 2010 favorite bookclubs. The list below is compiled of book clubs that are serving their community and its authors by helping to increase literacy and the visibility of Black Books.
You can read in-depth interviews with the bookclubs here.

1. Go On Girl! Book Club-31 chapters in 13 states
2. R.A.R.E. (Reading And Rapping Experience)
3. Girlfriends Book Clubs - 7 chapters
4. The Readers Journey Book Club Network
5. Reading Circle of Friends (RCOF)
6. SAGE, Sistahs Acquiring Goals Through Excellence
7. Divine Sister Book Club of Memphis, TN
8. The Pillars Book Club, TX and LA
9. Phenomenal Women Book Club, of New Orleans
10. Alakaye Book Club
11. Book Talk Book Club Atlanta
12. The Black Orchids Book Club, Houston, TX- 21 members
13. 7th Ward Readers, New Orleans -147 members
14. Faith's RN Readers, Washington, DC - 23 members
15. Literary Lunch Bunch (LLB) - ages from 62 to 87 years old
16. The Reading Divas Book Club, Maryland
17. Circle of Color Book Club (COC) Mississippi
18. Only One Key Stroke Away (O.O.S.A.)
19. KC Girlfriends Book Club
20. D.I.V.A.S Divine Book Club NY


Bookclubs are Important!
The words "book club" conjures up visions of middle-aged women gathering to gossip, discuss books and to chat about their ordinary lives over wine and cheese. However, this is far from the truth as organized, independent book clubs of all sorts have recently gained attention across the country. We now have a network of social clubs, youth groups, savings clubs and non-profits as members of The Sankofa Literary Society! Reading is a passion to be proud of and we have a wonderful selections of groups to prove it! If you would like for your group to be interviewed for the next issue of Black Pearls, email Ella Curry here.

We are here to give these groups the recognition they deserve! These clubs have varied goals, but are definitely creating a impact in the publishing industry. The primary focus of this initiative is to advance African American literature and to increase awareness of their voice in the marketplace. Please join me in welcoming the readers, bookclubs and social networks that create bestsellers. View all of the featured bookclub interviews here.     Download the keepsake magazine of the bookclubs here.


Thank you all for supporting the authors who are living their dreams!  Please share this list of awesome readers with your network too. If you are a bookclub on this list, please stop by and share with us your latest news, events and book-of-the-month.  What are you reading now?

Ella Curry, EDC Creations Media Group
Website:   http://www.edc-creations.com/

EDC Creations Reviewer Introduction



Give the Gift of Knowledge Campaign


Hello!
Thank you for your interest in becoming a part of the EDC Creations book review team! I would love to add you on the roster as a reviewer. We do not pay our reviewers cash , but we will keep your reading supply up with new releases and will give Amazon Gift Certificates for the reviewers with the most printed reviews per month. I don't require any contracts and you can start and stop at your leisure. However, if we don't get written reviews back within a reasonable time, we will ask why.

This is about unity, expanding our reading selections and just having fun!  The only thing we want from you is to tell at least 10 people about a great book and a written review. You do not have to be a professional writer, just become a reader who wants to express their appreciation for books!


Reviewing Printed Material
Before becoming a reviewer I need to know these things. You can send your answers to the following email address: edc_dg@yahoo.com .

1. Full name, photo, email address, home mailing address and a cellphone number.

2. Favorite genre to read; least favorite genre; will you read ebooks and mass markets?

3. Do you have a Amazon account? Are you willing to provide written reviews?

4. How often, per month, will you be willing to participate?

5. Will you host authors on your blog, website, radio show or social network?

6. Your website or blog address; brief  50 word bio to give you credit for the reviews.


Stay Connected
Please go to the reviewer news site today and sign up for the mobile bookclub, so that we can notify you when new reviewer contests start. We will also notify you of exclusive author interviews and literary games. You will have a chance to enter drawings for great books and gift bags. Sign up here: www.broadtexter.com/blackpearlsmag


Procedures
We will send you books to review monthly. All that we ask is for you to submit the written reviews and answer our 5 questions in relation to the book. After approval of your written review, we ask that you post the reviews to our blog and/or Amazon. Once we mail you the books, we would like a review back within 15 days. If you will email me your home address, we will start sending you books and galleys. The questions will be sent to you via email. You will receive an entire review packet once you agree to come on board as an official EDC Creations Reviewer.


Sharing the Reviews
As a EDC Creations Reviewer, we would love to have you come on the BAN radio show and the conference calls to tell us about your book and any good books that you have read. Our goal is to always introduce our readers to the next great read. Authors, you are welcome to become reviewers too! Tell your network about the books, as well as direct others to where they can buy the book. EDC Creations has a bookstore and most books will be carried for the readers. The Black Pearls Reading Room will also host most of the books.


Digital Book Reviewers
Book-clubs and readers groups, if your book-club members would agree, we would like to add them on as our ebook reviewers and audio book-club. They would read the books on the Nook, Kindle or over the PC as an ebook, then prepare their honest comments about the book. We ask that the digital reviewers answer 5 questions about the book on our Black Pearls blog. We will host weekly live readings from books, the digital reviewers would listen to the call, then blog about it the next day on the Black Pearls Blogs. Free books will be given away quarterly to the digital reviewers based on their contributions. We need the following information:

1. Full name, photo, email address, home mailing address and a cellphone number.

2. Favorite genre to read; least favorite genre; will you read ebooks and mass markets?

3. Do you have a Amazon account? Are you willing to provide written reviews?

4. Will you host authors on your blog, website, radio show or social network?


You can send your answers to the following email address: edc_dg@yahoo.com


Feel free to share this post with as many avid readers as you can.
We need people to host our blog tours, review our books and to join in the Give the Gift of Knowledge Campaign!


Warmest regards,
Ella Curry, President of EDC Creations Media
Black Authors Network Radio-Founder
Black Pearls Magazine -Founder
Website: http://www.edc-creations.com/

2010 EDC CREATIONS LITERARY EXCELLENCE AWARDS



2010 EDC CREATIONS
LITERARY EXCELLENCE AWARDS


These are the books I personally read during 2010 for our Sankofa Literary Society (SLS) reading challenge. I read a total of 115 books for the year and this is my list of the best books from that group.

The books were submitted for review by the author, publisher or given to me as gifts. Each of the books on this list are considered 4-5 star reads. They are NOT listed in order by ranking. Each title below will enrich the lives of the new owners! I hope you will take the time to explore this list and to email this to at least 20 others, so that you too can Give the Gift of Knowledge!

The books below will make great gifts all year long! View all of our Best Books Recommended Reading Lists here: http://edcmagazine.blogspot.com/.  Please follow our blog for more exciting news on the authors and the books coming out in 2011.



EDC Creations Books of the Year
Personally Selected by Ella Curry



The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great MigrationWhatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and AmericaJustice Older than the Law: The Life of Dovey Johnson Roundtree (Margaret Walker Alexander Series in African American Studies)Perfect Peace



1. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
by Isabel Wilkerson


2. Whatever It Takes by Paul Tough
Geoffrey Canada's Quest to Change Harlem and America. The story behind the documentary Waiting on Superman


3. 19 Years Old and 19 Men Later: How Someone Truly Loved Me
by Tenisha Gainey


4. Justice Older than the Law: The Life of Dovey Johnson Roundtree
by Katie McCabe and Dovey Johnson Roundtree


5. Perfect Peace by Daniel Black




TOP 40 BOOKS OF 2010
ELLA'S RECOMMENDED READING LIST






The Temple of My FamiliarThe Last Days of Ptolemy GreyFierce Angels: The Strong Black Woman in American Life and CultureStop Being NiggardlyVictoireThe Little Black Book of Success: Laws of Leadership for Black WomenThe Kitchen House: A NovelBitch Is the New Black: A MemoirThe Bite of the MangoNinth Ward




EDC Creations Literary Hallmarks

1. The Temple of My Familiar by Alice Walker

2. Fierce Angels: The Strong Black Woman by Sheri Parks

3. Victoire: My Mother's Mother by Maryse Conde

4. The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

5. The Last Days of Ptolemy by Walter Mosley

6. Bitch Is the New Black by Helena Andrews

7. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

8. Substitute Me by Lori L. Tharps

9.The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Heidi Durrow

10.Black Water Rising by Attica Locke

11.Searching For Tina Turner by Jacqueline Luckett

12.Two or Three Things I Know for Sure by Dorothy Allison

13.Midnight by Beverly Jenkins

14.Relapse by Nikki Turner

15.How to Escape from a Leper Colony by Tiphanie Yanique

16.Wildflowers by Lyah Beth LeFlore

17.Stop Being Niggardly by Karen Hunter

18.Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority by Tom Burrell

19.Shake Loose My Skin by Sonia Sanchez

20.The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

21.Zora and Me by Victoria Bond (YA)

22.Sassy Series by Sharon M. Draper (YA)

23.The Bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara (YA)

24.Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes (YA)

25.Hollyhood by Valerie Joyner

26.Ashes, Ashes They All Fall Down by Anita Ballard-Jones

27. The Little Black Book of Success by Elaine Meryl Brown, Marsha and Rhonda

28.A Purse of Your Own by Deborah Owens

29.Sing About That Black Rose by Janet "Jaize" Brown

30.How Clarissa Burden Learned to Fly by Connie May Fowler

31.The Grace of Silence: A Memoir by Michele Norris

32.The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore

33.Cheetah by Missy Jackson

34.Daddy by Default by Pat Tucker

35.Little Black Girl Lost 5 by Keith Lee Johnson

36.A Slip In The Right Direction by Rachel Berry (YA)

37.Still Waters by Crystal Rhodes

38.Life is Like a Soul Train Line by  Monda Raquel Webb (Poetry)

39.From This Moment  by Sean Young

40.Unsigned Hype by Booker T. Mattison (Mature YA)


SPEAK UP AND OUT
Authors, if you see your book listed, please leave a comment with your website address, bookseller links and any news about you and your books! Ask your network to stop by and share their reviews of your books too. Make sure you tell your fellow author friends if you see their names listed below.

If your name is listed below, you can copy the award image to your computer and add to your website as well as your promotional material.  I would like to interview ALL of the authors on this list for Black Pearls Magazine and for the Black Authors Network Radio Show. Email me at: edc_dg@yahoo.com to setup the interviews.


Ella Curry, president of EDC Creations Media Group
Visit Black Pearls Magazine: http://www.blackpearlsmagazine.com/


Shop at our Black Pearls bookstore for the books: http://astore.amazon.com/edcmagazine-20

2010 SLS Best Bookcovers


2010 Best Bookcovers 
Awarded by the Sankofa Literary Society





The Sankofa Literary Society and its founder Ella Curry are focused on the issues and lifestyles that define today's avid readers — what they read, what they want out of their literature, how they connect to each other, what motivates them and how they feel about their community as a whole.

Many have stated, “There is no African American village…it’s dead,” we don’t feel that way. The Village is here, the village in now! Expand your horizons! We are a community of 11 bookclub units, 4 social networks and 22 nurses who want to enrich our community with books and the written word. Listed below are the books we have read in 2010 presented by small press publishers, traditional publishers and self-published authors. Join us today to add your voice and experiences to our union. Come on in and join this movement to Give the Gift of Knowledge!


SPEAK UP AND OUT
Authors, if you see your book listed, please leave a comment with your website address, bookseller links and any news about you and your books! Ask your network to stop by and share their reviews of your books too. Make sure you tell your fellow author friends if you see their names listed below. If your name is listed below, you can copy the award image to your computer and add to your website as well as your promotional material.


2010 Bookcovers of the Year Awards go to the following Authors and Publishers:


Die Free - A Heroic Family HistoryFarther Than I Meant to Go, Longer Than I Meant to StayDreams That Won't Let Go: A Novel (Jubilant Soul)When the Cake is MadeSunny RainIf It Don't Hurt... It Ain'T Love





1. Farther Than I Meant to Go, Longer Than I Meant to Stay (MM)
by Tiffany L. Warren


2. Dreams That Won't Let Go by Stacy Hawkins Adams


3. When the Cake is Made by Lisa Wu Hartwell


4. If It Don't Hurt... It Ain't Love by Junnita Jackson


5. Sunny Rain by Ci Ci Foster


6. Die Free: A Heroic Family History by Cheryl Wills


Ella Curry, president of EDC Creations Media GroupVisit Black Pearls Magazine: http://www.blackpearlsmagazine.com/



Shop at our Black Pearls bookstore for the books: http://astore.amazon.com/edcmagazine-20

Best Books 2010 Non-fiction/Memoirs/Self-help

2010 Best Books by the Sankofa Literary Society

Black Pearl Inspiration — Non-fiction/Heritage/Spiritual/Memoirs/Self-help






The Sankofa Literary Society and its founder Ella Curry are focused on the issues and lifestyles that define today's avid readers — what they read, what they want out of their literature, how they connect to each other, what motivates them and how they feel about their community as a whole.

Many have stated, “There is no African American village…it’s dead,” we don’t feel that way. The Village is here, the village in now! Expand your horizons! We are a community of 11 bookclub units, 4 social networks and 22 nurses who want to enrich our community with books and the written word. Listed below are the books we have read in 2010 presented by small press publishers, traditional publishers and self-published authors. Join us today to add your voice and experiences to our union. Come on in and join this movement to Give the Gift of Knowledge!


WHY WE ARE HERE
While highlighting our heritage, our experiences and delivering our voice–we remain anchored to the spiritual, emotional and practical realities of our entire global community, supporting all races. We are not limited solely to reading just African American (AA) authors; we hope to educate our readers by offering a variety of quality literature and resources. We are offering you the best in literature period, from our perspective. Spread the word...please share this listing with at least 20 people you know! The books below will make excellent gifts all year long.


WHAT ARE LITERARY HALLMARKS
Listed below are a few of the best books representing the literary world and the arts. Each book created an impact for our readers/reviewers and the Sankofa Literary Society network. Our literary hallmarks indicate excellence in writing. Here are the books we want to showcase to the world. Please take your time and expand your reading territory by saluting the literary greats and leaders listed below. The books are NOT listed in any order pertaining to the quality of the literature—they are all 4-5 star reads. The number beside the title, does not indicate the ranking of this list.


SPEAK UP AND OUT
Authors, if you see your book listed, please leave a comment with your website address, bookseller links and any news about you and your books! Ask your network to stop by and share their reviews of your books too. Make sure you tell your fellow author friends if you see their names listed below. If your name is listed below, you can copy the award image to your computer and add to your website as well as your promotional material.



2010 Best Books Award: Black Pearl Inspiration —Non-fiction/Spiritual/Memoirs/Self-help


Die Free - A Heroic Family HistoryConversations with MyselfLessons Learned: Loving Yourself As A Black WomanSouls of My Sisters: Black Women Break Their Silence, Tell Their Stories and Heal Their Spirits



1. Die Free: A Heroic Family History by Cheryl Wills

2. Bitch Is the New Black: A Memoir by Helena Andrews

3. The Grace of Silence: A Memoir by Michele Norris

4. Peace from Broken Pieces by Iyanla Vanzant

5. Lessons Learned by Tinisha Nicole Johnson

6. By Any Greens Necessary by Trayce Lynn McQuirter

7. Souls of My Sister by Dawn Marie Daniels and Candace Sandy

8. The Little Black Book of Success by Elaine Meryl Brown

9. Colored People: A Memoir by Henry Louis Gates Jr

10.Conversations with Myself by Nelson Mandela

11.Straight from Your Gay Best Friend by Terrance Dean

12.Girl, Get Your Mind Right!  by Tionna Smalls

13.Love Brought Me Back by Natalie Cole

14.Great Food, All Day Long: Cook Splendidly, Eat Smart by Maya Angelou

15.The Conversation by Hill Harper

16. 52 Weeks of Wow Faith by Mary E. Banks

17.The 50th Law by 50 Cent

18.Extraordinary, Ordinary People by Condoleezza Rice

19.Is It Just Me? Or Is It Nuts Out There by Whoopi Goldberg

20.Color Blind: A Memoir by Precious Williams

21.Amazing Grace: A Tribute to You by Donna Michele Watford

22.Why Do I Have To Think Like A Man? by Shanae Hall

23.Super Rich: A Guide to Having it All by Russell Simmons

24.In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens by Alice Walker

25.Commanding Your Morning by Cindy Trimm


I would like to interview ALL of the authors on this list for Black Pearls Magazine and for the Black Authors Network Radio Show. Email me at: edc_dg@yahoo.com  to setup the interviews.






Ella Curry, president of EDC Creations Media GroupVisit Black Pearls Magazine: http://www.blackpearlsmagazine.com/  

Shop at our Black Pearls bookstore for the books: http://astore.amazon.com/edcmagazine-20