National Black Book Festival NEWS February 2012 Edition

Participating author tables for the 2012 National Black Book Festival (5th Anniversary) are going fast. To date, over 90 percent of the tables have been sold. The deadline for being able to make a partial deposit of $100.00 and pay the remaining balance has been extended to midnight, Monday, February 20th. After February 20th, if there are any remaining tables, the entire table fee of $325.00 will be required as we will no longer be accepting partial payments as deposits. You may secure your author table by calling our office toll-free at 1-800-340-5454, or online here:
http://www.nationalblackbookfestival.com/exhibitors.htm

For the 2012 Festival, all participating authors will receive a COMPLIMENTARY ticket to the Saturday Get Acquainted Breakfast included with their table fee. This is a new addition from previous years and one that we plan to retain going forward. The ticket is for the author only, and any guests would still need to purchase a ticket.

Here are 10 great reasons why authors should participate at the National Black Book Festival:

For book clubs that plan to attend 2012 NBBF, register your book club to be eligible to win FREE admission tickets to both Saturday and Sunday at the Festival. Your book club will be listed on the NBBF web site as a participating club and two clubs will win admission tickets for both days. The drawing for the free admission tickets will take place on May 1, 2012.

We've expanded our roster of featured authors and have two new exciting additions.

Eric Jerome Dickey is one of the leading African American authors on the literary scene today and we are extremely proud to have him in attendance at 2012 NBBF. His new book, The Accidental Affair, will be released in late April.

Eric's books have held steady positions on regional bestseller lists and have been featured in many publications, including ESSENCE, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Los Angeles Times. Dickey's last novel, Pleasure, held true to form and landed on bestseller lists for The New York Times, USA Today, and ESSENCE.

Eric's book signing tours for Sister, Sister; Friends and Lovers; Milk in My Coffee; Cheaters; and Liar's Game took him from coast to coast and helped propel each of these novels to #1 on the "Blackboard Bestsellers List." Cheaters was named "Blackboard Book of the Year" in 2000. In June 2000, Eric celebrated the French publication of Milk in My Coffee (Cafe Noisette) by embarking on a book tour to Paris. Soon after, Milk in My Coffee became a bestseller in France.

Eric's novels, Chasing Destiny, Liar's Game, Between Lovers, Thieves' Paradise, The Other Woman, Drive Me Crazy, Genevieve, Naughty or Nice, Sleeping with Strangers, Waking with Enemies, and Pleasure have all earned him the success of a spot on The New York Times bestseller list. Liar's Game, Thieves' Paradise, The Other Woman, and Genevieve have also given Eric the added distinction of being nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Literary Work in 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005. In 2006, he was honored with the awards for Best Contemporary Fiction and Author of the Year (Male) at the 2006 African American Literary Award Show. In 2008, Eric was nominated for Storyteller of the Year at the 1st annual ESSENCE Literary Awards.

In January 2001, Eric was a contributor to New American Library's anthology Got To Be Real: Four Original Love Stories, also a Blackboard Bestseller. He also had a story entitled “Fish Sanwich” appear in the anthology Mothers and Sons. In June 2002, Eric contributed to Black Silk: A Collection of African American Erotica (Warner Books) as well as to Riots Beneath the Baobab (published by International Black Writers and Artists of Los Angeles in April 2002).

Author, blogger and political/social commentator Keli Goff has been described by viewers as "a breath of fresh air.” Since emerging as one of the most popular political commentators of the 2008 election, Keli has appeared on more than 100 national and international news programs including: “The CBS Early Show,” CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” “The Joy Behar Show,” FOX News Channel’s “Fox and Friends,” and BET’s “The Truth with Jeff Johnson” for which she was a contributor. She currently appears regularly on MSNBC’s “The Dylan Ratigan Show” and also serves as a source for news outlets such as the New York Times and USA Today. She is the author of the new novel The GQ Candidate (Atria, July 2011) which was recently designated a recommended summer selection by The Los Angeles Times.

Her first foray into fiction, The GQ Candidate has already earned advance praise from a variety of sources, including actress turned author Victoria Rowell, who dubbed it “a political page-turner” and “a must read,” and Arianna Huffington who said, "In recent years…Keli Goff brought skill and grace to the rough-and-tumble arena of political commentary. Now, in time for 2012, she has aimed those same talents at fiction, and the result is a witty novel that reminds us that all politics is personal."

Keli’s first book, the critically acclaimed Party Crashing: How the Hip-Hop Generation Declared Political Independence (Basic Books, March 2008), is recognized as one of the first to document the rise of “Generation Obama.” Featuring interviews with young voters and high profile leaders, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, The Washington Post called Party Crashing “engaging” while Arianna Huffington declared that it “Should be on the nightstand of candidates on either side of the political aisle.” Keli’s essay “Living the Dream” is featured in the collection The Speech: Race and Barack Obama’s A More Perfect Union (Bloomsbury, 2009).

Here are more of the featured authors who have already confirmed their attendance at 2012 NBBF:

Walter Mosley One of America’s most celebrated and best known writers. Mosley has written over thirty-four books, which have been translated into more than twenty languages.	Francis Ray Bestselling author of more than 30 romance novels, including Undeniable and Twice the Temptation
Vanessa Miller Essence bestselling author of 12+ Christian fiction novels, including the Rain series, the Storm series and the Forsaken series	Wahida Clark Known as the Queen of Thug Love Fiction, her books includes Justify My Thug, Payback Is a Mutha and Every Thug Needs a Lady
Daniel Black Author of the bestselling novels They Tell Me Of a Home, The Sacred Place, Perfect Peace and the upcoming Twelve Gates to the City	Mary B. Morrison Mary B. Morrison, New York Times bestselling author, also writes under the pen name "Honey B." She is author of 10+ erotic novels, including The Eternal Engagement, Sweeter Than Honey and Married On Mondays
Kayla Perrin Bestselling author of more than 40 titles, including romance and mainstream fiction	Rochelle Alers Based in Long Island, NY, Rochelle Alers is author of more than 50 romance and women's fiction titles, with 2 million copies of her books in print

Visit the National Black Book Festival web site for more information (www.nationalblackbookfestival.com). As the holiday season approaches, we hope all of your literary endeavors and reading experiences are enjoyable.