Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond's Blog, page 67

Penguin Will Publish Sequel to “Game Change”

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John Heilemann, left, and Mark Halperin wrote Game Change

In Fall 2013, Penguin Press will release Double Down: Game Change 2012, the New York Times reports. The book is a follow-up to the bestseller Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime, which memorably chronicled the inner workings of the historic 2008 presidential campaign. Republican candidate for President, John McCain disputed Heilemann and Halperin’s version of events, with McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin dismissing the screen adaptation that aired on HBO as “Hollywood lies.”  Julianne Moore earned an Emmy Award for her performance as the 2008 Republican Vice-Presidential Candidate. HBO has optioned the sequel. Penguin publisher Ann Godoff told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement, “John Heilemann and Mark Halperin reinvented the campaign narrative with Game Change. Their new book Double Down will, of course, break news; but more importantly, it will create the lasting story of the 2012 race for the presidency.” With ICM recently partnering with DC literary agency Sagalyn, books about politics will likely continue to capture the attention of publishers.

Getting Started: Author Tinesha Davis on Starting – and Finishing Her Next Book

Tinesha Davis serves on the Board of Directors of the Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation and is a writing coach for Book-in-a-Day, a non-profit program that teaches high school students how to write poetry, and publish a book—in one day.

Depending on the writer, starting a new writing project can be incredibly daunting, exhilarating, or a little bit of both. Author Tinesha Davis shared her process for getting started.

What are you currently working on and how did you get started? 


I am currently working on one thing—finishing. Let me explain. A year after I finished my first novel Holler at the Moon, I started working on the sequel. Halfway through the writing I realized the storyline didn’t work for the new book at all. So I tabled it deciding to one day make it a separate novel. I then started over on the sequel. However, another opportunity jumped up and had me sharpening my pencils in order to start writing something new — a collection of short stories that would be published monthly. I knew I should have been focused on the completion of the sequel, but I told myself all sorts of things, one of them being I could work on both projects simultaneously. I couldn’t. I worked on the short story project for about six months and I was doing well, I was focused. And then I received a few emails from agents interested in a Young Adult version of Holler at the Moon. And yup, you guessed it, that is what I am working on now.

As easy as a rewrite seems, I’ve started over more than a few times and every single day I question my angle. On some days I even question the point of it all — those days are the hardest — but I’ve finally managed to find a point I can live with. Finishing.

How has the process of getting started on this project differed from your previous projects (if at all)?

Here’s the thing. This rewrite is really a remix of what’s already written and out there for the public to see. In a lot of ways the writing should be easier. I know the characters; I even know the beginning, middle, and end of their next story. So this is what’s different — I have to stretch out what were originally seventy pages of one character’s story into something 150 to 200 pages long. It’s Young Adult… [which means] don’t cuss, no sex, and all the under-aged drinking and drugging my characters did in the original version of Holler... But this go around also gives me a second chance — a chance to go back and pull up those moments where I was too lazy to really write through them so I cheated. I told instead of showed; I ended instead of blossoming and giving my characters the room and care they needed to fully bloom.

Holler at the Moon is Tinesha Davis’ first novel

In general, what is your process for starting a new project? Do you prepare detailed outlines of the story and/or in depth sketches of the characters beforehand? Do you let the characters lead and allow the story to reveal itself?

I start all my projects by dreaming. I daydream about the story I have in mind, its lessons, its themes. My characters actually audition for their story to be told in a particular project. They tell me the reasons why their story is the best one to demonstrate a project’s theme. And sometimes they have me fully convinced, so with them in mind I start writing. But that doesn’t stop the characters who didn’t “win” the role from speaking. They vie for my attention. They tell me I didn’t choose right. And sometimes they are right. So I switch out lead roles. I rethink my structure and I start all over again.

The sequel originally starred Tish, the flyest diva in a wheelchair; Nadia, a young mother of two who had her first child at twelve; and Damita Jackson, the young adult from Holler at the Moon who had been stabbed at the bus stop. The theme: What does it take to heal? Through a lot of writing, a lot of false starts and a lot of shuffling of characters, the final cast ended up being Damita and her older sister Dominique. I will use their stories to exemplify what it takes to heal and I’m giving those ladies a summer. Lets see what they do with it.

As for the rest: Detailed outline? Yes. Character sketches? No. I actually write first, and then do a sketch as I’m approaching a second draft. Do my characters lead the way? Nope. They may try but ultimately my theme does and if my characters don’t fit I switch them out for a few who will.

My characters all live in the same neighborhood. In one way or another they all interact. They don’t always know one another but they are always affected.

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Tinesha Davis’s poetry collection All Black Girls Ain’t Got Rhythm

Does the blank page/screen titillate or terrify you?

I’ve come to the realization that what scares me is the long road ahead. Writing novels is an act of patience, uncertainty, constant change, and long-term commitment. I’m not good with those things — ask any man I’ve ever dated. Those things are what scare me, and it’s a double-edged sword because they thrill me too. Oh, what a thing of beauty a perfect sentence within a perfect paragraph can be. In order to witness that thing I must write.

When you are getting started, are you already clear about who your reader will be?

Yes. My reader is me. And for this Young Adult novel I’m now remembering that the reader is the young me, and boy, did I like reading a good solid curse word.

I want to write without apology regardless of the age of my audience, I want my characters to be able to unapologetically say “Fuck You!” Not “screw you” or “eff you” or the very watered-down “forget you.” Regardless if my character is fifty or twenty-three or twelve, I want them to always deal in the real world and not the world the publishers, librarians, and the grade schools say they should live in.

How do you stay motivated past the euphoria of getting those first words on the page/screen?





In an essay, Walter Mosley once said, “Writing a novel is gathering smoke.” Knowing this, one must put themselves in the company of their writing daily or the ideas, like smoke, [will] dissipate. So with that said, my writing, when I surrender and push through, motivates me.

Why Author Chinedu Achebe Decided to Self-Publish His First Novel

Blunted on Reality is Chinedu Achebe’s first novel

Self-publishing started on the fringes of the publishing industry, but in the last year specifically, self-published authors and self-publishing have gained enormous ground. In July 2012 Penguin acquired self-publishing start-up Author Solutions for $116 Million, and in November Simon & Schuster partnered with Author Solutions to form self-publishing imprint Archway Publishing. Likewise, E.L. James’ 35 million copy-selling Fifty Shades of Grey was originally self-published before Random House ultimately scooped it up to record sales.

Houston-based author Chinedu Achebe may well join the ranks of James with his debut novel Blunted on Reality. Borrowing the title from the album of the same name by ’90s superstar rap group The Fugees, Achebe says he was inspired by the “very direct and honest lyrics of their songs” which he says connected to a dominant theme in his book. “Everyone is trying to put labels on who we are, when [in] reality we all fit into a lot of different segments of society.”

Achebe says of his book, which is specifically based on the historic 2008 victory of President Barack Obama, “I wanted to create a storyline that allowed first generation Africans in the United States, and their immigrant parents, to give their own perspective of what President Obama meant to them and what his possible impact would be for the continent of Africa,” Achebe explains. The Nigerian-American Achebe, no relation to Things Fall Apart author Chinua Achebe, wrote the book in about a year.

Houston-based author Chinedu Achebe

Why did you choose to self-publish Blunted on Reality?

I chose to self publish my book because telling my story and getting it out was the most important thing to me. Since I am not a  full time writer [I am a tax auditor], I didn’t have time to write letters to different publishing houses to see if they would want my manuscript. I did a lot of research into different self publishing companies before I decided on the company that I went with.

Please share the details of your self-publishing process.

The self -publishing process was interesting because I to pretty much decide every aspect of the book from the fonts to the book cover. I actually saw an image on the internet that I felt went with the message I was trying to conveny with the book. The editing process was interesting and something that was a learning experience for me. It took about 1.5 months from finishing the editing process to holding the book in my hands. The name of the self-piublishing company I used was Quality Press and I paid for all the costs of publishing and editing my book along with getting my own ISBN number.

Would you recommend other writers go the self-publishing route?

I would recommend other writers to go the self publishing route because it helps they learn hands on how the publishing business works from writing the book to the different ways and outlets to get your book distributed.

What’s the biggest revelation you’ve had about the publishing business in your experience publishing Blunted on Reality?

Probably that writing the book is the easiest part of the process. Actually promoting and marketing the book is a very hard and slow process especially when you are a first time author and nobody knows who you are. Also that just because you have friends and family on Twitter and Facebook that doesn’t mean any of them will actually buy your book.

What advice do you have for authors currently contemplating whether or not to seek publication from a traditional publisher or self-publish?

I would tell any person regardless of the route they choose to just enjoy writing your book and don’t worry too much about how many sales they will have. If any author’s sole purpose is to only get on the New York Times Best Sellers List and get rich then they are writing for the wrong reasons.

New Literary Journal Aims to Restore Literature's Cultural Resonance

Uzoamaka “Max” Maduka is editor-in-chief of The American Reader

Backed by an anonymous donor, co-founders Uzoamaka “Max” Maduka and Jac Mullen launched The American Reader with a mind to “inspiring literary and critical conversation among a new generation of readers, and restoring literature to its proper place in the American cultural discourse.” Maduka and Cullen have assembled the team who may be able to do just that. Onetime Pulitzer Prize finalist Dean Young is the Poetry Editor. Author Ben Marcus is the Fiction Editor. Art and fashion world muse and editor Shala Monroque is the journal’s Creative Consultant.

But more than their top shelf staff, Maduka wants The American Reader to represent a new standard in — and consumer of — literary criticism. “The literary scene in New York is one of the last bastions of white male privilege,” Maduka told The Observer, adding “Even when you bring in women or people of color, it’s still, like, Harvard, Princeton, Yale.” Maduka and Cullen graduated from Princeton.

Equally important to Maduka and Cullen was that The American Reader respect the intelligence of the 20-something reader. Maduka told The Daily Beast, “Because we are on Facebook or Tweeting doesn’t mean we’re not still interested in reading War and Peace – and that we don’t have the need for an edifying conversation about it.”

A Fine Line: From Abraham Verghese's "Cutting for Stone"

Abraham Verghese’s bestselling novel Cutting for Stone

“You live it forward, but understand it backward.” Read more in Cutting for Stone.

Sony Wonderbook Presents Interactive Fiction via PS3

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A bundled Sony Wonderbook kit comes with the soft plastic “book,” a Move motion controller, and a PlayStation Eye Camera

Sony has launched an augmented reality Wonderbook for its PlayStation 3 console. The first release, Book of Spells, will feature new writing by J.K. Rowling inspired by her Harry Potter series.

Instead of words and pictures, the Wonderbook has augmented reality symbols that users “unlock” with the PlayStation Eye Camera and a Move motion controller to interact with the text on a TV screen via PS3 hook-up. Mashable has posted a short but thorough review of the interactive game/book. 

With the recent release of Rick Smolan and Jennifer Erwitt’s book The Human Face of Big Data which leverages augmented reality to enable readers to interact with its content, augmented reality could become a “thing” in publishing. Perhaps even a “big thing,” especially if the Rowling’s Wonderbook ends up making bank for Sony.

I would imagine creating an augmented reality-enhanced book is not a cheap enterprise and it’s the kind of technology that has to be used to truly add dimension to a text versus just implementing it because it’s there. Either way, it presents something new for writers to be thinking about as they sign contracts with publishers or consider fresh ways to market their work. It also means publishers may have to start expanding their marketing and tech departments to include augmented reality experts, programmers, and gamers.

Augmented Reality Could Revolutionize Publishing

Rick Smolan and Jennifer Erwitt use augmented reality, powered by a company called Aurasma, to add dimension to their new book

Augmented Reality leverages digital technology to add interactivity to traditionally flat experiences, and it has been very slowly gaining traction. So far, mostly fashion retailers, pop-culture and media purveyors (magazines, films, gaming), and other digital pioneers have experimented with AR. Last December, InStyle UK used an AR app to bring a cover to life, and just this past September GQ used AR to create an interactive Tim Tebow cover. Now, the technology is being used in the book publishing industry.

Photographer Rick Smolan and Jennifer Erwitt have used AR to add dimension to their new book The Human Face of Big Data. TIME columnist Tim Bajarin explains how AR has enhanced the experience of reading Smolan and Erwitt’s book: “Some pictures in the book have a little yellow key symbol in the corner which, when recognised by your mobile device using the app, videos, TED Talks, and relevant info about what you are viewing. Each video, talk, and animation adds great depth and additional understanding to the narrative.”

Bajarin adds, “Seeing AR applied to pictures, stories, posters, and other types of print media emphasises how it truly provides the world of publishing with a richer way to tell stories. I believe it will deliver a new and innovative angle to centuries-old printed media.”

Goes to show that as writers we need to think about how we can enhance the experience of reading/consuming our work in the digital age. It’s not just about the words on the page anymore. The story is so much bigger now.

New Literature Prize Offers 40,000 Pounds to Winning Writer

Agent Andrew Kidd co-founded The Literature Prize

Simply called “The Literature Prize”, the £40,000 pot is not restricted to authors from a certain country or a particular genre as with other such prizes like the the Man Booker and Caine Prizes. According to The Bookseller, ”The sole criterion will be excellence,” organizers of the UK prize said. Founded by Aitken Alexander and agent Andrew Kidd, the advisory committee to the prize features industry heavyweights including Zadie Smith’s agent Georgia Garrett and legendary publisher William Heinemann. The first prize will be awarded in March 2014 to a book published between January and December 2013.

A Gift from United Sisters Book Club!

these earrings were a gift from the United Sisters Book Club!

A year and a half ago, United Sisters Book Club invited me to attend their discussion of my book Powder Necklace. I had a wonderful time with the women who gave me frank feedback I have taken with me as I work on new projects. We’ve kept in touch since then, and when they invited to their holiday meeting I happily made the trek. Book Clubs are crucial to a book’s and author’s success, as writer Eisa Ulen pointed out in sharing the story of her path to publication.  It was again, an incredible time. Three other authors were in attendance, Wallace Ford, Nancey Flowers, and Alfred Turnipseed. (Alfred’s daughter Erica Simone Turnipseed is also an author who has written two books.) We all shared an update of projects we’re currently working on and then we chowed down on all the food!! Mac and cheese, rice and peas, collard greens, ham, chicken, pound cake, ice cream… Yes, I took a doggie bag. As if that weren’t enough, two of the members gifted the group with earrings. I’ll wear mine with pride.

Barnes & Noble Lowered the Price of Their Nook E-Reader to $79

Barnes & Noble has cut the price of its Nook e-reader from $99 to $79

Barnes & Noble’s Nook E-reader is now $20 less than it used to be, Mashable reports. The bookseller cut the price from $99 to $79 to compete with the Kindle which is $69 (without a charger) if you don’t mind ads. The ad-free Kindle is $99. It’ll be interesting to see how Amazon reacts to this competitive pricing strategy. Barnes & Noble, along with traditional publishers, is locked in a war with Amazon over the e-tail giant’s underpricing strategy with respect to books. The bookseller has refused to sell Amazon Publishing’s print titles, forcing Amazon to seek brick and mortar distribution of its print books in Europe.