Peace Family,
I am excited to introduce myself to you for the first time! After much prodding from my loving husband, I have decided to tiptoe slowly into the exciting blogosphere to share my firsthand experiences in the book industry. I am looking forward to connecting with writers, poets, neo-novelists and other literature lovers through this medium and welcome any feedback you may have.
A brief snapshot of me…
I have been apart of the retail business for more than 23 years (started at 15) and have worked everything from shoe sales, Children’s manager to Divisional Merchandise Manager for a Fortune 500 company. Of those, the past five years have been in the book industry. My unlikely christening into the book world started as the General Books Buyer for Howard University Bookstore where I was the sole person responsible for purchasing all trade books: anything by a black writer was my target–from Tony Browder, and Dr. Cornel West to Teri Woods and Nikki Turner. If it was by an African-American, I did my best to ensure it was on the shelves…well, almost everything– but we’ll delve into that topic at a later date.
While at HU, I had the fortunate experience to host events with many prolific authors. From internationally known celebrities to the first-time local authors, to the tried & true legendary griots of our community. It was true, I had been bitten by the book bug!
After about two years of enjoying my foray into the book industry at Howard, I was courted by a pioneering African-American book chain called Karibu. There I was offered the unique opportunity to become it’s first-ever District Manager and thus tasked with the responsibility of managing their six stores in the Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland region. Armed with my business degree and a host of retail experience, I felt I was poised to make an even more purposeful impact in the black reading world. But it was short lived…
After an interesting stint at Karibu, the game changed…yet again! This time, I was thrust into a unique opportunity with the largest bookstore brand in the world (their name begins with a “B”). There I was charged with the position of Community Relations Manager where I became the face of the store and worked with authors, schools, non-profits and corporations.
Fast forward to now…my husband and I have launched our answer to the next phase of black book retailing…introducing MahoganyBooks!!! Here, I am the Community Relations Director and will be responsible for hosting events, connecting with book clubs and conversing with authors (among other things).
In this capacity, I am excited to offer my experience in the book world to answer questions about author appearances, tips for first time authors and networking the industry. If you have a question that I don’t know the answer to, I’ll do my best to seek it out and post it to ensure our entire community grows together.
I eagerly await the dialogue!
Let’s build!
Mone’t!
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