Beyond FEEBLE: Book Publishing’s Pigeon-Hole Mentality

Writing about an event I attended weeks ago makes me realize how much of an impression this particular event made on me. Lighthouse Writers Workshop’s annual LitFest was a mid-June whirlwind of classes, salons, readings, and panels (and oh yes, a coupla nifty parties). One of those salons, In and Out of the Niche (or is it “neesh?”), featured Denver authors Carleen Brice, Mario Acevedo, and William Haywood (aka Bill) Henderson. Each of these authors has been categorized by the book publishing industry in ways that not only hurt sales of their books, but personally befuddled (and probably irritated the hell out of) her/him. While these three were too polite to truly rail against those who dictate where books are placed in bookstores, I left the event wishing more than a few publishing reps and booksellers had been in attendance.

As a debut novelist in 2008, Carleen heard from many readers who enjoyed the fact that while she and her characters were black, her story Orange Mint and Honey transcended race. The relationships, the impact of alcohol abuse, the personal histories and their interweavings as well as the struggles to put the past to rest and achieve new levels of mutual and self-understanding and forgiveness…all this occurred outside racial constraints and resonated with a wide variety of readers. Despite such feedback—and the selection of Orange Mint and Honey as a Target Breakout Book—in bookstores Carleen and her novel were relegated to the black books section. Terrific for readers who seek out writers of color, not so terrific for those seeking new books by a variety of writers. And definitely not so great for an author trying to make an industry-wide name for herself.

In response, Carleen has produced a terrific tongue-in-cheek video welcoming white readers to the black books section; established National Buy a Book by a Black Author and Give it to Somebody Not Black Month; and launched her second blog, White Readers Meet Black Authors. Still, her newest novel, Children of the Waters (which features characters of white and mixed-race backgrounds) has been relegated to the black books section. That’s just not right.

A writer of vampire fiction, Mario Acevedo also happens to be a Latino writer. Despite his books’ determinedly un-Hispanic titles (including The Nymphos of Rocky Flats, a local favorite), some were originally published by a Latino publisher and—you guessed it—filed in the Latino section. Due to his determination to write accessible, fun, and now widely popular works of vampire fiction, his books were ultimately reclassified as urban fantasy and are now enjoyed by a much wider audience. (Check out his great “lego” trailer for just a glimpse of Mario’s unique creative vision!)

Not that there’s anything wrong with attracting Latino or black readers, of course. Bill Henderson noted he had no qualms about attracting gay readers when his first novel was published by a publisher of gay books because it featured a character who happened to be homosexual. Unfortunately, though, that meant Bill’s subsequent works would be considered potential material for the gay books section despite the fact he did not continue to write gay fiction. His next two books (read Augusta Locke and be amazed) instead established him as a writer of stunning character studies and landscapes that happened to be set in the West. How to categorize him now? Who knows. The point is, should that matter?

When I attended this salon I was in the middle of researching e-books for this piece on The Know Something Project site. And I couldn’t help but hope (and mention to Carleen at the end of the evening) that e-publishing will ultimately result in the demise of limited categorizations of published works. Search on-line for books by author and you’ll find all his or her titles; search by subject matter and you’ll find a slew of selections; search by a general keyword and you’ll find even more. Who cares at that point in what section of a bricks-and-mortar bookstore a particular work is filed—or if that book is even carried by a certain store? If you want to buy a print copy, you’ve already done your research and know what to ask for (or order for later pickup or delivery) when you walk in a store or go on a store’s site. If you prefer the immediacy of ordering an electronic copy, click away. Either way, you’re no longer relegated to an inefficient organizational system determined by the publishing industry’s antiquated marketing strategies—and neither are your favorite authors.

Beyond FUNDRAISING: Score Points with Gift Donations

So you forgot to send flowers to your mom for Mother’s Day, forgot to mail a card to Aunt Tilly for her birthday, and forgot to call your dad on Father’s Day. How can a well-meaning but not-exactly-organized person safe face in such situations? Tell them all you were shopping on-line for the perfect gift and only now discovered what you should have been giving them every year: a gift donation in their name.

Global Girlfriend, founded here in Denver by innovative advocate Stacey Edgar and now a part of the GreaterGood network, sells all sorts of beautiful fair-trade and eco-friendly items created by women all over the world. They also offer opportunities to support women through one-time donations starting at only $15. These Gifts That Give More include clean childbirth kits to ensure more safe births in impoverished countries such as Rwanda and Haiti. A donation of $15 pays for three of these kits.

Men on your gift list might appreciate a donation to the Family Violence Prevention Fund. Based in San Francisco with offices in D.C. and Boston, the FVPF works “to end violence against women and children around the world” by educating men and youth about violence prevention, “promoting leadership within communities to ensure that violence prevention efforts become self-sustaining, and transforming the way health care providers, police, judges, employers and others address violence.” Your donation can be made in memory or in honor of anyone you like.

So why not turn gift-giving opportunities into opportunities for much (much) more than typical gift-giving? Your family will be so proud of you.

Beyond THE FUTURE: E-Books for Everyone?

That’s certainly a hopeful possibility for the future of book publishing, though plenty of folks would rather stick to paperbacks and leave e-book bickering over formats, readers, and price points to Amazon and Google. But plenty of other industry players have entered the race to profit from the blossoming e-book market. As I state in a new KnowSomethingProject.com article “E-Books: Where Literature and Technology Meet,” there’s plenty to learn about the past, present, and future of e-books, regardless of what—or how—you prefer to read. Enjoy!

Beyond FANTASTIC: SAME Café Post Rated #2 of 10,000!

The folks at BlogCatalog have rated their favorite posts from the 10,000 (!) written April 29 for the BloggersUnite for Hunger and Hope challenge. I’m very pleased to see my post on SAME Café here in Denver (where fellow bloggers Carleen and Lisa and I are meeting for lunch today!) listed as one of the top posts reviewed! See the entire list and read much more about world hunger and efforts to ease the suffering here.

While the BloggersUnite challenges are a project of BlogCatalog.com and BloggersUnite.org, the April 29 campaign was also spearheaded by Heifer International and Copywrite, Inc.

Since 1944, Heifer International has helped communities learn to become self-sufficient by raising animals that provide benefits beyond food to increase family incomes for better housing, nutrition, health care, and schools. In this post, Rich at Copywrite, Inc. features stories of students in Nevada, Kentucky, and Nebraska who conducted innovative fundraisers in April to benefit Heifer International, as well as more details about the impact of the Hunger and Hope challenge.

To see the complete list of upcoming Bloggers Unite challenges, go here. Write a post, comment on your favorite to give a fellow blogger a boost, or support a new charity; as Rich notes, “Who’s to say what contribution is too small or how far it might go?”

Beyond FINESSE: One Dad’s Mother’s Day Tribute

One of my sisters-in-law recently passed along this tribute written by one of her cousins for the Utica (NY) Daily News:

On July 4th, 2007 I was admitted to University Hospital in Syracuse for bacterial encephalitis; a few days passed and my condition only seemed to worsen. Shortly thereafter, I fell into a coma for what would be a total of five days, during which I had emergency brain surgery, stopped breathing on my own, and subsequently wound up on life support. In what seemed like an instant, I was in a fight for my life. Eventually with great care and amazing physicians I woke up, but the world as I knew it had changed a great deal in those five days. It seems the bacteria that had attacked my brain had done a significant amount of damage. The left side of my body was paralyzed, my vision was like that of a video camera being shook, I couldn't swallow, breathe unassisted or even sit up or roll over on my own in bed. Everything as I knew it was now different…well, all but one thing. That one thing was my wife. She was the first person I saw when I woke up and I remember her showing me pictures of my three little boys and asking me questions about them that I could only answer with hand signals. You see for all the medicine, and equipment, and talent that I had to take care of me, I had the one thing that was better than all of those things combined.

Somehow, my wife knew that if my family was in the front of my mind, I would be okay. I would have reason to hope, and hold on, and eventually get out of a wheelchair and become me again. That night, my wife explained everything that had happened while I was asleep, but she also kept repeating and repeating how much my boys loved and missed me. It hurt; I was scared, confused, angry, you name the emotion and I probably felt it at some point. But I didn't care, because there were those boys of mine and I was not ready to leave them. She talked about them all the time, as much as she could, knowing full well that hearing about them would only make me fight harder to get home to them. For obvious reasons, talking about certain parts of my illness is not all that fun. But this week, this week when we honor mothers is different. It's funny how we think of a mother as one who guides young children through life, teaching them right from wrong, and so many other things. But for me, I think of the mother of my children as the glue that kept our family together. I think of her as the one who managed the house, the bills, the kids, absolutely everything, when all I could manage to do was lie in bed and recuperate. And yet she never complained, she never said it was too much, or too hard, or even unfair.

At times, I wondered if my wife would eventually throw in the towel, as I know I would have. But her answer was simple and to the point. I made a promise, a promise to you and to God that I would love you no matter what. Talk about commitment. I talk to my three boys often and we talk of all the things that matter in life, and the importance of becoming a good man. Truth be told, I tell them about their mother, about what it means to be a friend even when you wind up getting the short end of the stick. We talk about words like dedication, commitment, faith, loyalty, responsibility, and somehow the conversation always ends up where it started, with their mother. A lot of men say they live for their wives; I can honestly say I live because of my wife. [L]ucky for me I have a public forum in which I get to tell the world how much I love my wife, and just what an amazing mother she is.

… I have no political or social points to make. Not even a cage to rattle….. Instead, a request: that we realize all mothers are working mothers and undoubtedly the best way to love your children is to love their mother. Live well, love well, regards.

Beyond FEEDING THE HUNGRY: SAME Café of Denver
originally posted: April 29, 2009

SAME is an acronym for So All May Eat, the philosophy behind SAME Café of Denver. Located in a store front a short distance east of the gold-domed Colorado State Capitol building, SAME Café and owners Brad and Libby Birky have been profiled by nearly every print publication in Denver as well as national outlets like NBC Nightly News and Cooking Light magazine. While such exposure has helped with recent outpourings of donations and support for this unique business venture, Brad and Libby continue to depend on their Denver customers to keep the doors of SAME Café open. Such dependence—coupled with a desire to serve those most in need in the community—contribute not only to the emotional appeal of the SAME Café business model, but to its booming success.

Simply put, anyone is invited to walk into SAME Café and order a meal, whether or not he or she can afford to pay a penny for it. Those who can afford to pay are encouraged to donate a little extra to help cover the cost of feeding those who can’t. Those who can’t pay are asked to donate an hour of service (e.g., sweeping the floor or wiping tables) per meal.

Either way, SAME Café patrons enjoy a rotating selection of fresh soups, salads, pizzas or wraps, and desserts made from seasonal and primarily organic ingredients. Tempted by the smells of such great food, some passersby stop in and are surprised to see no prices on the posted menu, and no cash register. The honor system is alive and well at SAME Café, and so is hope for a better tomorrow for those who come in with nothing and leave not only with their hunger sated, but their dignity intact.

***

Look for other Unite for Hunger and Hope posts on more than 500 blogs today during the BloggersUnite campaign to raise awareness of world hunger. Right here at home, people go hungry every day. According to the Food Bank of the Rockies, at least 200,000 individuals in the metro Denver area live in poverty. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, a person in the U.S. lives in poverty when he or she earns less than $11,000 annually; a family of four lives in poverty when its wage earners earn $22,000 or less a year. The latest figures state that in 2007, 37 million Americans lived below the poverty line. According to a January article from Reuters (In a recession, poverty strikes middle class), that number is rising at an alarming rate. Thankfully people like Brad and Libby Birky and those who support SAME Café are doing more than simply wringing their hands about the growing hunger crisis. As Brad was quoted in Cooking Light, “We’re just out to quietly change the world, one meal at a time.”

Beyond PHENOMENAL: Playing For Change
originally posted: April 10, 2009

Playing For Change began as a celebration of street musicians in the U.S. that focused on performers in NYC, LA, and New Orleans. Consider this June 2006 PFC blog post about a trip PFC folks took to New Orleans as the city struggled to recover from the humiliation and devastation of Hurricane Katrina. One of the staff wrote of a singular moment during a performance by “Grandpa,” who’s sung “on the same corner for some 20 plus years…sending his formidable tenor and bellowing bass to greet loyal passer-byers and all those who’d listen.”:

“I was standing kitty-corner to Grandpa while [other PFC staffers] were recording a song about Louisiana, and I was taking some still shots. I stopped to take in a moment where everything around us just seemed to stop…all I could hear was his beautiful voice, when suddenly I was startled by a man standing right behind me practically breathing over my shoulder. He said to me softly, ‘His voice has made me smile for so many years. I thought we had lost him. But he’s back and so are we.’ The man was not there to converse, just to listen, chime in, and be on his way. I stood breathless as Grandpa sang, ‘They’re trying to wash us away…’ and he sang the words again, and then one more time.”

Within the next year, Playing For Change had expanded its focus to include performers from across the globe. In 2008, its documentary/“global concert film” Playing for Change: Peace Through Music debuted at the Tribecca Film Festival and won the Audience Award at the Woodstock Film Festival.

Watch the remarkable, impossible-to-ever-forget "Stand By Me" music video featured on the PFC site; Grandpa’s voice truly is beautiful, even moreso when it’s woven into a tapestry of voices and instrumentals from around the world. Talk about performances fueled by passion and purpose. As PFC founder, co-director and producer Mark Johnson wrote in a blog post last November:

“This act of playing music with different cultures, religions, economics, and politics is a powerful statement. It…illustrates that we can find ways of working together and sharing our experiences with one another in a positive way. Before we were ever different, we were all human beings.”

Later this month the Playing For Change CD/DVD Songs Around the World will be released and yes, I’ve preordered it. Thanks (once again!) to Lisa Kenney for such an inspiring link. I am so looking forward to watching Songs Around the World and learning more about Playing For Change in the future. Oh yeah, they build schools too. Wow.

Karen DeGroot Carter, a native of Syracuse and a graduate of Syracuse University, lives in Denver. Her first novel, One Sister¡¯s Song explores issues faced by people of mixed-race heritage. Her blog, BEYOND Understanding, highlights resources that promote tolerance and celebrate diversity.

Karen DeGroot Carter is actively seeking representation for her second novel, Under the Humming Tide, in which a woman strives to reintroduce herself to her autistic brother, understand her disabled daughter, and somehow keep her crumbling family intact.

UPDATE FEBRUARY 2007: Karen DeGroot Carter also seeks representation for One Sister's Song, which is now available for sale to a new publisher.