Winner, winner chicken dinner!

Congratulations to Beth Anne Mandia and JaPulp! You each won a copy of Snitch by Booker T. Mattison! Email me your snail mail info so Booker's publisher can send you a book.

Win Snitch!

What would you do? That's the big question that comes to mind about Booker T. Mattison's Snitch. The synopsis:

Leave a comment to win a copy!

On the streets of Jersey City there is a simple code. You don’t talk to the cops. You don’t snitch. Period. But when young bus driver Andre Bolden witnesses a crime on his route, he is compelled to make a choice. If he keeps silent, he might lose his job and be gnawed by his conscience. If he snitches, he could lose his family—even his life.

This explosive story explores the clash between a working man and the code of the street. Gifted storyteller Booker T. Mattison has crafted a realistic tale full of tension and raw suspense yet infused with spiritual truth. Snitch rewrites the rule to mind your own business, peers into the hearts of those who seek revenge and redemption, and celebrates the ability of a community to triumph over violence and intimidation.

When I posted the trailer, so many of you watched it, it caught Booker's attention. To say thank you to my blog readers, he's offering 2 free copies of Snitch!

If you want one, leave a comment below by Monday, May 23rd at 5 pm MST. I'll use the randomizer to select our 2 winners. Good luck!

Go to his site to read an excerpt or see the trailer if you missed it last time.  Go here to read the Starred Review in Publisher's Weekly!

Follow Booker on Twitter.

BEA Buzz

A commenter remarked on my last post about being surprised about how segregated BEA (Book Expo America) seemed and asked my thoughts.  I'm not sure I can form any cogent response (my body arrived home yesterday, but my brain is over Iowa somewhere), except to say: welcome to publishing and bookselling.  This separation isn't the life I lead or what I see around me (my cousins' book club in Philly is reading My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult), but some in the biz seem really late to the party. Which is why this site exists.

The panel I was on about book promotion through social networking with Felicia Pride, Abiola Abrams, and Daaimah Poole attracted about 200 people, most of whom where black, but there were some nonblack folks in attendance too.  And I'm sure some nonblack folks weaved their way through the trade show floor to get to the African American Pavilion, and there were definitely some when Cornel West and Tavis Smiley spoke.  But it's no joke that the book biz has a way to go.

A few of the interesting titles by black authors I learned about at BEA:

Rhythms of Grace by Marilynn Griffith

Unsigned Hype by Booker T. Mattison

Worth a Thousand Words by Stacy Hawkins Adams

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi Durrow (coming next year)