Street Lit, Gossip about

A patron wants Deadly Reigns III, a book he imagined would be by Teri Woods, as she wrote I and II. He had asked for it last week and wanted to know if we bought it yet(!). In an effort to give a nicer answer than "Ha, with what money?" or "You're gonna have to wait more than a week," I looked at B&T and didn't find it; he mentioned that maybe it's "by another author" and things suddenly felt complicated. I told him I'd call him back. Here's what I learned (I gave him a briefer version):

It seems that Teri Woods has ghostwriters work for her. Those staff who catalog paperbacks have probably noticed things like "Teri Woods Presents" on the cover, with or without another author's name; and sometimes books were just flat out written by someone else for her.

Last year, one of these ghostwriters made public that he wrote several books published under her name, and he seems to have sued. His name is Caleb Alexander. Here's his blog (that hasn't been updated in a year) with some of the details. Many readers are now aware of this scandal and write about it on discussion boards, for instance PJ about halfway down on this site, and several folks here.

Meanwhile, Deadly Games III can be purchased online at blackbookplus.com and Amazon -- but I am not sure we can get it that way.

If you find out more about this (or any other book gossip!), add it in the comments field!

Some Urban Lit Genres

From LeoNard Thompson's (Park Place Branch, Norfolk Public Library) presentation at VLA 10/24/08

Urban (Gangsta – Hip-hop)

Pace: sparse writing, face-paced, gritty, suspenseful, action

Storyline: sexually explicit and violent

Tone: frank, candid

Original works: Autobiography of an Ex-colored Man, James Weldon Johnson

Native Son, Richard Right

Coldest Winter Ever, Sister Souljah

Currently hot: True to the Game, Teri Woods

Triple Crown Publications

Nikki Turner

(often trilogies)

Urban Inspirational

Pace: sparse, engrossing leisurely paced, resolved ending, inspirational, character-centered

Storyline: typical story describes hero’s sinning life and then road to salvation

Tone: contemporary and melodramatic (so, bad language: NOT gentle reads, not Christian Bookseller Assoc.-type works); familiar details of church settings, religious life

Style: candid, dramatic

Original works: Go Tell it on the Mountain, James Baldwin

Church Folk, Michele Andrea Brown

Currently hot: Kimberla Lawson Roby

ReShonda Tate Billingsley

Jacquelin Thomas

Walk Worthy Press

Urban Erotic

Pace: deliberate measured, compelling

Storyline: sexually explicit

Tone: contemporary, romantic, sensual

Style: candid, dramatic, direct

Original works: Black Erotic Anthology

Addicted, Zane

Currently hot: Noire

Mary B. Morrison

Geneva Holliday

Literary

Current Authors: Martha Southgate, Nathan McCall, Kalisha Buckhanon

YA

Bluford series (authors: Langdon, Schraff)

Kimani Tru (an mprint of Harlequin: “Kimani TRU focuses on the triumphs and obstacles of today's African-American youth with wit and realism!”

Drama High series (author: L. Divine)

For more details, see Thompson's notes on VLA's website.