By Neil Armstrong
Every year, there are new books written or edited by emerging or established Black authors in Canada. Some are self-published and have their genesis in the COVID-19 pandemic; others are from independent and major publishers.
Over the last couple years, independent Black-owned bookstores in the Greater Toronto Area have seen a tremendous amount of books by local Black authors.
Miguel San Vicente, co-owner of A Different Booklist, is so impressed with the ownership he sees coming out of these new works that he expects more Black writers to be getting awards and making an impact on the literary scene.
“You cannot have that amount of writing going on without it producing excellence. That is a very positive thing that I see happening.”
To encourage it this year, the bookstore has a promotion on its website listing some local authors and “we’re encouraging people to buy local and we giving a 10% discount on these titles by local authors,” says San Vicente.
Alongside his wife, Itah Sadu, they have been the co-owners of A Different Booklist since 1999. The store was opened in 1995 by Wesley Crichlow, a professor at University of Ontario Institute of Technology who specializes in Black LGBTQ criminology, critical equity, and diversity studies.
A Different Booklist showcases “the literature of the African and Caribbean diaspora, the Global South and all the major publishers and small presses.”
In Brampton, Sean Liburd, founder and co-owner of Knowledge Bookstore, says there are tonnes of books coming from Black Canadians from 80+year-olds to 8-year-olds.
“It’s been a little bit overwhelming at times because there are so many emails.”
Liburd says the only issue he has with some of them is that while it is easy to publish a book, there are people who don’t think about the small things, such as using staples in the middle of their children’s book.
“They’re not thinking about the liability in children hurting themselves with those staples,” he says, noting the importance of editing too.
His advice to new authors is to do their due diligence first by speaking to people that are in the business and try to understand it, but he noted that there are many writers who are very personal about their work and do not want any advice.
“It makes it difficult because then you have to say no. There are great concepts but when things are not done in a certain way then you absolutely have to say no,” says Liburd, noting that there is only so many authors he can take.
“We would love to take everyone but there is only so much shelf space.” Liburd is looking for books that fit into the store’s mandate and has a major focus on children.
Knowledge Bookstore, founded on December 18, 1997 will celebrate its 24th anniversary this weekend. The bookstore started for him and his wife, Carolette, “as a dream realized and continues to awaken the minds of our customers with our large assortment of children, history, religious, Caribbean, African and Black Studies titles.”
Since September this year, several writers have launched their books via Zoom, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or at in-person events. Their writings cover issues of racism, identity, culture, body image, self-actualization, Black masculinities, colonialism, and education.
Here are some new books to consider adding to your holiday reading list.
Ameliya Disappears by Angela “Punky” Stultz
Angela “Punky” Stultz, a Jamaican author and American best book non-fiction finalist based in Toronto, has written a new children’s book, Ameliya Disappears, which takes readers on a journey into Caribbean folklore through the adventures of little Ameliya.
Stultz draws on her own experience as a child growing up in Jamaica and working in the Caribbean. Ameliya disappears into the world of “ghost story,” of women foretelling things to come -- all in the lilting dialect or patois of Jamaica. This imaginary tale touches on life issues –bullying and physical abuse, with messages that encourage prevention, overcoming and resilience.
It is the story of a little girl, who lives with her grandmother and stumbles on her grandmother’s age-old secret, which allows Ameliya to tackle the issues of social injustice that she sees in her neighbourhood.
Ameliya Disappers is independently published. On September 11, Stultz held a virtual international launch of this book and her non-fiction, Signs and Wonders: Sojourn in the inner city, published in 2019.
Half-Court Trap by Kevin heronJones
Brampton-raised author, Kevin heronJones, launched his new novel Half-Court Trap with an Instagram Live reading and interview with radio host Brother Kofi Sankofa on November 27.
The issues of male body image and rivalry come together in Half-Court Trap, set in racially diverse Brampton, Ontario. Thirteen-year-old Nigel is teased and belittled at home because of his weight, so an opposing player’s trash talk enrages him and he vows revenge. When his enemy becomes a teammate, Nigel plots to make him look bad and get him off the team. As Nigel finds out more about his rival, he not only learns empathy but comes to a new perspective on himself and acceptance of his body shape.
Kevin heronJones is a youth basketball coach, author, journalist, actor, lecturer, and award-winning performance poet. He has numerous spoken word recordings and his poetry book titles include Vision, I AM a Child of the SUN and Telephone Love. He lives in Milton, Ontario.
Publisher: James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers
Aina-Nia Ayo'dele and Mosa McNeilly at the launch of Self: An Inner Journey to Re-Membering Your Power at The Diner's Corner restaurant in Toronto on October 17, 2021
“Self comes from my own journey to remembering my power and the wisdom I have shared with students and audiences across the globe,” writes Aina-Nia Ayo’dele in the author’s note.
“ The inner journey to oneself is filled with mystery, memories known and unknown and challenges that come with the unearthing of these five questions, which speaks to authentic living. Yet, such bliss is truly Re-Membering Your Power.
1. Who Am I?
2. How did I come to be who I am?
3. Am I really who I think I am?
4. What is my purpose on this planet at this time?
5. Am I living my purpose?”
Aina-Nia Ayo’dele is an ancient wisdom teacher, leadership coach and spiritual liberation activist on a mission to influence individual and institutional change by inspiring everyone to Re-Member their Power. A well sought-after public speaker and spiritual teacher, Aina-Nia is an accomplished leader in the community, corporate and public sectors.
The book launch was held on October 17 at The Diner’s Corner restaurant in downtown Toronto. www.aina-nia.com
High School Here I Come: Preparing for the Journey by Marcella Penny Kowalchuk
Do you remember your experience of high school? Wish you had some way to prepare for this experience? High School Here I Come: Preparing for the Journey, is an engaging, thoughtful book that parents, family and teachers can share with the students in their lives to help them get ready for this adventure. Topics include: family expectations, relationships with friends, learning to navigate the high school setting, social activities, well-being and safety, confidence, quiet strength, and faith. Each section has activities and reflective questions to help students think about their values and beliefs and how they can address situations that arise as they advance through their high school years. With practical wisdom and insights from workshop participants, High School Here I Come: Preparing for the Journey is a must-have book that offers guidance on the choices and decisions that students will encounter in the days ahead.
Marcella Penny Kowalchuk is a HR consultant and speaker.
Publisher: Live Life Happy Publishing. It was published in September.
Broken Kola-Nuts on Our Grandmother's Grave by Unblind Tibbin
Kheper’s inheritance cannot slip between his fingers. Grandma’s voice carries us through the family’s origins, retracing both the physical and spiritual realms.
The Ikin (kola nuts) are ancient divining tools that connect the family to their ancestors. They enable the ancestors to live through the family.
The art of storytelling, as perfected by Grandma, is alive and well. How can the broken kola nuts be put back together?
This tale brings forth the first step of this great and wonderful journey.
Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers LLC
The book will be launched at Nile Valley Books on Saturday, December 18, 5:00-7:00 p.m. at 1921 Gerrard St. East and will feature Afikan drumming, dance, spoken word and storytelling by some of Toronto’s most spiritually in tuned artists. There will also be a Q&A with the author.
Nohsakhre Ibrahim, who, in 1986, started selling books as a mobile carrier, opened Nile Valley Books in February 1999. It specializes in “diverse Afrocentric & multicultural literature, resources, & culturally theme products and gifts.”
How Sneakers Saved My Life: My Entrepreneurial Journey and How Sneakers Ruined My Life: The Entrepreneurial Journey That Shifted My Mental State, an autobiography by Trent
In his double-book autobiography, Trent, the owner, founder and CEO of Exclucity, one of the biggest premium sneaker boutiques in Canada, documents the trials and triumphs that he has experienced thus far in his path to success.
“Despite the many obstacles he faced he was not discouraged from working toward and achieving his ambitions. As a young Black man growing up in Montreal, he was met with many roadblocks, from lack of educational support to varying vocations and being nearly homeless. Through these challenges, street culture and urban streetwear remained consistent. The balance for Exclucity was established,” writes Elo Igor, a social worker, about How Sneakers Saved My Life.
How Sneakers Ruined My Life is a story about struggle and pain but also about grit, grind and refusing to give up, even in the face of certain defeat – a lesson we all can learn from.
Published by Exclucity
Appealing Because He Is Appalling
Black Masculinities, Colonialism, and Erotic Racism, edited by Tamari Kitossa
Transnational perspectives on Black men as objects of sexual desire, fear, and loathing.
This collection invites us to think about how African-descended men are seen as both appealing and appalling, and exposed to eroticized hatred and violence and how some resist, accommodate, and capitalize on their eroticization. Drawing on James Baldwin and Frantz Fanon, the contributors examine the contradictions, paradoxes, and politico- psychosexual implications of Black men as objects of sexual desire, fear, and loathing. Kitossa and the contributing authors use Baldwin’s and Fanon’s cultural and psychoanalytic interpretations of Black masculinities to demonstrate their neglected contributions to thinking about and beyond colonialist and Western gender and masculinity studies. This innovative and sophisticated work will be of interest to scholars and students of cultural and media studies, gender and masculinities studies, sociology, political science, history, and critical race and racialization.
Contributors: Katerina Deliovsky, Delroy Hall, Dennis O. Howard, Elishma Khokhar, Tamari Kitossa, Kemar McIntosh, Leroy F. Moore Jr., Watufani M. Poe, Satwinder Rehal, John G. Russell, Mohan Siddi
Among the chapters are these two:
- Chapter 6 by Kemar McIntosh titled “Carrying Corporeal Narratives: Weighing the Burden of Antiqueer Representations in Jamaica”
- Chapter 8 by Dennis O. Howard “‘7 Eleven’: Dialectics of Jamaican Popular Music Culture and Hegemonic Masculinity”
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| Photo contributed Tamari Kitossa, Associate Professor of Sociology, Brock University |
Publisher: University of Alberta Press
Andrew B. Campbell will release Book 2 of his Teachable Moments with DR. ABC series in January 2022. Look out for it.
I am looking forward to seeing a high school friend’s book about our alma mater whenever he decides to publish it. I edited the manuscript and it brought back so many memories.
There is another book on the horizon that I was involved in editing but that will be revealed in 2022 when it is released.
This holiday season, please support these independent, Black-owned bookstores: A Different Booklist, 777-779 Bathurst St., Toronto; Knowledge Bookstore, 177 Queen St. West in Brampton; and Nile Valley Books, 1921 Gerrard St. East, Toronto.
* Thank you to Itah Sadu for her wonderful help in making my editing of some of these books possible.
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