From the editor-in-chief.

What do popular erotic novels by Zane and Christian fiction like Church Folk and Second Sunday have in common? And what similarity do nonfiction titles by Michael Eric Dyson, Dorothy Height and Carter G. Woodson share with the previously mentioned fiction titles and also with two very different inspirational titles by Mo'Nique and the Reverend Juanita Bynum?

And what does the memoir of former First Lady and current Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton have to do with any and all of these books?

Answer: They all have a place in FLYING OFF THE SHELVES, the survey you'll find on page 72!

FLYING OFF THE SHELVES, BIBR's own a compilation of top-selling books purchased by African American readers, made its debut in the July/August 2003 issue, and it has already generated "buzz."

First, I must thank our panel of African American booksellers for supplying BIBR with data on the books their customers are purchasing. I have always known that black readers enjoy books on a wide range of topics--that we eagerly read books by African American authors, but also lots of other writers, too. The savviest booksellers in black communities nationwide also carry titles of interest by non-black authors. Still, African American book retailers rarely get "props" for selling "general market" books. The appearance of Senator Clinton's Living History on our survey proves the value of black booksellers and black readers in building sales for mainstream titles, too.

Our listing also exposes the popular misconception that black folks have become a market only for titles on relationships, dating and sex. FLYING OFF THE SHELVES includes a healthy sample of entertaining, adventurous titles about sex and romantic relationships. But, as the list also makes clear, African Americans are interested in wide diversity of good books. Classics by the father of Black History Month, the late historian Carter G. Woodson, are still being read, as well as contemporary memoirs of everyday heroism of ordinary black people like Finding Fish by Antwone Fisher and memoirs of acknowledged heroes and sheroes, like the longtime activist Dorothy Height.

This September October issue is chock-full of new fall books--from both established authors and newly discovered voices. Pay special attention to our feature on "The Trials and Triumphs of African Literature" (page 28), which resonates with the home-front defense by librarians across our nation for the freedom to speak, to write and to read (see also "Banned Somewhere in the USA," page 23). Be sure to explore the fascinating dialogue on the challenges of writing about race between two preeminent novelists--one black, one white. (See "This Property Is Not Condemned," page 12.

I'd be remiss--or perhaps even lampooned in the funny papers--if I didn't welcome cartoonist Aaron McGruder and his crew Huey and Riley Freeman to the cover of Black Issues Book Review. The courage and wit McGruder displays in his daily syndicated comic strip has added new meaning to the old saying, "The pen is mightier than the sword." Indeed, McGruder's pen and his wit are equally sharp, and the potential audience for his new collection based on The Boondocks has mushroomed. As journalist Karen Grigsby Bates points out in her profile of McGruder ("Aaron McGruder's Greatest Hits," page 36), some have observed that this young man is to syndicated comics what Terry McMillan was to popular fiction. His forthcoming books will make a big footprint in the graphic book genre.

As usual, BIBR highlights a range of work, so you're bound to find much inside to satisfy, just about every reading taste.

William E. Cox 

President/Editor-in-Chief