The big book push: from the King holiday through Black History Month, publishers do their biggest business in African-American books. But is it the best way to promote black literary culture?

January 2002. An amazing manuscript for a novel from a new African-American writer has just been acquired after a brisk auction, with substantial bidding by many of the major publishing houses. The editor wants to place the novel on a fast track, and the manuscript is being distributed to the editorial and sales staffs for a preliminary read before a sales conference.

At the sales conference two months later, the response to the new book is tremendous, and the discussion at the meeting is positive. Book cover ideas, marketing plans, publicity and an author tour are all on the table to support the book. The discussion turns to the issue of when to publish. "February, naturally," says the associate publisher, "this should definitely be published in time for Black History Month." The entire room nods in agreement. Despite the objections of the editor, who wants to get the book out sooner, the sales and marketing honchos at Anywhere Publishers overrule her.

Behind-the-scenes maneuvering in the world of book publishing? Maybe. But it's no coincidence that a significant number of all books by black authors are released in the two month window that ends in February with Black History Month. In fact, publishers often do a special sell sheet specifically to remind stores to order titles for Black History Month.

Indeed, the first two months are when the publishing industry launches some of its most aggressive campaigns for books by black authors and about black culture. This February alone, there will be more than 50 new fiction and nonfiction titles published by mainstream houses. But with such a limited shelf life, is it really such a smart strategy, or is it the result of an industry that is still struggling with how to sell black books and reach African-American readers?

"It has been that way for awhile," says Manie Barron, literary agent at William Morris. "In 1992, I was the black-interest buyer for a national distributor. The only time most publishing reps had anything to sell me was when they were selling their winter list, which includes February," he recalls. "Bookstores have always tried to find marketing hooks to sell books. Whether it's health-related books in January, gardening books in April, or black books in February, booksellers have always looked for ways to bring attention to books. If you were able to go back in time, I will bet you would find most stores promoted black books during Negro History Week."

Once the Christmas-Kwanzaa-New Year's holiday rush is over, African-American books take center stage usually in a front-of-store tabletop display for the King holiday and Black History Month. It is in displays like these that a growing number of new and backlist titles by African-American authors are stocked in bookstores each year. Publishers followed suit by herding all their black titles into February. And so what began as a grassroots cultural celebration has become a recognized marketing strategy within the publishing industry.

At Borders Books and Music, Carol Hoenig, national events director, says that Black History Month marketing is so important that their promotional effort is initiated by the bookstore chain's corporate office. However, local Borders stores are given a great deal of latitude in coming up with creative promotions centered on African-American culture.

A media feeding frenzy 

One of the driving forces behind the Black History Month juggernaut is the media itself. In the increasingly competitive glut of information, publicity departments are fighting for space. "Getting media attention for books is always difficult," says Barron. "It is exponentially harder when you're talking about black books getting coverage in the majority media. In February, the media goes searching for black story ideas. Consequently, they tend to give our books more space during that time."

The fact that other media have also bought into the Black History Month phenomenon makes it more persuasive. Among some of the programs airing this year are the documentary Unchained Memories: Readings From the Slave Narratives, which will air February 10 on HBO, and PBS' The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow. Both documentaries have companion books scheduled to arrive in bookstores in time for the television series.

In terms of advertising, you need only take a look at the pages of any black magazine's February issue to see all the ads from McDonald's, General Motors and Philip Morris saluting African-American culture and historical figures. But despite its marketing success, there is also a backlash against Black History Month.

"We treat this month like every other month of the year," says Rockelle Henderson, director of advertising for Harper-Collins. "We push for publicity and marketing opportunities for books published in February, just as we push for those in June," adds Henderson, who is also marketing manager for Amistad Press, an imprint of HarperCollins. "I can't speak for other publishers, but because Amistad publishes titles by and about the African-American experience every month, we do not focus on the limited time-frame of the month of February."

Defying conventional publishing wisdom, Amistad has only two titles being released in February: Should America Pay? Slavery and the Raging Debate on Reparations by Raymond A. Winbush, Ph.D., and Honoring Sergeant Carter: Redeeming a Black WWII Hero's Legacy by Allene G. Carter and Robert L. Allen.

Even some authors, especially those who are established and have more say in the marketing efforts and publishing schedules of their books, are balking at being published in the month of February. As one publishing executive says, "The month can be a major source of contention among authors. They feel it can be a `ghetto'--their word, not mine. Toni Morrison, in fact, specifically requests that she not to be published then," adds the publishing insider. But the attention in bookstores that Black History Month commands can benefit newer authors that are less likely to have access to the big marketing dollars that major publishing houses usually reserve for best-selling authors.

Attention for new authors

For newer, unknown authors it is a great time to be featured," says Hoeing. "At Borders, the promotions and events draw tremendous crowds, and are a great springboard for new careers. Black History Month is a great time to start the momentum for all black books being published throughout the year, and get them the attention they so richly deserve."

"Some bookstores offer co-op for placement on African-American tables in the month," admits Henderson. "There are often opportunities to participate in these types of programs. As far as marketing is concerned, we look at each book individually. Whatever we feel the needs are for that specific book, we'll pursue," she adds.

Nevertheless, there have been efforts to broaden black book marketing campaigns beyond February. In 1997, The American Booksellers Association (ABA) started National Black Bookstore Week (NBBW). "A small group of booksellers wanted to draw attention to their bookstore's diversity and cultural connections," according to Jill Perlstein, ABA's marketing manager. "In order to stand out from all the events in February, they decided that National Black Bookstore Week would take place around Juneteenth--the week of June 19th."

The initial response from booksellers around the country was strong. The NBBW was promoted mainly through African-American owned bookstores and was celebrated with author events and panel discussions. One of the highlights was "Race Day," which included a discussion on race relations between Clara Villarosa of Hue-Man Experience, who is black, and her friend and bookstore mentor Joyce Meskis, of the Tattered Cover in Denver, who is white.

The ABA created all sorts of marketing materials, such as bookmarks and posters to promote it, and Maya Angelou was the honorary spokesperson. Unfortunately, despite its strong start, the ABA's support of National Black Bookstore Week has waned over the past two years.

With the apparent realization that black book sales can thrive year round, some of the major publishers are capitalizing on the enormous opportunity, and have established book imprints specifically focused on publishing African-American authors. Amistad Press is an imprint of HarperCollins; Random House, which has several imprints including One World/Ballantine, Strivers Row/Villard, and most recently Harlem Moon established at Doubleday; Simon and Schuster's Atria Books and Pocket Books; Kensington's Dafina; and BET Books all either publish black authors exclusively or have a significant number of black writers. Add to that the growing number of independent publishers such as Amber Books, Black Classic Press, Third World Press and others, and the sheer number of black titles being published have practically forced the industry to spread the wealth throughout the year.

Other imprints that are not specifically focused on African-American publishing have established marketing tools to help promote black books outside the month of February. Vintage/Anchor, for example, publishes a newsletter that highlights titles of African-American interest throughout the year. And they are not alone. Doubleday publishes Black Ink, and AOL Time Warner Book Group publishes HALALA, a newsletter and website devoted entirely to promoting books written by or of interest to African Americans, with links to similar sites for African Americans.

Ingram Book Company, the leading book distributor publishes two catalogs: Ashanti, a trade catalog for bookstore owners that is published twice yearly and includes details about upcoming black titles and authors; and The African American Connection, a glossy quarterly catalog that bookstores can purchase from ABA as a shopping guide for customers that comes with the bookstore's information imprinted on the cover. Publishers purchase space in both publications hoping to generate interest from bookstore buyers and consumers.

So why does practically every book by an African-American author or about black culture come out in February?

"I don't think--and it has been proven--that there is a difference in sales during the month of February," says Henderson. "As we have witnessed, book sales for African-American titles have exploded during the summer months as well," she observes.

"We feel there is a market for our books every month and we will continue to publish accordingly," says Henderson. "Personally, I don't think it matters one way or the other, since our jobs are to focus on the books."

Lesleigh W. Irish-Underwood, a native of Brooklyn, New York, recently joined BIBR as the director of advertising. Having worked in book publishing for many years, she was until recently director of promotion and advertising at Dorling Kindersley Publishing, and previously manager of sales promotion and broadcast advertising at Knopf, a division of Random House. "Joining the BIBR team has been a blessing. I now have a chance to affect advertising of our books from a whole new perspective." Irish-Underwood goes behind the scenes to discover why so many black books are published in February. "The Big Book Push" begins on page 36.