The city that reads together ... as "One Book" programs mushroom, so do sales for a select few African American authors.

ONE BOOK, ONE CITY PROGRAMS IN HUNDREDS OF CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY DON'T QUITE EQUAL THE EFFECT of Oprah Winfrey's book club on the publishing world, but they bring a welcome sales boost for the lucky authors whose works are recognized.

Walter Mosley's Little Scarlet (Little, Brown and Company, July 2004) was already in paperback when Los Angeles chose the mystery novel as the one book for all Angelenos to read over three months starting in February 2005.

Little Scarlet, the eighth book in Mosley's Easy Rawlins series had sold well in hardcover, predictably making The New York Times best-seller list for eight weeks (see a review of his latest, Cinnamon Kiss [Little, Brown and Company September 2005], FICTION REVIEWS). But the paperback publisher, Warner Books, credits L.A's selection of Little Scarlet for better than a 40 percent increase in overall sales, compared to Mosley's last paperback title. Warner spokeswoman Chris Dao says specific numbers were not available.

Timing helped. This is the 40th anniversary of the 1965 Watts Riots, which serve as the backdrop for Little Scarlet. This made the book more meaningful for the people of Los Angeles, a city still unable to bridge the racial divide.

A Favorite Son

Mosley, a Los Angeles native, returned to his hometown for radio and television appearances and a front-page story in The Los Angeles Times, Dao says. "He finished the last week in April with the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, and sales are still going strong a month later."

The first One Book, One City project was started in 1998 in Seattle by librarian Nancy Pearl and was called "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book." Librarians have always known that books and readings connect people across time and place. The Seattle program quickly became a model adopted by other cities and communities across North America, bringing attention to libraries and the value of reading.

This year, The Library of Congress reports there are hundreds of One Book programs in 49 states, as well as Canada and England.

The books selected by cities are an eclectic mix, but African American writers are well represented. Two out of the three books chosen by The Free Library of Philadelphia for its One Book program are by African Americans. The very first in 2003 was The Price of a Child (Vintage, June 1996) by Philadelphian Lorene Cary. The novel, which one reviewer described as "Beloved-lite" is set in 1855. It is the story of a young slave who escapes from her owner while traveling through Philadelphia and uses the Underground Railroad to find freedom and recapture her self-awareness.

James McBride's The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother (Riverhead Trade, February 1997) was the selection for winter of 2004. The writer, somewhat of a Renaissance man, came for the kickoff and followed up with appearances with his jazz band at a popular farmer's market and a West Philadelphia high school.

One Book in Philadelphia runs from mid-January to mid-March with some 250 community partners sponsoring a vast mix of events. They range from public readings and conversations with the featured author to theatrical performances and panel discussions drawn from underlying themes in the work. The 2006 selections, three books on Ben Franklin to honor his 300th birthday, were scheduled to be announced by Mayor John Street on October 20.

"A Shot in the Arm"

Cary's novel had modest sales for use in high school and college English courses and book clubs. Once it was chosen as Philadelphia's first One Book, sales skyrocketed, forcing the publisher to print another 40,000 copies, Cary says.

"It absolutely was a shot in the arm that went beyond the city," Cary says. "This is not an easy book to read, it's not a beach book or a classic, so the sales boost was tremendous."

She credits the publicity generated by the Philadelphia One Book for the subsequent decision by Buffalo, New York, and two other Pennsylvania counties to select The Price of a Child as their choice for One Book.

Lori Blount, director of corporate relations for The Free Library of Philadelphia, says the selection of two books by African American writers was coincidental rather than racially motivated. A selection committee of 24 people representing a cross section of librarians, college professors, literacy advocates and library volunteers makes the One Book choice. Each comes to the table with one or two favorites in mind, along with the current reading list for high-school seniors. Over a six-month period, the list is whittled down to a single book.

"Criteria for books is that they be challenging in their subject matter and give people something to talk about," Blount says. The Color of Water certainly filled the bill. The book spent more than two years on The New York Times best-seller list with 1.7 million copies sold in the United States alone.

McBride weaves his upbringing as the eighth of 12 siblings in Brooklyn's Red Hook projects with the story of his mother, the daughter of a rabbi, born in Poland and reared in Virginia. Deborah Skilsky came to New York on her own as a teenager, fell in love with a black man and founded a Baptist church. Despite poverty and social ostracism, she put eight of her children through college. Yet this remarkable woman's past--even her maiden name--was unknown to her children until they were grown. Her struggle against prejudice from all sides provides plenty of controversy.

Blount recalls receiving a call from the Anti-Defamation League complaining about the negative depiction of McBride's rabbi grandfather. "I had to point out to them it was not fiction, but one man's experience and there are bad rabbis and good rabbis," Blount says. "This was a bad man. It was not anti-Semitic."

For The Color of Water, Philadelphia's One Book events included a special tour at the National Liberty Museum that highlighted ethnicity in America, racial and personal identity, religion and family.

In 2003, among events for The Price of a Child, The National Constitution Center hosted a "conversation" between the scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Cary on the Constitution and the African American Experience. (The Bondwoman's Narrative, edited by Gates, was the choice for Indianapolis's One Book, One City program in 2004.)

Blount says a host of smaller groups, ranging from the local Junior League to an advocacy group for the homeless, also participate in the programming.

As in most cities, the Philadelphia organizers worked closely with the book publishers and major booksellers like Barnes & Noble and Borders to publicize the One Book events and promote the featured book as widely as possible.

Blount notes that shortly after Philadelphia One Book announced its selection of The Color of Water, The New York Times excerpted it for publication.

"I've often wondered if our selection of it for One Book influenced the Times," Blount says. "This is a wonderful program that has an enormous impact on book sales."

McBride says The Color of Water was the One Book selection for more than a half dozen cities, including New York. The author doesn't view the program from the standpoint of book sales, but its potential to engage young readers.

"Reading is in serious decline in America, especially among our young people," McBride says. "I don't care if they read The Color of Water, Invisible Man or Spider Man, as long as they read."

The Chosen Ones

The books by black authors most frequently selected by One Book, One City programs since 2000. In parenthesis is the number of cities that have chosen the book:

Breath, Eyes, Memory (2) by Edwidge Danticat Vintage (reprint edition), May 1998 $12, ISBN 0-375-70504-X

The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother (12) by James McBride Riverhead Trade, February 1997 (10th Anniversary edition due February 2006), $14, ISBN 1-594-48192-X

Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years (2) by Sarah Louise Delany, Annie Elizabeth Delany, with Amy Hill Hearth Kodansha America, September 1993 $20, ISBN 1-568-36010-X

A Lesson Before Dying (21) by Ernest J. Gaines Vintage, September 1997, $12.95 ISBN 0-375-70270-9

The Price of a Child (4) by Lorene Cary, Vintage (reprint edition), June 1996, $14, ISBN 0-679-74467-3

The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis (6) Yearling (reprint edition), September 1997 $6.50, ISBN 0-440-41412-1

Earni Young is a reporter for the Philadelphia Daily News.