BIPOC Book News: Willow Smith is a “Novelist,” Tabitha Brown Shouts Out Her Ghostwriter, & A Black-Owned Bookstore Can’t Breathe

It’s time for another installment of BIPOC book news. And this week, the news is a mixed bag of good, bad, and tragic. Of course, it’s all a matter of perspective. So, let’s dive in with the latest literary news featuring Willow Smith and her new novel.

Willow Smith Joins the Family Book Business

The word is out. Willow Smith, following in her famous parents’ footsteps, will be debuting her first book soon. Unlike Will and Jada, Willow will not be rehashing her life story for the masses. Instead, she is hitting the shelves with a historical, fantasy fiction title called, Black Shield Maiden. The book is described by the publisher, Penguin Random House, thus:

“This saga begins with Yafeu, a defiant yet fiercely compassionate young warrior who is stolen from her home in the flourishing Ghānaian empire and taken to a distant kingdom in the North. There she is thrust into a strange, cold world of savage shield maidens, tyrannical rulers, and mysterious gods.

And there she also finds something unexpected: a kindred spirit. She comes to serve Freydis, a shy princess who couldn’t be more different from the confident and self-possessed Yafeu.”

Many people might be scratching their heads wondering about Willow Smith’s qualifications for pulling off such a complex and intriguing saga, as a first-time novelist at age 23. Well, just like her parents, Willow had help writing this book, and unlike other young celebrities, Smith’s ghostwriter/co-author, Jess Hendel, is fully credited on the book cover, although it seems like only Willow is going on the book tour. So…

Anywho,

If you are the type to pay attention to Gen Z actors becoming novelists, or you’re a die-hard Willow Smith fan, who has followed her career since she was whipping her hair back and forth, then you know Black Shield Maiden was supposed to debut in October 2022, but there were one too many critiques of the book, and publication was stalled. Critics said the depictions of the African people in the story were offensive and inaccurate. Hendel and Smith reportedly stood by their book stating they had done “ a ton of research” to make sure the book was accurate, and yet, somebody called for a do-over, because the book now has a May 2024 pub. date. That seems like plenty of time to do “tons” more research.

The story does sound intriguing, and Children of Blood and Bones scribe, Tomi Adeyemi put her stamp of approval on the book. Let’s see how this revised edition is received by the people. Stay tuned.

Tabitha Brown Gives a Major Shout-Out to her Writing Collaborator, Tracey Lewis-Giggetts

We see you too, Tracey Lewis-Giggetts!

And speaking of giving credit where credit is due. Last week, Tabitha Brown made ghostwriters everywhere feel seen, while simultaneously making celebrities who pretend to actually write their own books feel a little ashamed. While appearing on TheGrio’s Black Writing podcast to chat about her new book, I Did a New Thing, Brown spent a good amount of time praising her writing “angel,” award-winning author, Tracey Lewis-Giggetts. Brown said she couldn’t write her books without Tracey’s participation, claiming her as an indispensable member of her team. Lewis-Giggetts has been the ghostwriter/collaborator on two out of three of Brown’s books and will continue to work with her on her upcoming literary projects.

Brown also admitted that she didn’t understand why other celebrities liked to pretend they wrote their books by themselves, and said it basically sounded like they were “lying.” But that’s they business.

On her Instagram page, Lewis-Giggets said she was “grateful” to be a part of Brown’s team.

Liberation Station Bookstore is Forced to Close its Doors Because of Death Threats

And in, “This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” news, a new, African-American children’s bookstore, located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, is being forced to close its doors after the owners received a series of vicious, threatening texts, including death threats!

Liberation Station Bookstore Won’t Let the Haters Bring them Down. (photo from @LiberationStationbookstore)

Liberation Station has only been opened since June of 2023, and yet the family-owned business is shutting down in order to protect their young children, who were targeted in a series of vile and violent threats sent to the store owners, husband and wife team, Victoria Scott-Miller and Duane Miller. What’s worse, according to a report on Blavity.com, the store’s landlord seemed uninterested in helping the family deal with the issue, and instead started showing the space to other perspective renters when they told him what was going on.

This is pure editorialization, but this typer of violent, ignorant racism is intolerable. What’s more, it shows that the melanin-challenged are feeling so desperate to hang on to the fraying threads of the lie that is white supremacy, that they have to prey upon a children’s bookstore. If it weren’t so painful to watch the destruction of a bookstore, it would just be pathetic. Grown folks intimated by picture books. (SMH)

Based on the most recent posts on the Liberation Station Instagram feed, it does appear that the store will close their current location, but they are determined to find another home, rather than give in to hate. Write On! Let’s support Liberation Station any way we can.

The Literary World Lost an Icon in Maryse Condé

Last week, on April 2, 2024, Maryse Condé died at the age of 90. Condé was born and raised in the island nation of Guadeloupe, and was then sent to France to finish her education at age 16. Early marriage, an early pregnancy, divorce and travels throughout Africa filled the first two decades of her adult life. Followed then by a life of letters. Condé’s first novel, Hérémakhonon, was published in 1976 when she was almost 40 years old. Her last novel, dictated to a friend because her eyesight had failed, was published in 2021. The title in English is The Gospel According to the New World. In total, Condé published more than 20 novels (My favorite Maryse Condé novel is I, Tituba Black Witch of Salem.). She also wrote children’s books, plays and essays. She spent a significant amount of time teaching and writing in the United States at Columbia University, but she spent her final years writing in the south of France. Her work explores issues of identity, feminism, the African diaspora, colonialism, and magical things. She was a multi-award-winning, literary treasure and she will be missed. RIP Maryse Condé.