Mid-February 2022 News, Deals, Reveals, & More

Subscribe:

Want the full newsletter? Subscribe on Substack for $5 a month!

The Rundown

Melanin in YA News
Book Deals
Foreign Rights
Tinseltown – Adaptation News
Cover Reveals
Bestseller Lists
Appearances
Awards/Honors
Buzz – Starred Reviews
General Updates
Podcasts
February 2022 Joy

Melanin in YA News

Tips given during the free February Brain Pick webinar hosted by Eric Smith and featuring Brittney M. Morris and Mary Kenney will be given to Melanin in YA. Thank you, Eric Smith for your generosity!

Book Deals

Keah Brown sold a contemporary novel, THE SECRET SUMMER PROMISE, coming spring 2023 from Levine Querido .
Mahogany L. Browne sold her contemporary novel, EPICENTER coming summer 2023 from Crown.
In a two-book deal, a good deal, Kosoko Jackson sold his paranormal thriller, THE FOREST DEMANDS ITS DUE, coming fall 2023 from Quill Tree.
Addie Woolridge sold her contemporary novel, THE HOMECOMING WAR, coming fall 2023 from Underlined.

Publisher Breakdown 2022 So Far

Available to Patreon and Newsletter Subscribers Only. Please reach out via email if you do not have access to this document as a Patron at the ARC level or above.

Foreign Rights

LEGENDBORN by Tracy Deonn sold to Portugal.

Tinseltown – Adaptation News

Felicia D. Henderson and Black Bear Television are adapting LEGENDBORN by Tracy Deonn for television. – Deadline
WHITE SMOKE by Tiffany D. Jackson has been optioned for television under Two for the Road Entertainment and Kapital Entertainment. – Deadline

Cover Reveals

Charity Alyse unveiled the cover for OTHER SIDE OF THE TRACKS (October 25, 2022).

Achut Deng and Keely Hutton unveiled the cover for their book, a memoir about Deng’s youth, Don’t Look Back: A Memoir of War, Survival, and My Journey from Sudan to America (October 11, 2022).

Lamar Giles unveiled the cover for THE GETAWAY (September 20, 2022).
- Cover Design: Maeve Norton

A new cover has been released for Jas Hammonds‘s WE DESERVE MONUMENTS (November 29, 2022).

Justina Ireland unveiled the cover for RUST IN THE ROOT (September 20, 2022).

Tiffany D. Jackson unveiled the cover for THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD (September 9, 2022).
- Cover Artist: Jeff Manning

Alicia Keys unveiled the cover for GIRL ON FIRE, co-written with Andrew Weiner, Illustrated by Brittney Williams.

Melanin in YA unveiled the cover for BRIARCLIFF PREP by Brianna Peppins (November 15, 2022)
- Cover Design: Zareen Johnson
- Illustrator: Kingsley Nebechi

Bestseller Lists

NYT: ALL BOYS AREN’T BLUE by George M. Johnson hit the list at #8 (22 months after its debut and 2 months after coverage of this book being banned across the nation).

Appearances

Note: To see the latest virtual events coming up, be sure to visit the Events page!

Elise Bryant appeared on ABC 7 to shortly after receiving her NAACP nomination. Watch the full clip here.

Awards/Honors

BLACKOUT by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon is a 2022 Audie Awards Finalist in the Short Stories/Collections category.
Indies Introduce selection, AND WE RISE by Erica Martin is also a March/April Indie Next Pick.

Buzz – Starred Reviews

School Library Journal: AFRICAN TOWN by Irene Latham & Charles Waters, Audiobook: BLACKOUT by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon

General Updates

BookRiot featured some familiar names in Get To Know Six Amazing YA Audiobook Performers, 11 Popular Teen Books for 2022, and A Plethora of Pride: 25+ LGBTQ Books For Teens.
Mahogany L. Browne wrote a piece for The New York Times.
Candace Buford is a homeowner! Congratulations!
Bustle featured some familiar names in 9 Must-Read New Books Out This Week, The 42 Best Queer Romances To Read Right Now, The Best Black History Month Reads, According To This Year’s Debut Authors, 10 Must-Read New Books Out This Week, and The Most Anticipated Books Of February 2022.
Buzzfeed published Celebrate Black Love During Black History Month With These 20 YA Books and There Are A Lot Of Books Releasing In February — Here’s What We Read, Loved, And Recommend.
Chatelaine Magazine published 10 New Romance Books To Curl Up With This Valentine’s Day.
The CW69 Atlanta invited Nic Stone to talk about books for Black History Month.
Authors, Nia Davenport and Traci-Anne Canada launched the book packaging company, Story Spinner Entertainment.
The paperback of LEGENDBORN by Tracy Deonn was chosen as Barnes & Noble Monthly Young Adult Pick for February.
BITTER by Akwaeke Emezi is an Amazon Best Young Adult Book of the Month. Elle Magazine also featured Emezi recently, read it here.
Epic Reads published 20 Incredible YA Books Celebrating Black Love, 54 YA Books You Need to Read—Especially During Black History Month, 29 YA Books So Sweet They’ll Give You Cavities, and The 18 Most Anticipated YA Books to Read in February among other lists.
WILD TONGUES CAN’T BE TAMED Edited by Saraciea J. Fennell, was featured in Pop Sugar’s 15 Books by Afro-Latinx Writers You Won’t Want to Put Down.
Kosoko Jackson has joined Drexel University’s Low Residency MFA program as adjunct faculty, teaching How To Write the Perfect First Chapter.
Fierce Reads published a post to Celebrate Black Voices.
Kweli has announced dates and opened registration for the Color of Children’s Literature Conference (March 25-27, 2022).
Latinx in Publishing shared Black Latinx Bookstores to Shop this Month.
The 2021 Locus Recommended Reading List has some familiar names!
For some reason, the Mean Girls on Broadway Instagram account likes to talk about books and hey! They didn’t forget about Black History Month! Check it out here.
FOR ALL TIME by Shanna Miles was chosen as the featured book for the Amazon Sci-fi and Fantasy Book Club.
The New York Times published How Jason Reynolds Distinguishes Y.A. Books From Adult Fiction.
North Texas Book Festival announced its author lineup. The festival takes place March 4-5, 2022.
NPR featured REQUIRED READING FOR THE DISENFRANCHISED FRESHMAN by Kristen R. Lee.
Nubian Bookstore is celebrating its 23 year anniversary. Congratulations!!!!
Riveted shared Can’t-Miss Books to Read for Black History Month.
YOU TRULY ASSUMED by Laila Sabreen was featured in The National News article, The rise of Muslim young fiction: tales of high school, hijabs and halal marshmallows.
Seventeen published 17 Books by Black Female Authors That Should Be on Your Bookshelf.
Tor published 23 Modern SFF Twists on Familiar Stories.
YALSA announced the 2022 Best Fiction for Young Adults and 2022 Top Ten Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults.

Podcasts

Minorities in Publishing
- Bethany C. Morrow – February 7, 2022

February 2022 Joy

Happy reading!

WANT MORE?

If you would like a super-size version of this newsletter in your inbox each month, be sure to subscribe to the Melanin in YA Monthly Newsletter ($5 per month) over at Substack! You’ll also get certain data before it hits Melanin in YA as well as links to secret pages before they officially go live!