The Virtual Book Fair is in support of Palmetto Giving Day, a 36 hour fundraising event held May 4-5, 2021. All donations help Freedom Readers to continue our literacy work. Please enjoy reading about our featured book fair authors!
Jacqueline Williams
“The Melaninnials” was created to be an educational tool teaching African American history and heritage. Author Jacqueline Williams hopes to convey positive self imaging through creativity, imagination and education.
“The Melaninnials” can be purchased at Passage Products for $14.99.
Phil Allen Jr.
Phil Allen Jr.
On December 10, 1953, tragedy was visited on a family when Nathaniel Allen was murdered on the Sampit River by his white employer, who lured him into the meeting under the false promise of reconciliation. Allen’s death was recorded as an accidental drowning, a deliberate cover-up of the bullet hole seen by more than one witness.
Three generations later, Phil Allen Jr. revisits this harrowing story and recounts the “baton of bitterness” that this murder passed down in his family.
Through interviews, difficult conversations, and deep theological reflection, Allen takes up the challenge of racism today, naming it for what it is and working to chart a path toward reconciliation.
Open Wounds, and the documentary that accompanies it, is a transformative experience of listening and learning as a grandson looks, laments, and ultimately leads his family and his society forward toward a just and reconciled future. It’s an essential part of our national reckoning with racism and injustice.
You can purchase Open Wounds on Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, or Fortresspress.com. It is available in e-book or paperback versions. Audiobook soon to be released. For updates you can follow Phil on Instagram @philallenjrig on Facebook Phil Allen, Jr., or on Twitter @philallenjr.
His website is www.philallenjr.com.
Dr. Beverly Boone
Dr. Beverly Boone
Dr. Boone is a former teacher and school administrator who has published several children’s books. The themes of her books range from bullying prevention to remembering the carefree days of her childhood.
She enjoys leading writing workshops, helping attendees get their story “from the heart to the page.”
“Writing is such an expressive art form,” she says.
Watch her video to learn more about Dr. Boone and where to find her books!
Sophia Ann Johnson
Born in Jamaica, raised in Boston and New York, Sophia Ann Johnson had to fight to become her better self. The struggle on her journey to become a citizen of the United States is a poetic story of its own. One thing that her struggle taught her was love. You can read her journey through her pain in her book, Truth Is Consciousness: The Poetic Journey. Shop Sophia’s book here.
Listen to Sophia Ann Johnson read a poem from her book.
Tara Hill-Starks
An education professional who has a passion for children and didactic learning, Tara Hill-Starks’ latest work, Grandma, I Got This!, is inspired by the teachings she received from her grandmother as a young child, as well as by the wisdom shared by her pastor as an adult. The story centers around JJ, a young, energetic boy who learns valuable life lessons from his grandma. Will JJ remember these lessons when grandma goes away? Find out when you shop Tara’s book here. Grandma, I Got This! is available in paperback, hardcover, and as an ebook.
Ginny Brock is the author of When the South Wind Blows, a book almost entirely about the South Carolina Coast. It’s an historical novel set at the end of the Civil War. Watch Ginny, in her own words, describe her book:
Learn more about the author and her books here: Get to know Ginny Brock
Beverly Gandara
Award-winning screenwriter/author Beverly Gandara has written several screenplays, two novels and one non-fiction book which celebrates all women in all fields. Beverly’s comedy script, Rent Money won the Golden Palm Award for Best Screenplay at the 2012 Beverly Hills International Film Festival. Her Five Star Readers’ Favorite, Historical Fiction/Coming of Age debut novel Concrete Wings: A Tale of Tyranny and Freedom, earned the Literary Classics Seal of Approval with a recommendation for school and home libraries and Honorable Mention at the 2017 New York Book Festival and the 2018 Florida Book Festival. Her Five Star Readers’ Favorite novel, Soaring in Silence: One woman’s Triumph Over Fear, a Psychological Suspense Thriller was released in 2019. Her Five Star Readers’ Favorite book, Women, Work and Triumph is a compilation of interviews with a diverse group of 26 fascinating women in 26 careers from A – Z with 1 goal – acceptance and respect.
Bev’s books are available on Amazon and in all fine stores where books are sold. Shop Bev’s books here
Beverly lives in the southeast with her husband Armand, whose experiences inspired Concrete Wings. For more information about Beverly and her work, please visit www.bevgandara.com.