Closed For Business...

After six years, THE FIENDISH PLOTS OF DR. WENDY COAKLEY-THOMPSON has shuttered its doors.

For more focused, more acerbic wit, try WRITING WHILE BLOG.

Thanks, muchly, for all the love over the years. See you at WRITING WHILE BLOG...

I'm coming soon to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum

The Lines Connect Book Club will host me on April 16 at Baltimore's Reginald F. Lewis Museum. This is a free program, so come on out and say hi.

Click here for the details...

Happy Pub Day, Mark Coakley, author of TIP AND TRADE

Mark Coakley's book, TIP AND TRADE: HOW TWO LAWYERS MADE MILLIONS FROM INSIDER TRADING, hit bookstores and e-readers today. Big disclaimer: Mark is my cousin.

Today, John Gormley interviewed Mark on CKOM Newstalk 650. Click here to listen.

The International Women's History Month Literary Festival

Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Free Library hosted the International Women's History Month Literary Festival yesterday. Here are pieces that I wrote on the participating authors:

Actress-director-author Tanya Wright finds literary festival an obvious fit

Sarita Mandanna brings 'a different geography' to Saturday's literary festival

Jasmin Darznik will "paint a more nuanced portrait of Iranian culture"

Victoria Brown will introduce West Indian flavor to Saturday’s festival

Unfortunately, Victoria Brown wasn't able to attend because of unforeseen circumstances.

Everybody should watch out for these rising literary stars...and support International Women's History Month.

March 10, 2011: Producer announces there will be no 2011 Capital BookFest in the DMV

Unbelievably, this is the first time in six years that DC will not host the Capital BookFest. Sign of the Second Coming? Or yet another symptom of the death of publishing as we know it?

You make the call...

Producer announces there will be no 2011 Capital BookFest in the DMV

February 25, 2011: PG County welcomes best-selling author Brenda Jackson today

Let the book tours begin. The DMV is welcoming the first crop of authors this year. Brenda Jackson is one of them. She'll be at PG County Library's Surratts-Clinton Branch tonight, starting at 7:00 PM.

Go check her out...


PG County welcomes best-selling author Brenda Jackson today

February 2, 2011: Russell Simmons is in town today, promoting SUPER RICH

I remember the first time I met Russell Simmons at BEA in 2007. He was warm and gracious and without airs.

He's in town today promoting his book Super Rich: A Guide to Having it All. You should check him out. Here's the piece from Examiner with more...

Mogul-turned-author Russell Simmons hits the DC area today...

January 30, 2011: Amazon.com's Breakthrough Novel Award competition ends February 6

I encourage everyone to enter Amazon.com's Breakthrough Novel Award competition. Even though our industry remains...how do I say this delicately... an opportunity for personal growth for writers of color and any non-celebrity who's on the positivity tip, nothing beats a failure but a try, right?

Amazon.com's Breakthrough Novel Award competition ends February 6

January 30, 2011: Celebrated Latino author Raul Ramos y Sanchez returns with HOUSE DIVIDED

I have been honored to receive the work of talented author Raul Ramos y Sanchez. First, America Libre, now House Divided. Check him out, y'all.


Celebrated Latino author Raul Ramos y Sanchez returns with HOUSE DIVIDED

January 17, 2011: Roby storms the DMV on MLK Day

My first blog post for 2011. Kim Roby comes to DC/MD/VA and Balto tomorrow and Tuesday, respectively. Please go out and support the arts in general and Kim in particular...


Roby storms the DMV on MLK Day

December 31, 2010: Seg-book-gation. My last word for 2010

Millenia Black is the balliest person that I've ever met. She strives to keep a positive outlook in this industry, despite what happened to her.It was an honor to close out 2010's Examiner columns with her and other authors who weighed in on seg-book gation.


Seg-book-gation - with a new twist

Author Millenia Black predicts a positive paradigm shift out of the ashes of seg-book-gation


Heppy New Year, y'all!

December 8, 2010: Washington Post's Express crowns the best books of 2010

Express anoints the best in books for 2010:

Washington Post's Express crowns the best books of 2010

Where are mine, I ask? LOL!

October 30, 2010: Missing Jessica McLean-Ricketts

Jessica McLean-Ricketts was the best rep in town. During my tenure at Kensington Books and beyond, she was a mentor, champion, and, most of all, a friend.

Jessica McLean-Ricketts: 1955-2010

October 9, 2010: Akashic and Johnny Temple

Johnny Temple, the Founder and Publisher of Akashic Books, is a breath of fresh air to midlist and big-name authors alike whose publishing houses just don't get them. Here's what he had to say about how and why he, a former rock star, started a publishing company, as well as his goals for said company:

Independent publisher Akashic Books successfully competes on its own terms

Akashic's Johnny Temple to the publishing industry: "Keep up!"

October 2, 2010: Capital BookFest, Baby!

Check out the Capital BookFest today:

Largo hosts the sixth annual Capital BookFest today

September 5, 2010: Tony Blair’s JOURNEY: Been there, done that on film

As one reads Tony Blair's new memoir, for which he reportedly received a $7 million advance, one gets a feeling of, to steal shamelessly from Yogi Berra, déjà vu all over again. In the introduction of A Journey: My Political Life, Blair states that, with only one chapter covering 2007 to now, the book spans the period from 1997 to 2007. Film buffs who do not want to spend $35 retail for the hardcover book can watch not only one movie, but three of them, to get the Cliff Notes on Blair’s ascension to and occupation of the office of Prime Minister.

Tony Blair's JOURNEY: Been there, done that on film

August 22, 2010: Chatting with TRUE BLOOD's Tanya Wright About Her New Novel BUTTERFLY RISING

One perk of my Examiner gig is that I get to talk to people whose work I admire. One such person is the actress Tanya Wright. I love her on TRUE BLOOD, and I even remembered her a LaMuzindah in the flick THE BROTHERS.

Here's my two-part Examiner piece on her and her new book:

TRUE BLOOD's Tanya Wright reaches new audiences with a debut novel

TRUE BLOOD's Tanya Wright: Expanding the artist's repertoire

August 4, 2010: For one Latino author, the immigration debate foments extremist online reviews

The incendiary immigration debate flared white hot when Arizona’s infamous SB 1070 law took effect last Thursday. Even somewhat defanged by a judge’s ruling, the strict, sweeping measure aimed at illegal immigrants remains a lightning rod in a debate, the ripples of which permeate even the most unlikely parts of American society. Even artistic expression. Latino author Raul Ramos y Sanchez knows this all too well.

For one Latino author, the immigration debate foments extremist online reviews

July 3, 2010: With the new John Paul Stevens biography, timing is everything

The confirmation hearings paving Solicitor General Elena Kagan’s way to the Supreme Court began this week on Capitol Hill, just as nonagenarian John Paul Stevens, the man she’d been nominated to replace on the high court, quietly retired into history. As journalists and legal scholars alike ponder the shape of Stevens’ legacy, authors Bill Barnhart and Gene Schlickman reflect on the justice’s early years in John Paul Stevens: An Independent Life, their self-proclaimed first biography of the Supreme Court’s number one dissenter.

With the new John Paul Stevens biography, timing is everything

June 9, 2010: Politics and Prose is up for sale

I pray that someone can buy Politics and Prose and keep its legacy alive for the Washington DC area. It's getting so that storytellers will soon have no physical repositories for their works:

Politics and Prose bookstore for sale