The African Americans On the Move Book Club (AAMBC), known for it’s annual “AAMBC Literary Awards,” teamed up with the Blogging Beauties to host the Atlanta edition of the “Literary Experience” this past weekend. Many authors and bloggers from various parts of the U.S. came together for an afternoon of networking and empowerment at the Haven Lounge, located in the heart of Midtown.
The “Literary Experience” was hosted by Tamika Newhouse, founder of AAMBC, and Jelisa Raquel founder of Blogging Beauties. Tamika, author of 13 novels and nearly 200 titles, introduced this event with the goal of creating a platform that gives a voice to rising artists in an interactive setting.
Attendees had the opportunity to participate in a blogger mixer that consisted of a Q & A session with fashion blogger, Marie Denee (creator of CurvyFashionista.com). Following the mixer, a panel discussion began that featured Tamika and Jelisa along with Dedra Allen (WE TV’s “Cutting It In The Atl”) and Koerellye Dubos (Founder Of SingleWivesClub.com). Several authors attended this event and participated in the book pop-up shop, where they were given the opportunity to discuss and sell their latest books.
Before the event, I had the opportunity to speak with Tamika and get a closer look into her career endeavors as well as how AAMBC was birthed.
Michaela Carter: First, let’s talk about how it all started. What inspired you to become a writer?
Tamika Newhouse: I get asked that a lot and the best way I can describe it is, it’s like a person who can naturally see. I was about eight and I learned English and how to write the alphabet, how to formulate sentences. Then, I started creating short stories. I just knew then that I loved creating these stories and every since then, that is just something that I do. That’s who I am.
MC: How did you come up with the idea to start AAMBC?
TN: So, I didn’t even go into trying to create what AAMBC is. I lived in a city and didn’t know anyone, but I wanted to be a part of a book club. Because I was very shy when trying to meet new people, I didn’t even know who to ask to be a part of this book club. So, I created a Myspace page and I named it African Americans On the Move Book Club which was a similar name to a group that was on my college campus. On the Myspace page, I just posted books, books that I was reading and I liked; just kind of giving my feedback, not knowing that what I was doing was called social media marketing and PR or what people would call it today. Authors began to pick up on me talking about books online and asked me to read their books. I created this concept to talk about the unknown writer because a lot of people that were asking were unheard-of. Only a certain amount of authors are in the media, on the bookshelves, in the press…it’s only so many that are actually highlighted on a mainstream level. I only really thought that there were about 15-20 authors that were alive and writing; I thought it was really, really small. So, when my focus became the unknown writer, it pretty much expanded from there. I wanted to take it a step further by giving writers the opportunity to win accolades because I only saw the same writers getting all of the awards. I wanted that to be changed because at the end of the day, if no one is going to give the new writer an opportunity, then who will?
MC: So, AAMBC has joined forces with Blogging Beauties to host the “Literary Experience” Atlanta edition. What brought on this collaboration?
TN: This was another idea that I had. When the eBook craze started and more people were beginning to download their books versus buying paperback books, a lot of the events and book specials and even bookstores began to parish. You basically didn’t see much of any of those. Even when people did go out and do book signings, the attendance of them became lower and lower as years went on. I noticed that we need to make it more than just “come to my book signing;” it needs to be fun and interactive. We need to give them more of an incentive to show up. So, with the “Literary Experience,” I wanted to create more of an experience with fun, laughter, music, food, celebrities and bloggers along with featured author guests and make it fun. Of course, it would be geared towards literary arts, so there you go with the “Literary Experience.” I wanted to connect that with the award show for this year, so people could be a little more aware of the award show.
MC: Aside from being an award winning author and the CEO of Delphine Publications, what are some of your other entrepreneurial endeavors?
TN: Well, I self-published my first book in 2008 by launching my own publishing company. It was less than a year after that, I was bringing in new authors and publishing their books. Now, I am nearly 200 titles in; I’ve been publishing for years. I also have a literary art network called Lit Ish that exposes the African American arts of any form. Anyone that creates something, they all qualify to be exposed in this platform called Lit Ish. I do a little bit of brand management, PR work here and there because that is how I got into the industry.
MC: What advice would give to up and coming authors?
TN: They need to look at this business like any other art form, especially the music industry because it is not too much of a difference. They need to study what kind of artist they are and look at themselves as an artist, that way they can understand the kind of books [they] need to write, the kind of events [they] need to go to, how [they] need to promote their work. When you know who you are, it becomes a little more easier for others to understand who you are. So, come into this with an artsy mindset and try to be unique; step out of the rim and be consistent.That is the only way to be successful in anything, for that matter. You can’t come in hard, slow down, then try to pick back up where you left off. You got to keep it going 110% all the time.
To learn more about the “Literary Experience” and AAMBC, follow @aambcawards on Instagram and @AAMBookClub on Twitter.