Harlem Book Fair's QBR: Wheatley Awards All Media Access Granted

Harlem Book Fair's QBR: Wheatley Awards All Media Access Granted

by Heather Covington

www.Disilgold.com

Disilgold@aol.com



QBR: Black Book Review hosted the Phillis Wheatley Awards at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture on 515 Malcolm X Boulevard and Lenox Avenue @ West 135th Street on July 21, 2006. The Phillis Wheatley Awards traditionally precedes Harlem Book Fair Day and celebrates the most renown authors and people in publishing, film and the performing arts. Past shows have honored legendary greats like Dr. Maya Angelou, Rosa Guy, Tony Rose, Paul Coates, Lynn Whitfiled, Phyllis Stickney, Ruby Dee, Avery Brooks, Carol Jenkins, Haki Madhubuti, the late Gordon Parks and Glenn Thompson.

This years honorees were Walter Dean Myers, Victoria Christopher Murray, Chester Higgins Jr.,Omar Tyree and Jan Carew. Author Rosa Guy charged the ceremony.

Victoria Christopher Murray "is the author of books like Joy and Temptation which made numerous bestsellers list including Emerge and The Dallas Morning News. Temptation remained on the Essence bestsellers list for nine consecutive months and was nominated in 2001 for an NAACP Image Award in Outstanding Literature. Her book, Joy, has also been an Essence bestseller and won the 2002 Gold Pen Award for Best Inspirational Fiction."

Walter Dean Myers "began writing at thirty-two. Myers's first work was a children's picture book titled Where Does the Day Go?. With this 1966 text the author won a writing contest sponsored by the Council on Interracial Books for Children. Following this success, Myers began working for the publishing company Bobbs-Merrill. While at the publishing house, Myers produced several more works. Myers left the publishing house in 1977 to write full time, a venture at which he has been very successful and extremely prolific. Myers has continued throughout his writing career to produce children's books. He has also written several short stories which have been published in African-American periodicals such as Negro Digest and Essence. In addition, Myers has produced several nonfiction books. Most notable among these are the 1993 biography Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary; the 1993 A Place Called Heartbreak: A Story of Vietnam, an historical account of Major Fred Cherry, an American prisoner of war in Hanoi; and the 1999 At Her Majesty's Request: An African Princess in Victorian England."

Omar Tyree, "an energetic and fiery motivational speaker is a New York Times best-selling author and 2001 NAACP Image Award recipient for Outstanding Literature in Fiction; he has sold more than 1.3 million copies of books worldwide. With a degree in Print Journalism from Howard University in 1991, Tyree has been recognized as one of the most renowned contemporary writers in the African-American community. He founded his own successful book publishing company, MARS Productions in 1992, before partnering with the publishing powerhouse of Simon & Schuster in 1995, to produce a consistent stream of 13 novels and counting. His titles include his newest novel What They Want."

Chester Higgins "has been a staff photographer for The New York Times since 1975; his photographs have appeared in Art News, New York Times Sunday Magazine, Look, Life, Newsweek, Fortune, Ebony, Essence, Black Enterprise, GEO, and Archaeology. His work is the topic of the PBS film "An American Photographer: Chester Higgins Jr.," and has aired on CBS: "Sunday Morning News," PBS: "The News Hour," ABC: "Like It Is," and "Freedom Forum." He is the author of the photo collections Black Woman, Drums of Life, Some Time Ago, and, Feeling the Spirit: Searching the World for the People of Africa: a comprehensive look at the African Diaspora."

Jan Carew "is an author and educator born, in Agricola, Guyana . He was educated at Berbice High School, after which he pursued tertiary studies at several universities in Europe and the United States. "His educational background reflects the trend of many of the significant writers of his time, and these similarities become even more apparent in the thematic focus of his work."

Mo-Bay Restaurant provided Tomato Juice Shrimp Cocktails to the delight of VIP guests. Every top periodical from Harlem World and the Amsterdam News to the Carib Life and Schomburg News Center covered the event.

One of the grand highlights was when Max Rodriguez, owner of QBR, Harlem Book Fair and the Phillis Wheatley Awards and renown poet, Sonia Sanchez, joined honorable guests, Walter Dean Myers, Victoria Christopher Murray, Chester Higgins Jr.,Omar Tyree and Jan Carew on stage post award ceremony for a photo session among New Yorks own top national newspapers reaching over a million base of readers like the glorious Amsterdam News and Carib Life which both papers are the resource for black news. Harlem World, an up and coming glossy publication, owned by Tisdale served as the Harlem Book Fair commemorative issue making for an event covered with grandiose class.

The QBR: Phillis Wheatley is becoming the mecca of award shows in New York. Mr. Max Rodriguez culminated the ending of the event with a very brief dance on stage caught on film by photographers, and a rare moment for the owner of events that have become world renown.

"Its only been 8 years," says the staff of the Harlem Book Fair. Harlem Book Fair Heritage Tours make it possible for guests from out of town to enjoy all of the festivities, including The QBR: Phillis Wheatley Awards which always has a sizeable and fine repertoire of guests sitting among the stars.

The amount of work to produce a show of this magnitude and make it all seem easy, is why the show appeals to such a wide array of people from all nationalities. It is an event everyone can enjoy. The entertainment is rich, soul-satisfying, deeply rooted in Harlem culture and symbolic of African heritage. The event soothes the soul and motivates in-house writers to become future great authors as history has documented.

One guest states, "The Wheatley Awards celebrates the culture of Harlem, thus a celebration for all. I enjoy the show each year. It keeps getting better and better. Victoria Christopher Murray is absolutely on of my favorite authors." Another guest author mentions, "I cant believe I finally met Omar Tyree. I practically grew up on his books. Hes inspired me to write and why I am here to support the Urban Griot." A special video production highlighted all of Omar Tyrees works from the inception of his book deal with Simon & Schuster.

A photographer mentions, "Chester Hines is one of the worlds greatest photographers. People may not realize that this mans work transcended and documented black culture. Without Chester Hines, the world would miss history." A reader of Walter Deans, Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary, mentions, I have posters reflecting Deans work. The man is a genius of our time and Jim Carew is a legend whose work needs to be deeply studied by young people today.

Overall, many writers get to discover their literary peers from classic to up- and- coming artists. The Phillis Wheatley Awards provides an historical measure of the growth of literature and has been their since the cusp of the millennium. Just to think, young children will one day read about the history of the legends that have walked onto the stage of the famous Schomburg stage. The QBR: Phillis Wheatley Awards is the only African-American Award show of its kind based in Harlem that graces the grand stage of the Schomburg and is expected to continue to grow annually. Overall, the event was a literary success.

Copyright 2006.Disilgold. All Rights Reserved.