Support Our Black Owned Books Stores And Websites

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A Resource Guide from African American Literature Book Club

Bookstore Resources

20 Book Websites

#1 –  AALBC.com

aalbc.com
Owner:Troy Johnson
Physical Store: No
Email:troy@aalbc.com
Phone: 347-692-2522
Site Launched: Mar 02, 1998
Alexa Rank294,952

AALBC.com is a widely recognized source of author profiles, book recommendations, intriguing on-line discussion boards, writers resources, articles, and critical reviews of books and by and about African Americans.

AALBC.com’s information was added to our database on Dec 03, 2012, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

Black Power Line

#2 –  Knowledge Bookstore

www.knowledgebookstore.com

Physical Store:Yes
Email:customerservice@knowledgebookstore.com
Phone: 905-459-9875
Site Launched: Aug 27, 1999
Alexa Rank783,484

Knowledge Bookstore is a celebration.

Knowledge Bookstore’s information was added to our database on Mar 14, 2015, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

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#3 –  African Books Collective

www.africanbookscollective.com
Owner: Justin Cox, CEO
Physical Store: No
Email:orders@africanbookscollective.com
Site Launched: Aug 24, 1998
Alexa Rank897,217

African Books Collective (ABC) is an African owned, worldwide marketing and distribution outlet for books from Africa — scholarly, literature and children’s books. Founded, owned and governed by a group of African publishers.

African Books Collective’s information was added to our database on Aug 20, 2019, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

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#4 –  Mosaic Magazine

mosaicmagazine.org
Owner: The Literary Freedom Project
Physical Store: No
Email:ron@mosaicmagazine.org
Phone: 718.530.9132
Site Launched: Dec 25, 2005
Alexa Rank1,484,898

Mosaic explores the literary arts created by writers of African descent. Through articles, essays, book reviews, and interviews Mosaic has increased the literary reach of some of the most important voices effecting change on many artistic fronts

Mosaic Magazine’s information was added to our database on May 21, 2014, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

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#5 –  Africa Access

africaaccessreview.org
Owner: Brenda Randolph
Physical Store: No
Email:africaaccess@aol.com
Site Launched: Dec 11, 2000
Alexa Rank1,610,890

Expanding Perspectives on Africa, Book by Book

Africa Access’s information was added to our database on Dec 13, 2018, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

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#6 –  EyeSeeMe

www.eyeseeme.com
Owner: Pamela Blair
Physical Store:Yes
Email:customerservice@eyeseeme.com
Site Launched: Jan 11, 2011
Alexa Rank2,802,907

EyeSeeMe’s information was added to our database on Jan 15, 2016, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

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#7 –  Go On Girl!

goongirl.org
Owner: Go On Girl! Book Club, Inc.
Physical Store: No
Email:GOGBookClub@goongirl.org
Site Launched: Mar 02, 1998
Alexa Rank3,298,008

Black Power Line

The Go On Girl! Book Club is a nationally recognized reading club committed to fostering an awareness of and appreciation for the diverse literary works by authors of the Black Diaspora. Our deep and authentic respect for literature aligns with our not-for-profit status whereby we earmark the vas

Go On Girl!’s information was added to our database on Sep 16, 2016, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

#8 –  The Brown Bookshelf

thebrownbookshelf.com
Owner: Varian Johnson
Physical Store: No
Email:thebrownbookshelf@gmail.com
Phone: 512-372-8983
Site Launched: Oct 05, 2007
Alexa Rank3,601,853

The Brown Bookshelf’s information was added to our database on Jan 19, 2014, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

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#9 –  MahoganyBooks

mahoganybooks.com
Owner: Derrick & Ramunda Young
Physical Store:Yes
Email:customerservice@mahoganybooks.com
Site Launched: Sep 30, 2008
Alexa Rank3,886,847

MahoganyBooks’s information was added to our database on Dec 21, 2012, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

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#10 –  Ashay by the Bay

ashaybythebay.com
Owner:Deborah (Ashay) Day
Physical Store:Yes
Email:ashaybythebay@gmail.com
Phone: 510-520-2742
Site Launched: Jul 12, 2000
Alexa Rank4,410,763

The Largest Independent Selection of African American

Ashay by the Bay’s information was added to our database on Jun 03, 2017, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

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#11 –  Brown Sugar & Spice Books

www.brownssbooks.com
Owner: Jaqueline Galloway
Physical Store: No
Email:info@brownssbooks.com
Phone: 734.716.0213
Site Launched: Aug 05, 1998
Alexa Rank4,901,644

Brown Sugar & Spice Books’s information was added to our database on Jan 19, 2014, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

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#12 –  African Bookstore

africanbookstore.net
Owner: Yvonne King
Physical Store: No
Email:sales@africanbookstore.net
Phone: 954-652-0474
Site Launched: Nov 29, 2002
Alexa Rank5,071,435

African Bookstore is a specialty, online bookstore, pleased to provide books on the African world wide experience, and African American experience.

African Bookstore’s information was added to our database on Dec 10, 2012, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

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#13 –  Frugal Bookstore

frugalbookstore.net

Physical Store: No
Phone: 617-541-1722
Site Launched: May 10, 2012
Alexa Rank5,300,071

Frugal Bookstore ’s information was added to our database on Jan 01, 1970, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

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#14 –  United Black Books

unitedblackbooks.org

Physical Store: No
Email:unitedblackbooks@gmail.com
Site Launched: Jun 09, 2016
Alexa Rank5,315,347

We are a Black operated, California educational organization – with the goal of providing true historical education and knowledge across the African Disporsa. At UnitedBlackBooks.org we provide a wide range of rare and collectible African American eBooks, Audiobooks and Movies – in all categories.

United Black Books’s information was added to our database on Feb 24, 2018, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

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#15 –  The Brain Lair

www.brainlairbooks.com
Owner: Kathy M. Burnette
Physical Store:Yes
Email:kathyb@thebrainlair.com
Phone: 574-271-7741
Site Launched: Jul 27, 2017
Alexa Rank5,474,333

The Brain Lair Bookstore is focused on providing children and teens with culturally relevant books. These carefully and thoughtfully selected books will offer readers a glimpse into the world around them to spark imagination and foster empathy.

The Brain Lair’s information was added to our database on Jan 01, 1970, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

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#16 –  C&B Books Distribution

cbbooksdistribution.com
Owner: Carol Rogers
Physical Store: No
Email:cbbookdist@aol.com
Phone: 718-591-4525
Site Launched: Feb 18, 2002
Alexa Rank6,038,294

C&B Books Distribution ’s information was added to our database on Dec 11, 2012, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

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#17 –  Africa Book Club

www.africabookclub.com
Owner: Daniel Musiitwa
Physical Store: No
Email:memberservices@africabookclub.com
Site Launched: Apr 03, 2009
Alexa Rank6,045,551

Africa Book Club’s information was added to our database on Apr 07, 2017, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

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#18 –  The National Black Book Festival

nationalblackbookfestival.com

Physical Store: No
Email:info@nationalblackbookfestival.com
Phone: 1-800-340-5454
Site Launched: Oct 18, 2007
Alexa Rank6,834,310

The National Black Book Festival’s information was added to our database on Dec 21, 2012, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

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#19 –  Mocha Books

www.readwithmochabooks.com/
Owner: Shionka
Physical Store:Yes
Email:mochabooks@gmail.com
Phone: 918-236-9019
Site Launched: Mar 23, 2018
Alexa Rank7,820,141

Mocha Books’s information was added to our database on Nov 03, 2019, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

Black Power Line

#20 –  Sankofa Video Books & Cafe

sankofa.com
Owner: Shirikiana Gerima
Physical Store:Yes
Phone: 202-234-4755
Site Launched: Oct 15, 1996
Alexa Rank9,088,485

Sankofa Video Books & Cafe’s information was added to our database on Dec 21, 2012, and was last updated Mar 23, 2020.

Black Book Websites Need Love Too

By Troy D Johnson

Over the last decade there has been a great deal of lamenting over the closing of Black owned, independent brick and mortar book stores.  Recently this anguish has even extended to the large chain retailer, Borders Books and Music, which many Black authors say are responsible for a large percentage of their sales nationwide.

Throughout this turmoil Black owned book websites go largely ignored.   When we do get attention it is often in the context of contributing to the demise of the physical book store.

As the owner and sole operator of the largest website dedicated to Black books I feel it is time to emphasize why websites dedicated to Black books are just as important as physical stores.  If these websites are taken for granted they too will disappear, and we will have lost another important platform for celebrating and showcasing books by and about people of African descent.

AALBC.com in 1997

When I first started AALBC.com in 1997, its value became immediately evident  based upon feedback from visitors.  Much of the feedback reflected the excitement visitors experienced discovering that there were so many books written by Black writers.  These visitors not only discovered new books, but older classics as well.

AALBC.com and the other websites around during the late 90’s, including Cushcity.comMosaicbooks.com, BlackHeritageBooks.com, TheBlackLibrary.com, BlackBookNetwork.com (the last 3 sites no longer exist) were very valuable as many of our visitors did not live near a bookstore.   There was value even for those who were fortunate enough to have a bookstore in their community, as the selection of Black books was very limited.

Given the current trend of physical bookstores closing and the lack of coverage in newspapers and magazines; websites that promote Black books and authors are more important than ever.

For several years I’ve been maintaining a list described as, Web Sites That Support, Promote, and Sell Black Books” (http://aalbc.com/booksites/).  The list captures websites dedicated to Black books including the websites of physical book stores, web-based bookstores, book reviewers, book clubs, and other entities.  Many of the websites have been on-line for close to a decade, exhibiting a long term commitment to their respective missions.

This list does not include websites dedicated to an individual book, author or publisher.  The websites are expected to praise or critique books without bias.  These websites are not owned by multinational corporations whose coverage of Black books typically focus on celebrity, and who completely ignore books published by small presses and individuals.

BlackLiterature.com as it appeared in 2008

What prompted me to Blog about this issue is that when I updated the list recently (March 9, 2011), I had to remove more than 20% of the websites that I’ve been tracking.  Each time I update the list I remove more websites than I add.  I found the number of websites I had to remove this time extremely disheartening.  Blackliterature.com, thegrits.com and DockBooks.com, to name a few are gone.

What is more disheartening, alarming even, is that of the literally tens’s of millions of active American websites there are less than 100 websites dedicated exclusively to Black books.  Less than 50 are regularly updated and less than 20 receive an appreciable amount of traffic.  In other words, the Black book niche is effectively unrepresented online.

One reason is that it is very hard to earn a living selling Black books on-line.  I started building AALBC.com in October of 1997, sold my first book on-line in December of 1997, launched AALBC.com in March of 1998 and it became my full time vocation in February of 2008.  Even if one is able to earn a living selling Black books online, they will not become fantastically wealthy do it–but we all know that going in or at least we should.

On-line booksellers constantly deal with many challenges, which we address in relative obscurity and with even less sympathy.    Early on there was a reluctance for my demographic to provide credit card information on-line, this and competition from Barnesandnoble.com and Amazon.com made making money selling books directly extremely difficult.  I redirected my focus to providing services to authors and selling advertising.

As the economy continues to suffer my income from advertising sold directly to publishers and authors is down, fortunately this revenue made up by income from Google.com, Amazon.com and other affiliate programs.  However today my biggest challenges is staying relevant in a publishing industry and internet environment that is in a state of constant change.

AALBC.com on Facebook

As social media competes for traffic, AALBC.com is forced to become actively engaged in sites like Facebook and Twitter; not only contributing to the conversation, but to using these platform to bring readers back to AALBC.com.  A massive website redesign was performed in 2009 to help accomplish this goal.

On the horizon there are early indications that despite the increased number of books being published and new technologies to facilitate reading – the number of readers is waning.   This reduction in readership appears to be most pronounced for literary.

To further compound the problem the support from authors, and publishers to promote literary fiction and poetry is essentially nonexistent.  When you see a literary title or poetry on AALBC.com it is because I personally feel the work was important to share.  Commercial fiction, erotica, urban fiction, and non-fiction subsidize the promotion of literary fiction on AALBC.com.  Figuring  out a ways to promote literary fiction and the variety of work Black writers produce while earning a living is another challenge.

While I can’t speak for everyone who runs a Black book website, I can say most are mission driven.  Our reward is knowing we are doing something important: promoting and preserving a culture by providing an important platform for writers.  We enjoy the written word and the exchange of ideas.  We rejoice in the diversity of our stories and take pride in the fact that we help ensure the voice of the Black community is shared not only within our community but globally.

But it can’t be all about flowery rhetoric, Black book websites made a tremendous impact in helping to keep our voices alive.  AALBC.com, for example sold 3,392 different titles in 2010 alone (virtually by writers of African descent).  AALBC.com has published more than 100 videos of authors garnering over 1 million views.  By the end of 2011 AALBC.com will have profiled more than 1,000 different authors.  We have published hundreds of reviews of books which were published by major houses, academic presses and individuals.  I attract 100,000 to 300,000 unique visitors to AALBC.com each month.

AALBC.com has hosted an on-line book club for the better part of a decade and have hosted events from Harlem to Los Angles.  I attend and support events all over the country with money, time and expertise.

The impact of the web based book sellers is incalculable and the potential is unlimited.  Keep in mind on-line booksellers support physical bookstores as well.  I can’t tell you how many people have told me, “I just discovered a book on your site and went straight to the store to buy it.”  Indeed, most book websites actively promote physical bookstores (assuming they don’t own one outright), by publishing content about the stores, promoting their events and even attending signings and making purchases.

Next time you read an article about the demise of the Black owned bookstore, consider the potential demise of the Black book website as well.  We need your support too. Remember supporting web based stores does not come at the expense of supporting a physical store nor does require much effort.

Simply sharing our website addresses with your friends, “liking” us on Facebook or “tweeting” the content you enjoy is a great start.  Buying a book and providing feedback to help us improve is even better.

And always remember, book websites need love too.

Troy D. Johnson is the President, founder and webmaster of AALBC.com, LLC (The African American Literature Book Club). Launched in March of 1998, AALBC.com has grown to become the largest and most frequently visited website dedicated to books and films by and about people of African descent.

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