Interview With “From Promises to Progress” Author Andrew Beamon!

True to his book’s title, corporate social responsibility leader Andrew Beamon wrote From Promises to Progress: A Leadership Guide to Help Organizations Avoid Common Mishaps and Bring Their Racial Equity Aspirations to Life because he wants to help reform standard Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion practices.

“I think there’s already a lot of great books out there that prove the case that diversity matters,” Beamon tells So Booking Cool. “Mine is … Read the rest

Interview Excerpt: “Promises to Progress” Author Andrew Beamon!

Corporate social responsibility leader and author Andrew Beamon recently appeared on SBC to discuss his debut book Promises to Progress: A Leadership Guide to Help Organizations Avoid Common Mishaps and Bring Their Racial Equity Aspirations to Life. Here in this clip, we find out what prompted him to share his expertise and passion for racial equity in the workplace in book form.

Check out the clip below!

Thought … Read the rest

Interview With “Stand Up, Yumi Chung!” Author Jessica Kim!

JESSICA KIM AND STAND UP YUMI CHUNGThe adage: ‘if you love something let it go and if it comes back to you, it’s yours’ fits Stand Up, Yumi Chung! (March 17, 2020, Kokila) novelist, Jessica Kim. Before becoming a debut critically acclaimed published author, Kim had quit writing at one point. When she was a youth, in addition to comedy, she enjoyed writing, but didn’t foresee it as a profession, at least not as a … Read the rest

Interview With “My Rainy Day Rocket Ship” Author Markette Sheppard!

MARKETTE AND MY RAINY DAY ROCKET SHIPChildren’s books will always be relevant. They provide various benefits for kids including literacy, opportunities to bond with family, friends, teachers, etc., knowledge, entertainment, imagination, and creativity, to name a few. A few years ago, Emmy award-winning television host, bestselling children’s book author, marketing executive, and entrepreneur, Markette Sheppard, wrote My Rainy Day Rocket Ship (May 5, 2020; Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers), which … Read the rest

Interview (PART 1) With “Supreme Models: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Fashion” Author Marcellas Reynolds!

marcellasandsuprememodelsMany of us can agree that loving a career or industry does not mean we love or even like everything about it. The Supreme Models: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Fashion (Abrams Books, October 8, 2019) author, Marcellas Reynolds, is no exception. Reynolds, who recently appeared on the Tamron Hall Show, asserted that black models should not have to show up to work with their hair and makeup … Read the rest

Interview With Senior Literary Editor Kate Napolitano!

headshot.pngWhen you have the pleasure of chatting with Kate Napolitano, two things become abundantly clear about the senior book editor: she is as passionate about books and loves hyping them up as she says she does; and two, she is a go-getter.  Originally, the editor of You Can’t Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain by Phoebe Robinson, wanted to be a teacher, but … Read the rest

Interview With Scholastic Vice President, Exec Editor and Author Andrea Davis Pinkney!

Andrea-PinkneyphotoLargefileAs a children’s publishing professional and author, among Andrea Davis Pinkney‘s creative processes is directly conversing with that audience–children– about books.  “They tell me they like stories with heart,” she says. Heart, in fact, is definitely Pinkney’s approach to her craft. The Vice President, Executive Editor of Trade Books at Scholastic has worked in publishing for more than 30 years. “Time flies when you’re having fun,” Pinkney cheerfully remarks.

She … Read the rest

Interview With “Hello Beautiful Brown Girl!” Authors Charli Hodge & Octavia Samuels!

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So Booking Cool recently had the pleasure of speaking with debut co-authors Charli Hodge, 11, and Octavia Samuels, 37, about their picture book, Hello Beautiful Brown Girl. The self-published work is intended to celebrate and empower young girls of color around the world. What’s more is, Hodge and Samuels, based in Georgia, are an auntie and niece duo who sold beyond their expectations on their release day.… Read the rest

Interview With Shannon Hitchcock On Her New Novel One True Way!

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Award-winning author Shannon Hitchcock recently returned to So Booking Cool to discuss her new novel, One True Way. Based in 1977, the story centers on two middle-school female students, Allie and Sam, who experience the pressures of falling for each other from their southern community, the political climate, and their families. Hitchcock says the novel is inspired by a real-life friendship she had, in which their mutual friends describe… Read the rest

Interview With Artist & Illustrator Keturah Ariel!

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Entrepreneur and artist Keturah Ariel chatted with So Booking Cool about her company, the art industry, book publishing–including the upcoming Spring title, I Am Enough (HarperCollins) she illustrated by Empire star Grace Gealey-Byers. Keturah has been drawing and creating artwork for others since she was a child. The Columbus Ohio native worked at an art company before launching her very own, Keturah Ariel Brands.

Her designs range … Read the rest