Savannah Frierson

Romance and Women's Fiction—The Editors' Perspectives with Susan Litman and Michele Bidelspach

In honor of Women's History Month, this podcast features Susan Litman, editor for Harlequin Special Edition and Michele Bidelspach, executive editor for Canary Street Press (formerly HQN Books). Together, they have excellent experience and knowledge to discuss the similarities and differences between category romance and women’s fiction, and what authors should be mindful of when pursuing traditional publishing in general and these genres specifically. Host: Savannah Frierson (Black Ink Book Festival) Guests: Susan Litman (Harlequin Special Edition) and Michele Bidelspach (Canary Street Press) Recorded: January 31, 2023

Jacqueline Thomas

Savannah Frierson, Chair of our programming committee has a frank and fun conversation with romance writer, Jacqueline Thomas. They discuss how Jacqueline came to writing, their love of history and library books, and Jacqueline tries to convince Savannah to dip her reading toe into the world of fantasy.

Tracy Swinton Bailey

This week, we have a conversation with Tracy Swinton Bailey, a writer and nonprofit CEO. Tracy and Djuanna discuss how Tracy fell in love with reading and story, literacy as a form of protest, and what she's reading. They also touch on Tracy's role as an educational abolitionist and continuing to push diversity in publishing for everyone. To learn more about Tracy and how you can support her work check out: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/667091/forever-free-by-tracy-swinton-bailey/ https://freedomreaders.org/ https://bgclubgs.org/

Samuel Bellamy, Jr

This week Djuanna has a conversation with local author and nonprofit executive, Samuel Bellamy, Jr. Samuel discusses his road to indie publishing, shares his thoughts about story, and discusses how he started reading current fiction. To learn more about Samuel Bellamy, Jr, check out his website: https://samuelbellamyjr.com/

Savannah Frierson

This week we have a chat with Savannah Frierson, local author, and Chair of the Black Ink Programming Committee. Savannah discusses how she became a writer, the genre of romance, and what you can expect at the 2022 Black Ink Book Festival in January. You can check Savannah out at: www.sjfbooks.com