The tone and spirit of this splendid volume of conversations with fourteen Black women writers is eloquently stated in Claudia Tate's introduction: "With one penetrating glance they cut through layers of institutionalized racism and sexism and uncover a core of social contradictions and intimate dilemmas which plague all of us, regardless of our race or gender." Responding to basic questions on the themes of why and for whom they write, and how they perceive their responsibility to their work, to others, and to society, these well-known playwrights, poets, novelists, and essayists talk about the connections between their lives and their art. Toni Morrison notes that the longing for commercial success "is a substitute for value in your life." Kristin Hunter is "interested in the enormous and varied adaptations of black people to the distorting, terrifying restrictions of society." Toni Cade Bambara wants readers to understand why women need to keep writing their "anger, dismay, disappointment, or just sheer bewilderment" about the woman-man thing: "Women are not going to shut up. We care too much... about the development of ourselves and our brothers, fathers, lovers, sons to negotiate a bogus peace." Nikki Giovanni speaks of alienation as a force which can produce vigor: "Our strength is that we are not comfortable any place; therefore, we're comfortable every place." In this superb collection, the answers, asides, and truth-telling are as diverse, dazzling, and large-spirited as the writers themselves. -- Description by Jesse Larsen from "500 Great Books by Women"

Robert McKee's screenwriting workshops have earned him an international reputation for inspiring novices, refining works in progress and putting major screenwriting careers back on track. Quincy Jones, Diane Keaton, Gloria Steinem, Julia Roberts, John Cleese and David Bowie are just a few of his celebrity alumni. Writers, producers, development executives and agents all flock to his lecture series, praising it as a mesmerizing and intense learning experience. In Story , McKee expands on the concepts he teaches in his $450 seminars (considered a must by industry insiders), providing readers with the most comprehensive, integrated explanation of the craft of writing for the screen. No one better understands how all the elements of a screenplay fit together, and no one is better qualified to explain the "magic" of story construction and the relationship between structure and character than Robert McKee.

From one of our most important scholars and civil rights activist icon, a powerful study of the women’s liberation movement and the tangled knot of oppression facing Black women. "Angela Davis is herself a woman of undeniable courage. She should be heard." —The New York Times Angela Davis provides a powerful history of the social and political influence of whiteness and elitism in feminism, from abolitionist days to the present, and demonstrates how the racist and classist biases of its leaders inevitably hampered any collective ambitions. While Black women were aided by some activists like Sarah and Angelina Grimke and the suffrage cause found unwavering support in Frederick Douglass, many women played on the fears of white supremacists for political gain rather than take an intersectional approach to liberation. Here, Davis not only contextualizes the legacy and pitfalls of civil and women's rights activists, but also discusses Communist women, the murder of Emmitt Till, and Margaret Sanger's racism. Davis shows readers how the inequalities between Black and white women influence the contemporary issues of rape, reproductive freedom, housework and child care in this bold and indispensable work.

Robert McKee's screenwriting workshops have earned him an international reputation for inspiring novices, refining works in progress and putting major screenwriting careers back on track. Quincy Jones, Diane Keaton, Gloria Steinem, Julia Roberts, John Cleese and David Bowie are just a few of his celebrity alumni. Writers, producers, development executives and agents all flock to his lecture series, praising it as a mesmerizing and intense learning experience. In Story , McKee expands on the concepts he teaches in his $450 seminars (considered a must by industry insiders), providing readers with the most comprehensive, integrated explanation of the craft of writing for the screen. No one better understands how all the elements of a screenplay fit together, and no one is better qualified to explain the "magic" of story construction and the relationship between structure and character than Robert McKee.

OVER 40,000 COPIES SOLD“An exhilarating but highly structured approach to the creative use of time. Kadavy’s approach is likely to spark a new evaluation of conventional time management.”—Kirkus Reviews You have the TIME. Do you have the ENERGY? You’ve done everything you can to save time. Every productivity tip, every “life hack,” every time management technique. But the more time you save, the less time you have. The more overwhelmed, stressed, exhausted you feel. “Time management” is squeezing blood from a stone. Introducing a new approach to productivity. Instead of struggling to get more out of your time, start effortlessly getting more out of your mind. In Mind Management, Not Time Management, best-selling author David Kadavy shares the fruits of his decade-long deep dive into how to truly be productive in a constantly changing world. Quit your daily routine. Use the hidden patterns all around you as launchpads to skyrocket your productivity.Do in only five minutes what used to take all day. Let your “passive genius” do your best thinking when you’re not even thinking.“Writer’s block” is a myth. Learn a timeless lesson from the 19th century’s most underrated scientist.Wield all of the power of technology, with none of the distractions. An obscure but inexpensive gadget may be the shortcut to your superpowers.Keep going, even when chaos strikes. Tap into the unexpected to find your next Big Idea.Mind Management, Not Time Management isn’t your typical productivity book. It’s a gripping page-turner chronicling Kadavy’s global search for the keys to unlock the future of productivity. You’ll learn faster, make better decisions, and turn your best ideas into reality. Buy it and start reading today.

A NEW YORK TIMES CRITICS' TOP BOOK OF THE YEAR • BOOKLISTS' EDITOR'S CHOICE • ONE OF NPR'S BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR “At once a film book, a history book, and a civil rights book.… Without a doubt, not only the very best film book [but] also one of the best books of the year in any genre. An absolutely essential read.” — Shondaland This unprecedented history of Black cinema examines 100 years of Black movies—from Gone with the Wind to Blaxploitation films to Black Panther —using the struggles and triumphs of the artists, and the films themselves, as a prism to explore Black culture, civil rights, and racism in America. From the acclaimed author of The Butler and Showdown . Beginning in 1915 with D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation— which glorified the Ku Klux Klan and became Hollywood's first blockbuster—Wil Haygood gives us an incisive, fascinating, little-known history, spanning more than a century, of Black artists in the film business, on-screen and behind the scenes.   He makes clear the effects of changing social realities and events on the business of making movies and on what was represented on the from Jim Crow and segregation to white flight and interracial relationships, from the assassination of Malcolm X, to the O. J. Simpson trial, to the Black Lives Matter movement. He considers the films themselves—including Imitation of Life, Gone with the Wind, Porgy and Bess, the Blaxploitation films of the seventies, Do The Right Thing, 12 Years a Slave, and Black Panther . And he brings to new light the careers and significance of a wide range of historic and contemporary Hattie McDaniel, Sidney Poitier, Berry Gordy, Alex Haley, Spike Lee, Billy Dee Willliams, Richard Pryor, Halle Berry, Ava DuVernay, and Jordan Peele, among many others.   An important, timely book, Colorization gives us both an unprecedented history of Black cinema and a groundbreaking perspective on racism in modern America.