Saturday October 3, 2015 was a memorable night. I attended the African American Literary Awards Show, where I was officially nominated for “Breakout Author of the Year” for my debut novel, The Garden of Unfortunate Souls. The event was held in a banquet hall of the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building in Harlem, New York, steps away from the legendary Apollo Theatre on 125th Street. The nomination was a great honor, though the award ultimately went to celebrity author Miko Branch, whose bestselling non-fiction book is one of the hottest titles of the year.
Eddie Mark with author/entrepreneur Miko Branch
Surrounded by a room full of big names and important people, I felt out of place at first. But everyone was so welcoming and friendly and treated me as if I really belonged there. I even had a chance to meet bestselling author and Image Award winner Reshonda Tate Billingsley whose book Let the Church Say Amen was recently made into a movie directed by actress Regina King and produced by Queen Latifah.
Eddie Mark with award-winning author Reshonda Tate Billingsley
Actress-comedienne Keisha Zollar was there as well. Many know her from The Today Show, Comedy Central’s Broad City, and the drama series Orange is the New Black. Keisha was one of the presenters, and she was hilarious ("Zollar, like dollar").
A few members of the Go On Girl! Book Club were in attendance. They have more than 30 chapters in 13 states. During the event they gave me a shout out via Twitter to thousands of their members across the country. Thank you, G.O.G!!
From the food to the people to the celebrations, the entire event was excellent. I plan to attend again next year even if I’m not nominated for anything. Harlem is the place to be!! But although there were many big names present that night, the most special person in the room was the woman to whom my novel is dedicated. Thank you, Thabitha. “Because you said it would be, and it is.”
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| Eddie Mark with actress-comedienne Keisha Zollar |
A few members of the Go On Girl! Book Club were in attendance. They have more than 30 chapters in 13 states. During the event they gave me a shout out via Twitter to thousands of their members across the country. Thank you, G.O.G!!
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| Eddie Mark posing with a few members of the Go On Girl! Book Club |
From the food to the people to the celebrations, the entire event was excellent. I plan to attend again next year even if I’m not nominated for anything. Harlem is the place to be!! But although there were many big names present that night, the most special person in the room was the woman to whom my novel is dedicated. Thank you, Thabitha. “Because you said it would be, and it is.”
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| On the red carpet with my biggest fan, Thabitha |
